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1 – 10 of over 3000George Giannakopoulos, Haris Assimopoulos, Dimitra Petanidou, Chara Tzavara, Gerasimos Kolaitis and John Tsiantis
High school students are a common target group in initiatives addressing discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental illness. However, these initiatives are rarely…
Abstract
High school students are a common target group in initiatives addressing discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental illness. However, these initiatives are rarely evaluated and documented. The aim of our paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based educational intervention for improving adolescents' attitudes and reducing the desire for social distance from people with mental illness living in their community. A total of 161 students aged 16-18 years old were questioned at baseline assessment and 86 of them received a three-workshop educational intervention while 75 students comprised the control group. A follow-up assessment 1 month post intervention evaluated its impact. Attitudes and the social distance were assessed through the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill scale and a 10-statement questionnaire based on the Self-report Inventory of Fear and Behavioural Intentions, respectively. Data from 140 subjects were analyzed. All attitude dimensions and half of the measured social distance statements were significantly improved in the intervention group at follow up assessment compared to controls. However, the statements measuring more intimate types of social relationships did not change significantly post intervention. In conclusion, short educational interventions can be effective to some extent in reducing discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental illness. However, effective interventions to address deeply held negative stereotypes will require further research.
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Monica Lemos and Fernanda Liberali
The purpose of this paper is to explore a formative intervention project that was developed for the Municipal Secretariat of Education in São Paulo, Brazil for the broad…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore a formative intervention project that was developed for the Municipal Secretariat of Education in São Paulo, Brazil for the broad development of all levels of educational management (teacher educators, coordinators, principals, teachers and students). Thus, the creative chain of activities is a key theoretical framework for promoting critical collaboration in order to cross the boundaries of educational management organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use data from the Management in Creative Chains Project (Liberali, 2012), as a way to enable the wide development of all levels of educational management. Data comprise formative meetings in which different educational managers system take part in two settings, the regional board with 25 schools and one of the participating schools. The analysis is based on thematic content and argumentative organization, and on critical situations and the potentials they entailed.
Findings
The study guides to the conclusions of the process of creative chain as a possibility to expand management in the educational system and its community.
Research limitations/implications
Every time there is a change in the mayors, there are changes in the way of addressing school management in the city. However, after the project, considerations about the needs of the communities became part of the public policy regardless of who is in charge of the city and its educational system.
Practical implications
This study can be used for transformation in the management and teaching and learning activities and improvement of the school-community relation.
Social implications
Socially this study can lead to improvement in the quality of life in the community and at school.
Originality/value
Differently from a top down educational management, which enables a reproductive chain, educational management in a creative chain, considering the community needs, enables subjects to become interdependent to expand and transform the activities in the educational system and hence the communities’ reality.
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Ritimoni Bordoloi, Prasenjit Das and Kandarpa Das
Lifelong learning needs to be visualized as the milestone for generating a progressive and knowledge society. Because it is through lifelong learning that one can continuously…
Abstract
Purpose
Lifelong learning needs to be visualized as the milestone for generating a progressive and knowledge society. Because it is through lifelong learning that one can continuously upgrade one's knowledge and acquire the relevant skills for getting livelihood opportunities. Moreover, for ensuring a sustainable and advanced society in the 21st century industrial setup, people are desirous to receive a global form of learning as they tend to follow the principle, that is, “earning while learning”. In this context, the various types of online courses, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Resources (OERs) provide myriad opportunities to the people by introducing them to a global form of learning. Against this background, the introduction of MOOCs in India for providing lifelong learning opportunities might work in a big way. However, to what extent, can MOOCs promote the idea of lifelong learning in a vast country like India needs to be discussed in greater detail.
Design/methodology/approach
While writing the paper, descriptive research methodology has been used. The sources such as Report of Census 2011, Human Development Report 2016, 2018, Economic Survey 2016 are also consulted. Analysis has been done based on the data extracted from the secondary source of information.
Findings
The literature review made in the paper implies that the educational institutes across India may adopt some of the good national and international practices for transforming the society and produce some need-based MOOCs under the SWAYAM platform with regard to providing opportunities of lifelong learning. Thus, the courses run through SWAYAM should help in achieving the three cardinal principles of the Indian Education – access, equity and quality. However, there are many challenges to be met while the adoption and development of MOOCs for the purpose of lifelong learning in India are taken into consideration. The current modes and popularity of digitally offered education in India thus need to be justified.
Research limitations/implications
The discussions made in the paper are limited to a reference to the Indian MOOCs particularly under SWAYAM, and it is a general study only.
Practical implications
It is important to note that a new kind of transformation is currently being initiated across the world by encouraging more and more online interventions in the field of education. In fact, various studies are also being conducted on the implementation of online courses across the world, particularly in the developed countries where more than 70% education is delivered online. However, in a country like India, the practical utility or the implementation of the online courses such as MOOCs is not so popular even at present, and it is only limited to a small section of the society. The University Grants Commission (UGC) with a view to promoting CBCS as well as Credit Transfer made 20% course delivery through MOOCs mandatory in Indian higher education. However, the CBCS system itself has several loopholes considered in the Indian context, as it was launched without sufficient ground work, and no one seems to have a clear idea of its implementation method. The UGC's move was to introduce a system of education that would help in bringing parity of Indian higher education with Western or European higher education systems. This paper shall try to imply how the Indian MOOCs should be used in providing lifelong learning opportunities to the people of the country.
Social implications
This paper refers to a new social constructivism initiated through MOOCs, where a learner can directly interact with the people in the community, share their own ideas and thoughts and collectively undertake new researches. This is sure to transform the Indian society in the days to come, although a study on the usefulness of the existing MOOCs is of utmost necessity
Originality/value
This paper reiterates the necessity of a detailed study of the available MOOCs in India based on the findings of the common problems and challenges of MOOCs development and implementations that need to be resolved first. Then the paper provides an analysis of this situation so that one could develop or adopt a MOOC in order to meet one's need of lifelong learning in a country like India.
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Michelle Heyman, Megan Ledoux Galligan, Giselle Berenice Salinas, Elizabeth Baker, Jan Blacher and Katherine Stavropoulos
Professionals working with community populations are often presented with complicated cases where it is difficult to determine which diagnosis or diagnoses are appropriate…
Abstract
Purpose
Professionals working with community populations are often presented with complicated cases where it is difficult to determine which diagnosis or diagnoses are appropriate. Differentiating among neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability can be a complex process, especially, as these disorders have some overlapping symptoms and often co-occur in young children. This series of case studies aims to present commonly overlapping symptoms in children who present to clinics with developmental concerns.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents three case studies that were completed at a free community ASD screening clinic in Southern California.
Findings
The case studies have common presenting behaviors and symptoms (e.g. social communication difficulties) that often co-occur across diagnoses; explanations for the final diagnoses are given in each case.
Research limitations/implications
Conclusions from these three cases cannot generalize to all children being seen in clinics for neurodevelopmental concerns.
Practical implications
This series of case studies highlights commonly overlapping symptoms in children who present for differential diagnosis with social and/or behavioral concerns. Implications for educational placement and intervention are discussed.
Social implications
These cases highlight the challenges involved in the differential and dual diagnostic process for young children with developmental concerns. Diagnostic considerations can affect later educational placement and opportunities for socialization.
Originality/value
This series of case studies provide practical information for clinicians about how to effectively differentiate between commonly occurring neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly given recent changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5).
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Yam B. Limbu, Marta Giovannetti and Silvio Cardinali
The main objective of this study is to assess the applicability and robustness of the information motivation behavioural skills (IMB) model in determining dietary supplement usage…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this study is to assess the applicability and robustness of the information motivation behavioural skills (IMB) model in determining dietary supplement usage of pregnant and breastfeeding women. More specifically, we examine the indirect effects of online social capital and internet use for health information on dietary supplement usage through self-efficacy and the moderating role of educational attainment.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 415 pregnant and breastfeeding Italian women using a self-administered questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested using Hayes's (2013) PROCESS macro for SPSS.
Findings
Internet use for health information is directly associated with dietary supplement usage. Online social capital and internet use for health information positively influence dietary supplement usage through self-efficacy. However, the results from moderated mediation analyses show that the mediation effects are moderated by educational attainment so that indirect relationships were stronger among women with a lower level of education than among those with a higher level of education.
Practical implications
Dietary supplement marketers and public health agencies can develop and implement dietary supplement promotional materials and interventions by disseminating information through the internet and social media and by strengthening social ties on online networking sites.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the use of the IMB model as a theoretical framework to examine the mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating role of education in explaining the mechanism of how online social capital and internet use for health information influence dietary supplement usage.
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Lyndon Lim and Wenjin Vikki Bo
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an English Proficiency (EP) programme and its efficacy with respect to students' academic performance in a university within a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an English Proficiency (EP) programme and its efficacy with respect to students' academic performance in a university within a multi-lingual context, as the programme had been in effect for some years.
Design/methodology/approach
A quasi-experimental approach was used to study the efficacy of an EP programme in a university within a multilingual context. Data across two academic years were used, along with regression discontinuity design.
Findings
Results suggest that the EP programme had a significant and positive intervention effect on students' initial semester grade point average. The programme effect size was found to be medium to large.
Research limitations/implications
It might be useful to extend the study for one more year for more concrete conclusions. As the study was anchored upon the structure of the 2016 EP programme, any major curricular/structural change to the programme warrants another study.
Practical implications
This study demonstrated that the implementation of EP programmes in higher education institutions is essential not only for international students who are foreign language speakers of English but also for domestic students in English-speaking countries, especially for bi/multilingual speakers.
Originality/value
Previous studies related to the efficacy of EP within higher education have focused on international students who speak English as an additional/foreign language. Further, most studies have focussed on students' self-reported experiences and have yielded disparate findings. This study contributes to scholarship as it addresses the under-researched area related to domestic students who speak English as the first language in a bi/multi-lingual context.
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Lisa Rogers, Aoife De Brún, Sarah A. Birken, Carmel Davies and Eilish McAuliffe
Implementing change in healthcare is difficult to accomplish due to the unpredictability associated with challenging the status quo. Adapting the intervention/practice/program…
Abstract
Purpose
Implementing change in healthcare is difficult to accomplish due to the unpredictability associated with challenging the status quo. Adapting the intervention/practice/program being implemented to better fit the complex context is an important aspect of implementation success. Despite the acknowledged influence of context, the concept continues to receive insufficient attention at the team-level within implementation research. Using two heterogeneous multidisciplinary healthcare teams as implementation case studies, this study evaluates the interplay between context and implementation and highlights the ways in which context influences the introduction of a collective leadership intervention in routine practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The multiple case study design adopted, employed a triangulation of qualitative research methods which involved observation (Case A = 16 h, Case B = 15 h) and interview data (Case A = 13 participants, Case B = 12 participants). Using an inductive approach, an in-depth thematic analysis of the data outlined the relationship between team-level contextual factors and implementation success.
Findings
Themes are presented under the headings: (1) adapting to the everyday realities, a key determinant for implementation success and (2) implementation stimulating change in context. The findings demonstrate a dynamic relationship between context and implementation. The challenges of engaging busy healthcare professionals emphasised that mapping the contextual complexity of a site and adapting implementation accordingly is essential to enhance the likelihood of successful implementation. However, implementation also altered the surrounding context, stimulating changes within both teams.
Originality/value
By exposing the reciprocal relationship between team-level contextual factors and implementation, this research supports the improved design of implementation strategies through better understanding the interplay and mutual evolution of evidence-based healthcare interventions within different contexts.
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