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This systematic review paper aims to investigate seasonal ambient change’s impact on the incidence of falls among older adults.

The population, exposure, outcome (PEO) structured framework was used to frame the research question prior to using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis framework. Three databases were searched, and a total of 12 studies were found for inclusion, and quality appraisal was carried out. Data extraction was performed, and narrative analysis was carried out.

Of the 12 studies, 2 found no link between seasonality and fall incidence. One study found fall rates increased during warmer months, and 9 of the 12 studies found that winter months and their associated seasonal changes led to an increase in the incidence in falls. The overall result was that cooler temperatures typically seen during winter months carried an increased risk of falling for older adults.

Additional research is needed, most likely examining the climate one lives in. However, the findings are relevant and can be used to inform health-care providers and older adults of the increased risk of falling during the winter.

Prisoners have poorer oral health than the general population. Good oral health is essential for both social and physical well-being. For prisoners, poor oral health is also related to drug use after release, whereas good oral health is related to successful reintegration into society. The purpose of this study was twofold: to examine the effect of an intervention based on motivational interviewing (MI) on prisoners’ oral health-related behavior and to assess if the intervention is a good fit for this population.

In total, 16 prisoners in a Norwegian prison were offered a brief MI-based intervention focusing on changing their oral health-related behavior. An oral examination was also performed and the prisoners received a small package containing oral hygiene aids. Two weeks later, a second oral examination and a semi-structured interview were conducted to explore the effect of the intervention and examine the prisoners’ responses to the intervention. Qualitative data analyzes were guided by thematic analysis.

The findings indicate that the intervention had positive effects on both the prisoners’ motivation to use oral health-related behavior and their performance of oral health-related behavior. The findings also indicate that the intervention was well adapted to the target population.

This is one of the first studies that explore the effect of an intervention in improving prisoners’ oral health and bridges a knowledge gap in the literature. The findings may increase the understanding of how dental services should be organized and offered to provide dental health care to this vulnerable group.

As neoliberal reforms take hold in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, there is renewed interest in the quality of teaching practice. However, despite the value of practitioner inquiry to the quality of teaching in schools, scholarly practice in higher education, and established links between the quality of teaching and outcomes for learners and between practice-based inquiry and pedagogic innovation in VET, the practices has received little attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of a college-wide culture of scholarly activity to learners, enterprises, VET institutions, educators and the national productivity agenda.

Drawing on the education literature, empirical examples of scholarly activity drawn from the authors’ experiences of working with VET practitioners, this paper asks what constitutes research and inquiry in VET, why should these practices be integral to educative practice and what value do they bring to the sector? In addressing the questions, the authors explore how research and inquiry is defined in the literature and draw on three empirical examples of scholarly activities to provide a national, institutional and individual view. A discussion about the value of scholarly activities to VET stakeholders and how the practices might be fostered and sustained concludes the paper.

The paper concludes that practice-based scholarly activities in VET cultivate rich potential for renewed and innovative pedagogies that improve outcomes for learners, respond to industry demands for innovative skills, build “pedagogic capital” for VET institutions, enrich the knowledge base of policy makers and build resilience and professionalism. The authors conclude by positioning VET educators as scholars in their own right along a continuum of scholarly activity and posing the proposition that when valued, scholarly activities are practices for new times that will build a strong and vibrant profession for the future.

This paper brings together the authors’ experiences of working with VET practitioners as the authors engage in scholarly activities. While each vignette was drawn from a formal research project in each case, the paper itself was not structured around a formal research activity, although a small survey was undertaken for vignette 1. This poses limitations to the findings of the study. However, the purpose of the paper is not to be conclusive but to forward an argument for more scholarly activity in VET in order to promote further research and debate.

This paper contributes to the current debate in Australia about the quality of teaching in VET and the sectors’ capability to produce “work-ready” graduates. It brings to the fore the value of scholarly activity for educators, learners, industry and communities, VET institutions and the broader national innovation agenda. As such, it has relevance to all VET stakeholders, most particularly policy makers, leaders and practitioners in VET.

There has been increasing recognition that alcohol may be a source of problems for older people. This has been reflected in the increase in alcohol‐related hospital admissions for people over 65. Although a neglected area in policy and research within the UK, studies from health and social care practice have drawn attention to the complexity of the issues for practitioners. This paper seeks to report on qualitative research which aims to generate a wider evidence base by exploring the circumstances in which older people drink; the meaning that drinking alcohol has for them and its impact; and acknowledging that this can be a pleasurable and positive experience, as well as something that can have adverse health, financial, personal and interpersonal impacts.

A major challenge of the research, given the sensitive nature of the topic, was how to approach older people and ask about their experiences of alcohol use. A participatory methodology was developed in which older people were actively involved in designing and carrying out the research. Older co‐researchers conducted 21 individual interviews and three focus groups with a diverse range of older research participants from different backgrounds and circumstances.

The findings indicate that participants engaged in different drinking styles which are connected to complex relationships between individual biographies, personal circumstances and external factors. Recommendations for practice and policy development are made on the basis of these findings.

This is a sensitive topic involving stigma and practitioners have highlighted issues around lack of training and appropriate referral services as well as difficulties in approaching the topic with older people. In addition, there is a tension in the drive to promote service users' rights to have choices and the question of whether to intervene if those choices involve risky behaviour. Even less is known about the perspectives of older people themselves and more research is needed to understand the social, cultural and economic contexts of older people's drinking behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate those teaching and learning factors that either hindered or encouraged preservice teacher participants to succeed in their first year of study. The impact of administrative support alongside pedagogical styles that facilitated a sense of engagement for first year preservice teachers is also discussed.

This research builds on the work of Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot’s use of “portraiture” to “capture the complexity and aesthetic of human experience” (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Hoffmann Davis, 1997, p. 4). The use of portraits as a tool for creating a first year student narrative, rich in its canvas of human emotions, is central to the work that follows. Qualitative data that were gathered in this research project are presented.

The portraiture methodology in this paper enabled the researchers to capture a sense of belonging for first year university students that involved more than procedural matters, orientation events and attendance at information sessions.

These portraits draw wider attention to transition and retention matters beyond considerations of “who our students are” and illustrate how engagement and belonging are enhanced by how these students are engaged by skilful and knowledgeable tutors and group work and collegial approaches to the course.

Portraiture methodology enabled a more nuanced form of viewing “belonging” and “engagement” of these preservice teachers through more personalised forms of engagement with tutors, the development of groups and the practicum placement.

Instructional leadership is a major part of the responsibility of principals who achieve promising results in school improvement. This paper aims to explore the inhibiting factors for instituting instructional leadership in elementary schools located in rural areas in Israel.

The participants of this qualitative study were a diverse sample of 64 rural school principals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis proceeded in a three-stage process that involved condensing, coding and categorizing.

This study revealed that rural principals refrain from practicing instructional leadership because of two specific inhibiting factors: relationships within the community, which make it difficult for them to implement a school leadership policy that includes monitoring and control and characteristics of parents, who disagree with the instructional leadership's emphasis on learning and achievement.

The findings of this reinforce argument that propose context as an under-used theoretical lens for understanding differences in principals' practices across different contexts.

The purpose of this research is to account for the internationalization of restaurants. The conceptual framework of upper echelons theory is applied to identify the demographic determinants of internationalization among chief executive officers (CEOs).

Data from 30 restaurant firms for the period 1999-2013 were collected from a variety of sources, primarily Compustat and Execucomp, based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 5812, the annual 10-K and public information. A panel feasible generalized least squares model was used as the main instrument of analysis.

The findings indicate that the CEO gender and share ownership negatively affect the internationalization of restaurant companies, whereas size, the extent of franchising, the type of restaurant and stock options positively affect the degree of internationalization. Additionally, an inverted U-shaped relation exists between CEO tenure and the degree of internationalization.

The presented information may provide shareholders and boards of directors with valuable guidelines regarding the assignment of appropriate managers depending on the extent to which their companies are pursuing internationalization strategies.

Most studies in hospitality sectors have focused only on accounting-based measures to explain strategic decision-making, although proponents of upper echelons theory have argued that CEO attributes influence strategic decisions/changes. This study contributes to the literature on hospitality by identifying the effects of CEO characteristics on internationalization decisions.