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Arts-integrated social studies projects can provide meaningful learning about another culture; yet, they are rare in the current assessment-focused climate. Similarly, students are under-exposed to projects that involve spatial reasoning; nonetheless, this skill is important in everyday life and the workplace. This article describes a mixed-methods study of 65 (59 female, 6 male) pre-service elementary teachers in a social studies methods course reflecting on their participation in an African mask-making project with first and second graders that incorporated both arts integration and spatial reasoning. Pre-service teachers identified discussion with others, example masks and images, and taking time as the most helpful mask-making strategies. Most preservice teachers thought they would (42%) or possibly would (32%) implement mask making with their future elementary students because of deep, meaningful learning and active engagement they experienced and observed during the project. The authors concluded that pre-service teachers need multiple experiences with long-term arts-integrated projects that support the development of spatial skills to be confident enough to undertake them in their future classrooms and suggest that such projects be part of social studies methods courses.

Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the United States at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic created entrepreneurial opportunities for sewists and makers. In the United States in March and April 2020, masks were not readily available to the general public from existing retailers and PPE for medical use was being rationed for healthcare workers. Sewists and crafters, professionals and amateurs alike, began making and selling and/or donating masks. For individuals with sewing skills and time, sewing and selling masks became a lifeline financially, personally, and socially. To understand the experiences of people who made and distributed handmade masks during the early months of the pandemic in the United States, an interdisciplinary team developed an online cross-sectional survey instrument using a qualitative-dominated approach with both open and closed questions. This chapter explores themes identified from a sample of 94 participants, predominantly female-identifying, who created an enterprise or added a product line to an existing business. The sample includes individuals who did not identify as a ‘creative entrepreneur’ prior to the pandemic but did identify as an entrepreneur after starting a mask-making venture. Informed by entrepreneurship literature, the authors observed that these nascent entrepreneurs articulated recognisable motivations for social entrepreneurship, showed signs of pre-existing entrepreneurial mindsets, and employed business models and marketing tactics of entrepreneurs, largely without any business training. Implications for the study include increased recognition of latent entrepreneurial readiness, interest of women in social entrepreneurship, and higher levels of business knowledge among women than previously recognised.

The Science Research Council has opened a mask‐making facility at the Rutherford Laboratory based on the EBMF‐2 Electron Beam Microfabricator. Ancillary equipment designed to support the EBM resolves features down to 1 micron or below. The paper discusses the principles, design parameters and the performance of the EBM and outlines mask manufacturing procedure.

Present and future development of laser processing as a production technique for modifying semiconductor devices, improving yields, and decreasing development times are described. Current applications covered include thick‐ and thin‐film resistor trimming, deposited film and polysilicon resistors on silicon trimming and redundant memory repair. Emerging applications include microcircuit mask making and capacitor trimming. Examples of processes still under development include selective annealing, minority‐carrier lifetime doping, and device diagnostics by laser imaging.

This study of 65 elementary school teacher candidates enrolled in social studies methods classes examined attitudes toward currently contentious curriculum issues before and after participation in a practicum experience teaching an arts-integrated unit on Africa. These curriculum issues included arts-integrated project-based learning versus narrower skill-based lessons; the importance of creativity, leadership, organizational, and affective skills; and student-centered versus teacher-centered instruction. Attitudes were measured by teacher candidates placing themselves on each of ten continuums between endpoints representing opposing curriculum approaches and responding to open-ended questions. Statistically significant pre-post differences with medium effect sizes occurred on three of the continuums indicating that teacher candidates now placed greater value on arts-integrated curricula to teach social studies content; recognized that choice motivates students; and expressed more enjoyment of planning complex, long-term, student-centered projects. They recognized deep conceptual learning and engagement of elementary school students during the student-centered arts-integrated lessons but noted that the time and effort of complex project work were barriers to implementation. Social studies methods teachers need to involve teacher candidates in field experiences that offer authentic arts- integrated student-centered project work to allow them to adopt curriculum stances not experienced as elementary school students.

Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, working in partnership with leading health science centers in Toronto, Ontario, has developed a unique second-degree entry Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program called the Scholar Practitioner Program. This program is a response to the increasing demand for nursing programs which builds on prior university learning.

The program uses an educational model based on narrative inquiry and cognitive apprentice pedagogies. Narrative inquiry pedagogy is the overarching philosophical framework of the program, which embraces values that connect teachers and learners. A spirit of inquiry is cultivated in every student and a research culture embedded in the student’s practice.

The six-semester two-year full-time program occurs in a learner-driven environment which shapes how specific semester program objectives are met. A strong emphasis is placed on experiential learning within the Toronto-based academic health sciences centers.

A continuous interactive process involving teachers and learners encourages self-directed learning and participant accountability. Application of knowledge and skills in a professional, caring, and holistic manner is expected. This type of undergraduate learning environment which includes immersion in the employment milieu enables the future scholar practitioner to be relevant in the evolving profession of nursing.

Involvement in creative practice is commonly regarded as “therapeutic” but what is actually meant by this and how does this work promote social inclusion and mental well-being, particularly when performed in a group setting? Drawing on the findings of a research project called Clay Transformations (AHRC), the purpose of this paper is to consider these questions. The project involved running a series of clay workshops aimed at people with experience of mental health service use and those who work with them.

In order to explore the significance of art involvement to people who use mental health services, qualitative research findings are presented. These are then linked to relevant literature in order to consider the way in which workshop participation helped to promote social inclusion and mental well-being.

Many benefits were gained from workshop attendance deriving from involvement in the process and the outcome of art creation. These benefits were enhanced by the group context in which the work took place and the mutual support and interaction arising from this group membership.

The recognition of the therapeutic value of creative practice has been accompanied by the emergence of the notion of “mutual recovery” which extends the concept of recovery beyond an individualised focus. The positive findings of this project uphold these developments and suggest that mental health practice should address the wider social contexts that can facilitate the promotion of mental well-being.

Social enterprises (SEs) have experienced unprecedented uncertainty due to COVID-19, and it has challenged the fundamental assumptions underlying the SEs. Little is known about the strategic response of SEs when their fundamental characteristics are being challenged. The purpose of this paper is to explore – how do SEs respond to a crisis caused by the pandemic?

This paper adopts a case study approach and reports the response strategy of impulse social enterprises (ISE) from India. Data were collected through interviews, Webinars and organizational reports. To analyze the data, the authors examined the fundamental assumption on SE that was challenged by the pandemic.

The response strategy of ISE is driven by social and substantive rationality focusing on the relationship with the community and doing what is good for them. The role of communication was vital in gathering support and resources to continue with their function. ISE adapted a mindset of mission agility and created an alternative market for its product.

This study highlights the response strategy of SE in an emerging economy like India, which experienced one of the stringent lockdowns. It is probably one of the few studies that examined the responses of SE under a crisis that challenged their fundamental attributes by adopting the framework of Bacq and Lumpkin (2021).

Creative entrepreneurship is a vital concept that revolves around setting up a business that is novel, thoughtful, lucrative, and yet compassionate. The global pandemic has made people realise the significance and importance of creative entrepreneurship. Self-help groups (SHGs) play a pivotal role in boosting the rural economy and empowering people. Rural creative entrepreneurship has witnessed a significant transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conventional concepts vanished due to the modern shift towards digitisation. Usage of the technology became the new normal and SHGs made all possible efforts to acclimatise promptly. Online virtual meetings, conference calls, and groups on WhatsApp made common people techno-savvy, facilitating work from home. The adoption of digitisation became a catalyst for the development of remote/rural areas. The present study is focused on the role of creative entrepreneurship in supporting and helping SHGs to function seamlessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors aimed at analysing pandemic and post-pandemic creative entrepreneurship through SHGs in Himachal Pradesh (India). The authors identify that Creative Entrepreneurship initiatives have changed and supported the livelihood of rural people during the pandemic. This chapter also highlights challenges faced by the SHGs during the lockdown and their resilience strategies.