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Using Neuro Dramatic Play (NDP) in schools with children and young people post Covid-19, developing positive attachments and good mental health
No full textThe effects of the global Pandemic of 2020 are likely to be with us for many years, we are thankful for the creation of effective vaccinations that have been used widely. However, the psychological and emotional fallout will also continue to be a difficulty for many school aged children and young people.
A whole generation of children and young people were locked away at home, in some cases for many months, away from their peers and friends. Some lived in difficult circumstance due to abuse, poor parenting or poverty and school can was a refuge and a safe space. It can also be equally traumatic for children and young people returning to school after months of isolation or starting school for the first time at the age of five; leading to a lack of confidence and anxiety issues around a deadly virus that has not completely gone away and the shock of being close to others. The impact of a lack of vital peer connections and play has been difficult for some. It may be many, many years before these anxieties and fears are managed effectively, if at all for some.
NDP is above all a pre-therapy creative arts and drama-based attachment model, created primarily for children and young people of all ages. This chapter will seek to consider the issues that will continue to affect pupils in school for many years to come. It will consider the adaptation of NDP approaches such as Embodiment, Projection, Role (EPR) to allow children to process potential anxieties and traumas from an attachment perspective; hopefully before they get to the stage where highly specialist mental health services need to step in to diagnose and medicate
Evidence from other healthcare professions to support the standardisation of clinical assessment in pre-registration education for diagnostic radiography: a systematic review
Full text linkIntroduction
This review aimed to gather, assess and synthesise the existing literature pertaining to the standardisation of clinical assessment tools in pre-registration education for competency-based healthcare professions, to inform the development of a standardised tool for clinical assessment in diagnostic radiography.
Methods
A systematic review based on searches in the British Education Index, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus and Embase, and APA PsycINFO & Psych Articles was performed in June and July 2024. Handsearching and reference mining was also conducted. Included studies were assessed for quality using the QuADs tool. A summary table was used to extract data and results were narratively synthesised.
Results
A total of 19,327 articles were found through electronic database searches. 34 studies met the predetermined inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Eighteen different standardised tools or frameworks were presented in the included papers. Studies reported on the process of standardising clinical and professional competencies, methods of standardising clinical assessment tools and the evaluation of standardised tools. There were also several papers which did not refer to specific tools or frameworks, but were reviews or opinion-based papers relevant to this review.
Conclusion
This review indicates that standardising clinical assessment for pre-registration diagnostic radiography students would align with what is happening in other healthcare professions globally. Although the quality of the included studies varied widely, there is a considerable amount to learn from the processes, methods and evaluations of previous standardisation attempts.
Implications for practice
This review brings valuable insight to the development of a national standardised clinical assessment tool for diagnostic radiography training. A standardised approach would support consistency and parity within and between placement settings in the UK, reducing the multiple tools some assessors are currently required to navigate. To support the design and creation of this clinical assessment tool, there is a need for a thorough consensus process to be carried out with key stakeholders, and rigorous ongoing evaluation and training
Insider Media roundtable: campus and community
No full textInsider Media Magazine hosted a round table discussion was held on how progressive universities are helping to drive economic growth, social development and skills in their communities. Dr Rhiannon Jones, Associate Professor (Civic Practice) Head of Civic and Communities was invited as a leader from the HE sector to look at how universities can be anchors for the community rather than isolated academic institutions. A report on the conversation was covered on the Insider Media webpage (www.insidermedia.com). Insider Media is the best-read business title in the UK region, with more than 250,000 unique users.
Guest participants were:
David Green, vice chancellor & chief executive, University of Worcester
Prashant Pillai, pro vice-chancellor (Research and Knowledge Exchange), University of Wolverhampton
Rhiannon Jones, Head of Civic and Communities, University of Derby
Rebecca Riley, deputy pro vice chancellor - regional engagement, University of Birmingham
Emily Keightley, associate pro-vice chancellor vibrant & inclusive communities, Loughborough University
Andrew Todd, director of regional engagement, University of Warwick
Dominic Swift, partner, Browne Jacobson
Helen Turner, director, Midlands Innovation University Partnership
Lauren Sherar, dean of School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University
Zo Hoida, partner, Browne Jacobson
Sponsored by Browne Jacobson https://www.brownejacobson.com
Leadership-as-Sentiments: An afrocentric perspective
No full textThis paper examines how sentiments shape perceptions and practices of leadership in 20 local community councils in four African nations: Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Theorizing emerged from data derived through interviewing, observation and historical culture analysis. Applying psychoanalytical discursive approaches and exploring through narrative encounter, microstoria and interpretation, findings indicate that sentiments is central to the conceptualization and practice of leadership in context. This makes reciprocity, respect, resilience, and representation essential for effective leadership. The sentiments perspective to leadership poses a challenge to the dominant focus on leader traits, behavior, and leader-follower dialogic dominant in mainstream accounts of leadership. The paper adds impetus to the new discourse on sentiments in leadership in cross-cultural leadership studies and locates avenues for future research
To what extent solid waste could be managed through intelligent approaches?
Full text linkWaste management has been considered as an antecedent of delivering environmental sustainability. However, the present conventional waste management approaches have several difficulties in addressing the significance of effectively managing solid waste to avoid health and environmental problems. Therefore, the present research aims to identify intelligent approaches to tackle the issue of managing solid waste. The present study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) through bibliometric and content analysis of 226 relevant articles using the Scopus database. The findings from the descriptive bibliometric analysis highlight the year-by-year publication trend, significant publication sources, affiliation statistics of various institutions, and an analysis of the corresponding author's nation. Furthermore, the content analysis offers three clusters based on artificial intelligence, machine learning techniques, and the Internet of Things. Also, based on the findings, the article provides a research framework to offer a thorough understanding of the use of different intelligent approaches in managing solid waste. This present research offers a thorough understanding of the impact of different intelligent approaches in managing solid waste. Also, the given research framework summarises and highlights how intelligent approaches are managing solid waste, and what will be the possible outcome in doing so
3D-printed hygroscopic matrices based on granular hydrogels for atmospheric water adsorption and on-demand defogging
Full text linkSorption-based atmospheric water harvesting is an emerging technology with great potential in clean water production, humidity management and passive cooling applications. Hygroscopic salt-embedded composites as porous aerogels and hydrogels represent intriguing 3D porous sorbents across a broad humidity range. However, none of the commonly used hygroscopic materials — including inorganic powders, organic polymers, and inorganic–organic hybrids — are inherently printable, limiting kinetics-enhancing strategies and application-specific use. Herein, hygroscopic 3D matrices are developed based on granular hydrogel-mediated direct-ink writing (DIW). Microgels cross-linked with percolating polymer networks synergistically improve printability and shape fidelity of the inks, enabling precise printing of previously unprintable hygroscopic composites. Hygroscopic 3D matrices with well-defined hierarchical porosity — spanning millimeter-scale lattice channels, micrometer-scale wrinkled surfaces, and nanometer-scale granular hydrogel assemblies — maximize surface areas and mass transporting pathways, enhancing sorption/desorption kinetics, structural durability and performance stability. Compared to hygroscopic aerogels, the hygroscopic matrix reduces raw material requirement by 53% and increases specific surface areas by 5.8-fold, leading to a 1.4-fold improvement in water uptake (2.85 g g−1). This work significantly broadens the applicability and versatility of hygroscopic materials through a microgel-mediated DIW approach, and shines light on 3D-printable hygroscopic matrices tailored for reliable and user-defined dehumidification and anti-fogging
School staffs’ experiences of supporting students’ social, emotional and mental health needs: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Full text linkSocial Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) is a growing concern in education, and school staff face mounting responsibility to provide support for students with complex SEMH needs. Although this is often detrimental to staff well-being, little is known about how they make sense of this responsibility. This study uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore school staffs’ experiences of supporting students with SEMH needs. The dataset comprises five semi-structured interviews with staff from state-schools in England, each with additional pastoral and inclusion responsibilities beyond standard teaching duties. The analytic process developed three themes: ‘working in a time of mounting SEMH crisis’, ‘working outside of limitations’ and ‘appreciating sources of motivation and hope’. The study highlights the complexities of providing SEMH support and the need to maintain a nuanced understanding of SEMH so that school staff are supported in recognising and responding to the breadth of difficulties that fall under this umbrella
Negative experiences of breastfeeding beyond the infancy age of one year in public – a deductive content analysis of a cross-sectional global sample
Full text linkBackground
The global recommendations of continuing breastfeeding for two years and beyond are not being realised. Barriers to breastfeeding beyond the infancy age of one year continue to be seen globally despite the recognition that facilitating it could prevent 823,000 child and 98,000 parent deaths every year. The visibility of breastfeeding in public, particularly for those who continue to breastfeed, is thought to be reducing and this in turn impacts public acceptability. However, research exploring women’s experiences breastfeeding in public typically focuses on newborns. Therefore, this study explores negative experiences of continuing breastfeeding, between the ages of 1 to < 2 years, in a global sample of participants.
Methods
A cross-sectional design via an online self-completed questionnaire was adopted to collect data from women, at one point in time, who had experience of breastfeeding a child between the ages of 1–2 years. Participants who had experienced a negative response were asked to share their experiences in a free text question. A content analysis was adopted to explore the information conveyed by the participants through the conceptualising of condensed broad category descriptions.
Results
There were 2,562 women who had a negative experience of breastfeeding in public places, 1,674 from five continents (Europe 994, America 948, Asia 51, Australia 161, Africa 20, Unknown 12) shared their experience. The findings present four categories: Unsolicited Opinion (56%), Judgemental (39%), Indecent Act (16%) and, Prohibited (7%). Commonly there were experiences of unwanted advice or being shamed and stigmatised to undermine breastfeeding practice. More zealous public reactions, such as implying child abuse, sexualising breastfeeding, or expressing shock and disgust were less common. The least likely to occur were experiences of being told to refrain from, move away or cover up.
Conclusions
The findings reaffirmed that there is a wider social stigma experienced by women breastfeeding beyond infancy in public. This highlights that women who continue to breastfeed are being shamed and blamed for their breastfeeding choices. More efforts are needed to address social and cultural challenges, with an increase in wider knowledge to support breastfeeding beyond infancy
Interoperability challenges in NATO’s risk management: Insights from procedural and conceptual analysis
Full text linkAlthough a cornerstone of NATO’s collective defence strategy, interoperability of risk management in military planning and decision-making remains largely underexplored. This paper examines the procedural interoperability of risk management within NATO’s doctrinal framework, key strategic documents, and operational-level standard operating procedures through the use of a bespoke four-quadrant model for mapping conceptual understanding, NATO’s own system for measuring degrees of interoperability, and two key challenges to the achievement of interoperability as set out in research by Saikou Y. Diallo and his colleagues. Findings reveal inconsistencies in risk conceptualization across NATO authoritative documents. A divide is highlighted between risk defined as a conceptual framework and risk defined prescriptively as a method of measurement. While NATO doctrine emphasizes procedural alignment in achieving interoperability, the findings reveal that this is not current practice. By integrating contemporary risk science and aligning risk management within NATO’s decision-making and planning processes, this study identifies pathways for enhancing procedural coherence. The paper argues that embedding risk management principles into NATO’s capstone doctrine and the two key doctrines for planning of operations and conducting operations, rather than creating standalone doctrine, offers a viable solution. This research contributes to the broader discourse on interoperability in military doctrine and risk science, offering practical insights for improving NATO’s operational effectiveness
Barriers to engagement in compassionate mind training as continued professional development
Full text linkObjectives
Compassionate mind training (CMT) is a burgeoning non-clinical well-being intervention, demonstrating moderate-to-large effects on health and well-being. However, less well researched are the barriers to engaging in CMT. This is important when considering the opt-in nature of continued professional development (CPD) and sustained engagement or otherwise.
Method
Four focus groups were conducted with 20 (3 male) consenting Objectives
Compassionate mind training (CMT) is a burgeoning non-clinical well-being intervention, demonstrating moderate-to-large effects on health and well-being. However, less well researched are the barriers to engaging in CMT. This is important when considering the opt-in nature of continued professional development (CPD) and sustained engagement or otherwise.
Method
Four focus groups were conducted with 20 (3 male) consenting participants, recruited from school staff of four schools who had undertaken the six-module CMT as part of their school’s mandatory CPD provision. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the focus group data, informed by the research question: “What are the barriers to accepting and engaging in CMT as continuous professional development?”.
Results
Four themes were identified. Beliefs and preconceptions about compassion and CPD; diversity of perspectives about science, evolution and practical programme content; evaluation of programme requirements, demands, and benefits; and emotional challenges and boundaries. Participants came with preconceptions about CPD and mindfulness/compassion, which influenced attitudes towards initial engagement. A key barrier here was the juxtaposition between compassion toward others and permission for self-compassion. Sustained engagement related to perceived costs and benefits of the programme in terms of time, learning, application, and emotional experience or vulnerability. A positive finding was the realisation that small behavioural changes can result in substantial benefits.
Conclusions
Findings can be used to tailor CMT interventions to ensure greater opt-in and sustained engagement. This is important in circumventing a “Matthew effect” in education — that those who could benefit most from compassion and/or mindfulness well-being CPDs are least likely to enroll.
Preregistration
This study was not preregistered