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Chapter 3: The child as consumer in the early years
No full textThis chapter will take as its focus the youngest children in contemporary society in England and consider their position as consumers of Early Childhood Care and Education. The arenas of both childcare and early education have been subject to frequent and significant change over the past many decades as policy-makers endeavour to increase provision and improve quality in childcare and to improve educational outcomes across both provisions
The Role of Physiotherapy Extended Scope Practitioners in Musculoskeletal care with Focus on Decision Making and Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
No full textObjective
Physiotherapy extended scope practitioner (ESP) roles are widely utilized in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. The present article reviews the current literature, with particular emphasis on the decision‐making process, patient/clinician interaction and clinical outcomes.
Methods
A systematic review of musculoskeletal extended scope practice was carried out. The review focused on the outcome of interventions, and the interactions and decision‐making processes between ESPs and their patients. A wide search strategy was employed, through multiple databases, grey literature and experts in the field. Qualitative and quantitative studies alike were included and a mixed‐methods synthesis approach was undertaken in analysing the findings of included studies.
Results
A total of 476 articles were identified for inclusion, 25 of which (22 quantitative and three qualitative) meeting the criteria for full quality appraisal and synthesis. It was not possible to conduct a meta‐analysis owing to data heterogeneity. The results showed high patient satisfaction with the ESP role, support for ESP staff listing patients for orthopaedic surgery, a high positive correlation of decision making between ESPs and orthopaedic surgeons and evidence of a positive impact on patient outcomes. Qualitative themes reflected the importance of ESP clinical decision making and interpersonal skills and their role in patient education.
Conclusions
There is broad support for the physiotherapy ESP role and evidence of favourable outcomes from ESP intervention. Clinical decisions made by ESPs correlate well with those of medical colleagues, although there is a lack of detail explaining the ESP decision‐making process itself and the influences and mechanisms by which this occurs
The University as a Site of Socialisation for Sustainability Education
No full textThis chapter reports on an innovative approach to in-service teacher education focusing on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aimed at faculty in a UK university. Building on the underpinning philosophies that characterise sustainability education: participation, experiential learning and authenticity, a module on ESD was designed which at first flipped and then moved beyond the classroom. An online resource was developed to house the necessary declarative content which student-teachers accessed before the class. Class time was then spent within deliberative, dialogic and ‘walkabout’ learning spaces. These included a critically informed tour of the university campus and community exploring the ‘unseen university’, following energy and waste processes, evaluating accessibility and inclusivity and considering the university as an example of an organisation in transition. They also afforded the opportunity for student-teachers to meet key sustainability individuals from procurement, estates, marketing and finances, as well as curriculum champions and of course students themselves. Discussions took place in boiler rooms, on stairwells, in coffee shops and in parks. Following an action research strategy for change leadership, student-teachers collaboratively and critically dissected these experiences and negotiated assignments which were not only informed by these experiences but that sought to address specific sustainability needs identified on our journeying through the university as a manifold learning space. At the end of the course, student-teachers used the UNECE (Learning for the future: competencies in education for sustainable development. UNECE, Geneva, 2012) framework for Competences in Education for Sustainable Development to assess what had been learnt and where to focus ongoing CPD. The course has proved popular in its home institution and has been showcased as an example of good practice by the European Communion through their ‘Lifelong Learning Programme’ (Mader et al. in State of the Art report: mapping opportunities for developing education for sustainable development competences in the UE4SD partner countries. University Educators for Sustainable Development, Cheltenham, 2014)
Understanding the gender and ethnicity attainment gap in UK higher education
Get PDFIn recent years, the success rates of different groups of students in higher education have come under considerable scrutiny, with gender and ethnicity identified as key attributes predicting differential achievement of ‘good degrees’. A review of previous studies highlights the need for research which looks beyond ‘the deficit model’ to explain the attainment gap. This research used a mixed-methods approach to explore the academic and social experiences of students, as well as lecturers’ views on student achievement, in one UK University. Findings suggest that there are significant differences in motivation and confidence speaking English for different ethnic groups in this study, and a divergence in attendance and study time by gender – both of which may go some way to helping understand the gaps in attainment. In addition, male and BME students tended to overestimate their likelihood of achieving a good degree outcome, compared to other groups
Your Place or Mine: status and identity, space and place
Get PDFThis paper takes as its starting point an action research project which sought to reinvigorate a Research and Practice network whose members included both community-based practitioners and academic staff at a University College. It focuses particularly on one aspect of network functioning which emerged during the research process, that is the influence of the settings in which meetings were held; and uses Bourdieu's concept of habitus to discuss ways in which academic and community settings may have impacted on members' participation. The paper incorporates understandings of space and place taken from Massey (2005) alongside symbolic capital (Bourdieu 1989) in order to discuss some of the implications of socially relational space as experienced at meetings of this Research and Practice Network. It discusses network functioning in different settings (both face-to-face and virtual) and concludes with a consideration of the significance of academic spaces for members of the practitioner community
Humeral elevation reduces the dynamic control ratio of the shoulder muscles during internal rotation
Get PDFAbstract
Objectives
To determine the differences in the dynamic control ratio of the glenohumeral joint rotators, during internal rotation at 20° and 60° of humeral elevation in the scapular plan. Dynamic control ratio (DCR) is defined as the ratio between eccentric action of the lateral rotators and the concentric action of the medial rotators.
Design
A cross-sectional laboratory study.
Methods
Thirty asymptomatic participants (men n = 14, women n = 16, mean age = 29.4 ± 8.9 years, BMI: 24.1 ± 5.4) were tested. Peak torque generated by the concentric action of the MR and the eccentric action of the LR of the shoulder joint and the DCR were evaluated on the dominant arm using an isokinetic dynamometer at 20° and 60° of humeral elevation at a speed of 20°/s.
Results
There was a significant decrease in the DCR at 60° humeral elevation when compared to 20° humeral elevation (p 0.05).
Conclusions
The significant decrease in the DCR as a consequence of a decrease in the eccentric peak torque of the LR when the humerus is in a more elevated position suggests that the introduction of humeral elevation can be used as a progression for improving the eccentric action of the shoulder LR and subsequently the dynamic control of the shoulder
New Performance/New Writing
No full textContemporary theatre is going through a period of unparalleled excitement and challenge. Terms like 'postmodern' and 'postdramatic' have their own contested and defended histories, while notions of truth in verbatim theatre are open to serious critical challenge. Theatre writing can result in no words being spoken and nothing appearing on the page, and productions are stretching the boundaries of space, place and context like never before.
This revised and significantly expanded edition of New Performance/New Writing explores immersive and solo theatre, autoethnography, applied drama, performance writing, plot, story, narrative and devising. It presents an invaluable response to questions that arise from new theatre, prompting active reading that enhances classroom and workshop learning, and improves productivity in rehearsal.
Each chapter explores a key aspect of theatre study, while an extensive timeline of theatre events gives a broad overview of its evolution. Case studies on practitioners as diverse as Kneehigh, Punchdrunk, Mark Ravenhill and Forced Entertainment are scattered throughout the book, along with detailed suggestions for workshops, which encourage readers to test some of the book's ideas in practice
Gender perceptions and their impact when referring obese patients for exercise
Get PDFObesity trends in the UK have shown a steady increase over the past 20 years, yet differences have been identified in the uptake and adherence data for obese men and women attending exercise referral schemes (ERS). Moreover, evidence suggests that health professionals (HPs) may hold preconceived gender specific views about their patients and this has been identified as a potential barrier to male patients seeking help from their General Practitioners for chronic conditions. The aim of this paper is to examine the gender dynamics associated with health profession/patient interactions in relation to the uptake of an ERS for obese patients. The ERS in question was based in a Primary Care Health Centre in the South West of England. The respondent cohort comprised 12 patients (eight women, four men) aged 55–74 years and their six referring HPs (four women, two men). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and HPs over an eight month period and the data were analysed via a grounded theory approach. The study found that HP gender specific perceptions of their patients had an impact on the methods used to encourage patients to participate. HPs typically adopted a direct interactional approach with obese men and a more cautious approach with obese women. Irrespective of gender, male and female patients found being informed of their obesity difficult to accept. The paper concludes that there is a need for a degree of care to be taken when communicating such health concerns and that this kind of approach may lead to increased ERS attendance (and adherence) by men
