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How to Get Divorced in Medieval Tuscany: Women’s Agency and publica fama in Church Court Records (Pistoia, Late Thirteenth Century)
No full textJohn Gower: The Minor Latin Works
Get PDFA translation, with introductions, of the minor Latin works of John Gower
Practice and Recommendations for Universal Design for Learning in Occupational Therapy Client Education
Get PDFBackground: Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an educational framework that describes flexible approaches to teaching and learning, can be used to address problems related to limitations in health literacy in health care settings.
Methods: This exploratory observational study, using a web-based online survey, was undertaken to discern how occupational therapists use the principles of UDL in educating their clients and to determine if differences exist between degree type or practice settings and UDL implementation.
Results: Of the 147 respondents only 30.6% indicated prior awareness of UDL principles. The most frequently cited means of client engagement were displaying enthusiasm and emphasizing importance of content; the most frequently cited means of representation was providing verbal instructions, and the most frequent means of action and expression was observing client performance or demonstration.
Conclusions: There is a clear need to increase both academic preparation and continuing education of occupational therapists to implement evidence-based principles of UDL to address diverse client health literacy and facilitate positive health outcomes. Opportunities for increased UDL implementation are discussed, building on the commitment of current therapists to meet the needs of their clients
OSCEs’ Impact on Occupational Therapy Student Learning: Insights from Second- and Third-Year Focus Groups
Get PDFBackground: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are widely used in health programs to assess clinical skills. We present results of a qualitative study investigating occupational therapy students’ perceptions of OSCEs’ impact on their learning and readiness for clinical practice.
Method: Six second and six third year students in the University of Alberta’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program were interviewed in separate focus groups. Independent reviewers applied thematic analysis to the focus group transcripts to identify, analyze, and report themes in the data.
Results: Five themes were constructed from the data: from learning to action, transition to practice, stress, representativeness, and suggestions for improvement. Both cohorts perceived OSCEs as intensely stressful but ultimately beneficial to their learning, though third-years more readily identified stress as a catalyst for personal and professional growth. Further, both cohorts noted that OSCEs motivated them to practice clinical skills and constituted important stepping stones toward authentic practice, but the third-year students more frequently drew connections between the skills tested in their OSCEs and their confidence in working as occupational therapists.
Conclusion: OSCEs play an important role in forming students’ identities as clinicians in the making, supporting their continued use for formative assessment in MScOT programs
Exploring the Spiritual Alliance of Maintaining a 5-Acre Tropical Farm Through the Lens of Occupational Engagement
Get PDFLarge-scale commercial farmers and small scale “hobby” farmers engage in growing crops for subsistence and survival for themselves, their families, communities, and beyond. Their reverence and passion for farming make them good stewards of both community and world population nourishment. We suggest there may be a collective physical, emotional, and spiritual draw to farming that is interwoven with occupational engagement. Through a personal narrative approach, we reflect on the meaning and the work-focused occupation of farming and specifically how spirituality may be a guiding force that supports engagement despite seemingly insurmountable environmental and personal hardships. With an increasing interest in community practice as well as environmental and social sustainability, occupational therapy’s role in supporting the farming community is important to consider
Material Matters: A Comparative Analysis of Hand Immobilization Orthoses Using 3D-Printed, Thermoplastic, and Fiberglass Cast
Get PDFBackground: Orthosis fabrication is a widely used technique in occupational therapy, and there is growing evidence supporting the use of 3D printing in the fabrication of cost-effective orthotics. Nevertheless, further research is needed to enable informed decision-making when selecting appropriate orthotic materials.
Method: A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate the fabrication processes and final products of thumb immobilization orthosis made with three different materials from the fabricator’s perspective. Factors examined included the required equipment and materials, assessment of time and skills involved in the fabrication process, evaluation of ease of adjustment during fabrication, and objective measurements of functional outcomes.
Results: Among the different orthosis materials evaluated, the 3D-printed orthotic demonstrated the highest level of cost-effectiveness and replicability. However, it was also found to be the most time-consuming to fabricate, requiring a significant learning commitment and initial investment.
Conclusion: Thermoplastic may be better suited for functional orthoses, while fiberglass cast may be more appropriate for short-term and non-functional orthoses. It is crucial for fabricators to have a comprehensive understanding of orthotic materials and their properties to select the most suitable option based on the user\u27s specific condition and occupational requirements
Towards Addressing Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria: Rethinking Social Protection Strategies
No full textPoverty and inequality are major issues that fuel agitations and violent conflicts in Nigeria today. Although the Nigerian government continues to implement various social protection strategies, these have not been able to bridge the vast poverty and inequality gap in the country. This study examines social protection programs in Nigeria. It draws out observable challenges in the implementation of these programs and provides recommendations for improving social protection schemes in the country. The study adopts a qualitative historical analysis approach with data obtained from secondary sources. The study reveals that social protection schemes have largely failed to bridge the widening inequality gap due to major challenges such as low coverage, corruption and institutional deficits, poor targeting, monitoring and evaluation strategies, and lack of political commitment. To address these challenges, the article concludes by recommending that social protection should be more focused on skill acquisition; there should be good governance, adequate funding, wider coverage, and effective collaboration among stakeholders in managing social protection strategies
Learning to Facilitate English Language Discussion with Newcomers Using Visual Narratives
Get PDFThis self-study reports a teacher educator’s efforts to support college student tutors in facilitating English language discussions about a wordless picturebook with immigrant and refugee youth at a newcomer high school. Drawing on critical sociocultural theory and practice-based teacher education, the study reports how tutors adopted a new and unfamiliar pedagogical repertoire as they became more skilled discussion facilitators. The study documents support needed (and missing) for the college tutors to take up this skill. Additionally, the study reports the affordances of a particular wordless book, The Arrival, as a tool that college student tutors used in the process of learning to facilitate second language discussions that fostered English language development. Wordless picturebooks offer a fertile instructional context for significant talk to support English language development and a helpful context for practice-based teacher education about learning to facilitate student talk. Yet using them to foster discussion requires skill and support
The Effects of Cervical Cancer Diagnosis on Occupational Performance
Get PDFBackground: In the United States, it was predicted that approximately 13,960 new cases of invasive cervical cancer would be diagnosed in 2023 (American Cancer Society, 2023). The research question focused on identifying changes in occupational performance for patients with cervical cancer. The areas of occupational performance considered were activities of daily living, leisure, work, education, social participation, and mental health.
Methods: The respondents completed a cross-sectional, mixed methods Qualtrics survey. Likert scale questions captured the degree of functional impact of cervical cancer on the predetermined areas of occupational performance.
Results: Twenty-seven subjects (ages 18 to 70) fully participated in the survey. The most widely affected categories were psychosocial factors, such as mental health (100%), self-image (96.30%), body image (92.00%), self-confidence (74.07%), and energy levels (96.03%). However, all occupations from the categories of activities of daily living, rest and sleep, leisure, work, education, and social participation were reported to be impacted by cervical cancer.
Conclusion: Cervical cancer can have a significant impact on many areas of occupational performance. Health professionals should be aware of the potential decrease in occupational performance for those who are experiencing or who have experienced cervical cancer treatment
Hidden Opportunity: The advantages of synchronizing multiple knowledge bases
No full textThere are many advantages to synchronizing your knowledge bases that benefit your library. However, with reduced staff, the rapid changes across e-Resources, and working with multiple vendors, synching knowledge bases can seem daunting. Panelists will share why and how they chose to synchronize knowledge bases to support their library\u27s strategy