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Re-imagining the Froebelian influence on early childhood education as a dynamic and ever-changing web of encounter
Get PDFFriedrich Froebel is often positioned in contemporary landscapes of early childhood education as a ‘pioneer’, strongly associated with an emphasis on self-directed activity and learning through nature. While Froebel’s philosophy has clearly had an impact on how we think about young children today, in this article we argue that we need to re-imagine what counts as Froebel’s influence so that it goes well beyond the sayings and doings of one individual. In line with this special issue, we seek to bewilder the concept of the pioneer (Snaza, 2013) by instead re-imagining Froebel’s influence as a dynamic and ever-changing web of encounter. In conceptualising this web of encounter, we think with Barad’s (2007) ‘entangled genealogies’ and introduce into working with these genealogies, the historical methods of prosopography and material histories of the book. Using digitised extracts from late 19th century texts by or about Froebel as a starting point, we attempt to present small parts of a web of encounter drawing in complex national, cultural, economic and material contexts, along with the contributions of multiple individuals, many of whom have been forgotten or side-lined. We argue that exploring and documenting Froebel’s influence in this way can support critical and lively reflection on the past, present and future of early childhood education
Prozesscontrolling in der Kunststoffrecycling-Branche – Möglichkeiten und Chancen für KMU durch Standardisierung und Tool-Support
No full textPlastics are omnipresent in our everyday life and offer various applications due to their diverse uses. In recent years, the discussion on how to deal with plastic waste has grown, especially concerning more sustainable use of resources, bringing concepts such as plastics recycling as a sub-sector of the circular economy further into focus.
This thesis examines the processes in mechanical plastics recycling of post-consumer waste and their systematic data collection and operationalisation. It aims to develop recommendations for research and industry to exploit the possibilities and opportunities through standardisation and tool support that less uncontrollable fluctuations in output occur through targeted process controlling, and the prices of recyclates will approximate those of primary plastics.
A systematic literature review on recycling, circular economy, processes, and their operationalisation presents the missing studies on the company level regarding process indicators in the plastics recycling industry. To close this gap, the researcher conducts problem-centred expert interviews with 18 experts from the industry. The focus is on the structure of the industry and its processes, the current systems of data collection and determination of key figures as well as current developments in the plastics recycling industry and the expert's assessment of their company's position compared to the rest industry. The researcher evaluates the interviews by content-structured qualitative content analysis established by Kuckartz.
Based on the results of the literature review and the expert interviews, the researcher develops recommendations for research and industry. The recommendations for research include carrying out future studies at the process level, support for the implementation of process controlling and measures to change the mindset in the plastics recycling industry. The recommendations for the industry include a rethink concerning dealing with competitors and key figures and concrete guidance for the gradual implementation of process controlling with automated evaluation of relevant process indicators.
Further studies should include individual case studies on implementing the process controlling developed in this thesis and, in connection with this, test its effectiveness. Furthermore, quantitative studies are needed to validate the qualitative results of the dissertation and accompanying studies on implementing the recommendations for action for research and industry
The agentic belonging workshop: a quasi-experimental evaluation of a social belonging intervention in two English universities
Get PDFGiven its close links to student success, universities are heavily invested in how they can positively influence their students’ sense of belonging. One approach to this is through social belonging interventions, where universities attempt to develop student agency. This study takes a quasi-experimental approach by evaluating the impact of a newly developed agentic belonging workshop at two English universities. One hundred and one first-year undergraduate students attended either this belonging workshop (36), a control study-skills workshop (27), or they attended neither workshop (38). Findings show that the agentic workshop led to significantly higher self-reported scores in understanding of belonging amongst attendees compared to non-attendees. Whilst changes in students’ sense of belonging was not significantly different across workshop groups, belonging workshop attendees were significantly more likely to continue into the second year of study compared to both control groups. This study contributes promising findings for how social belonging interventions can be taken forward within the higher education context in the United Kingdom
100 Women Architects: The Exhibition
No full textLeading industry voices, writers and academics Dr. Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder and Tom Ravenscroft, have garnered international plaudits for their eye-opening book 100 Women: Architects in Practice. Showcasing the largely overlooked stories of women currently making their mark in the architectural world, there have been launch events and press coverage for the book from Dubai to New York, Uzbekistan to South Africa.
Now, for the first time, they will make their findings tangible and accessible to the public through 100 Women Architects: The Exhibition. Geographically balanced to feature architects from 79 countries across six continents, the exhibition will amplify their voices, and projects will be illustrated by photos and rendered as simplified 3D paper models, constructed by graduates from London’s RCA Architecture programme, under the guidance of Interior Design MA tutor Steve Jensen.
These highlighted projects will show the breadth of innovative approaches to be found in every region of the world, from reinterpretations of indigenous building types that offer passively-sustainable solutions to local housing, such as Laura Narayansingh’s Bush House on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad; to organic, contemporary forms that sit sympathetically within the landscape, such as Rahel Shawl of RAAS Architecture’s Aga Khan award-winning Royal Netherlands Embassy, Addis Ababa, a red-ochre building that references the hewn rock churches of Lalibela.
The book explores “the different worlds, different forms of architecture and the place-sensitive approaches” each architect has taken to fulfill their vision through a series of insightful profiles and inspiring imagery, some of which will be on display in the gallery.
Over the past decade, awareness of the need for gender balance in architecture has gained traction. Within the profession, women remain underrepresented, underpromoted and underpaid. Through this RIBA publication and Roca exhibition, women’s contribution to the built environment is rightly acknowledged and celebrated.
In addition to a range of new names, visitors will also see works by established practitioners such as Liz Diller, Farshid Moussavi and Yasmeen Lari. Areas of common focus, identified by the authors across their research and discussed in the book’s introduction, will be highlighted, including: practice innovation; care and connection; unpredictable participation; future place-making; and equity.
The team says: “Our aspiration is gender equity across all professions and disciplines. We wrote the book to play some part in increasing the visibility of architectural practitioners who all have the knowledge and talent to be a household name.
A systematic review of surgical site infection and wound complications in patients who received forced-air warm device during surgical procedures
No full textAim: The objective of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize available evidence on the impact of forced-air warming (FAW) on surgical site infection (SSI) and wound complications.
Method: We searched CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline and CENTRAL. The primary analysis included various eligible study types (e.g., RCTs, non-randomized trials, cohort studies) comparing Forced Air Warming (FAW) devices to other warming methods in adult patients (18 years and above) undergoing elective or emergency surgery. The focus was on outcomes related to surgical site infection, surgical wound contamination, and other complications like wound dehiscence and seromas.
Results / Discussion: Fourteen primary studies were included in this review, comprising nine RCTs, one non-RCTs and four observational studies published in English from 1996 to 2022. We conducted a meta-analysis of SSI rates in nine RCTs, and subgroup analyses of 30-day SSI and 90-day SSI rates. Our pooled analysis indicated that FAW is more effective in prevent hypothermia than non-FAW warming, a reduction of 53% in the odds of having post-surgery hypothermia compared to those patients without using FAW (Odds ratio=0.47, 95% CI 0.35-0.65, p<0.0001, I2 = 58%). There was insufficient evidence to definitely proof that using FAW devices leads to rise in SSIs among patients who had undergone surgical procedures.
Conclusion: Future larger sample size of multicentre well designed RCTs should focus on individual types of surgical specialties, with well documented patients’ characteristic data and anaesthetic method needed to support current practice in heterogeneous populations
Ep2: Stephen King on Making Things Happen [Podcast]
No full textEpisode 2 of the podcast: Making Things Happen with Hanisha Lalwan
Not quite a theory of everyone [Book review]
Get PDFA review of the Book
A Theory of Everyone: Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going
By Michael Muthukrishna, 2023.
Basic Books, London. UK. 439 pages.
ISBN 978-1-399-81063-0 (Hardback, UK £17.00, US$ 18.99
Change and continuity in Angami Naga traditional morality: a critical appraisal with special reference to Kenyű, Mhosho, and Thenyi
No full textThe Angamis are one of the tribes in Nagaland situated in the North Eastern part of India. This thesis studies Angami Naga traditional notions and concepts of morality and how contemporary Christians reconcile their understanding of traditional morality with Christian morality. This will be explored by looking at Angami kenyü and mhosho through which morality was prescribed in the pre-Christian Angami context. It sets out to examine the significance of kenyü and mhosho in guiding the moral life of the pre-Christian Angamis oriented by the value of ‘relationalism.’ It goes on to investigate how the competing value of ‘individualism’ surfaced with the introduction of Christianity. It then proceeds to investigate how contemporary Angami people live with these two values and how Christian and traditional moralities converge and diverge in the contemporary context.
The investigation is done by taking the ethnographic approach with Khonoma as the site for fieldwork. The data is collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and informal conversations. Although there may be other aspects of traditional morality, this thesis is limited to kenyü and mhosho as central to Angami traditional morality. The thesis demonstrates how these two values were practised in everyday lives and in the celebration of thenyi in the past and how they are practised in the contemporary context. This research provides the Angami Nagas with a broader perspective of their own contexts. This research contributes to the study of the Angami traditional morality and the interface between Christian values and traditional values in Angami Naga society
Examining the digital technology usage of older adults as determinants of life satisfaction in the digital divide
Get PDFThe digital divide has become a growing source of inequality, as older adults face challenges in adopting and using digital technologies in daily life. Few studies have explored how different types of digital technology usage in various life domains among older adults impact their overall well-being. This study addresses this gap by suggesting effective directions for reducing the cross-generational digital divide. To this end, it analyzed de-identified secondary data from 864 South Korean adults above 65 years, surveyed by the National Information Society Agency (NIA). The findings show that digital efficacy positively affects older adults’ life satisfaction, mediated by their perceptions of digital technology. Additionally, social networking through digital technology positively influences their life satisfaction through the same mediation. Our findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize the development of educational programs to improve digital efficacy and social networking, which will ultimately enhance older adults’ well-being
Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST): a cluster randomised controlled trial. Secondary analysis in those with elevated symptoms of depression
Get PDFBackground
Depression and anxiety are increasingly prevalent in adolescents. The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial investigated the effectiveness of a brief self-referral stress workshop programme for sixth-form students aged 16–18 years old.
Objective
This study conducted a secondary analysis on the outcomes of participants with elevated depressive symptoms at baseline.
Methods
This is an England-wide, multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a brief cognitive–behavioural therapy workshop (DISCOVER) compared with treatment-as-usual (TAU) (1:1). The primary outcome was depression symptoms (Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ)) at 6-month follow-up, using the intention-to-treat (ITT) population and analysed with a multilevel linear regression estimating a between-group adjusted mean difference (aMD). Cost-effectiveness, taking a National Health Service (NHS) and personal social services perspective, was explored using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).
Findings
Between 4 October 2021 and 10 November 2022, 900 adolescents at 57 schools were enrolled. 314 students were identified as having elevated symptoms of depression at baseline (>27 on MFQ). In this prespecified subgroup, the DISCOVER arm included 142 participants and TAU included 172. ITT analysis included 298 participants. Primary analysis at 6 months found aMD to be −3.88 (95% CI −6.48, –1.29; Cohen’s d=−0.52; p=0.003), with a similar reduction at 3 months (aMD=−4.00; 95% CI −6.58, –1.42; Cohen’s d=0.53; p=0.002), indicating a moderate, clinically meaningful effect in the DISCOVER arm. We found an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £5255 per QALY, with a probability of DISCOVER being cost-effective at between 89% and 95% compared with TAU.
Conclusions and clinical implications
DISCOVER is clinically effective and cost-effective in those with elevated depressive symptoms. This intervention could be used as an early school-based intervention by the NHS.
Trial registration number
ISRCTN90912799