Understanding the Recovery Process in Psychosis

Conceptualizing recovery in the context of severe and persisting mental health conditions is a complex issue. In recent years, there has been a call to re-focus research from understanding the concept of recovery to improving understanding of the process of recovery. There is a paucity of knowledge about the core processes involved in recovery from psychosis. Objective: The authors aimed to gain insight into possible processes involved in recovery through analyzing data generated from a large qualitative study investigating employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. Research Design and Methods: Participants were 137 individuals drawn from six key stakeholder groups. Data obtained from focus groups (14) and individual interviews (34) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The main recovery processes identified were: learning effective coping strategies; recognizing personal potential; identifying and realizing personal goals; participation in social and occupational roles; positive risk-taking; and reclaiming personal identity. Discussion: The results of this study have implications for treatment as well as the daily support needs of people recovering from psychosis

Field guide for didymo DNA sample collection

This protocol is designed for work in two-person teams for both safety and to maximise sample integrity

Application Profile Development for Consortial Digital Libraries: An OhioLINK Case Study

In 2002, OhioLINK’s consortia of libraries recognized the need to restructure and standardize the metadata used in the OhioLINK Digital Media Center as a step in the development of a general purpose digital object re-pository. The authors explore the concept of digital object repositories and mechanisms used to develop complex data structures in a cooperative environment, report the findings and recommendations of the OhioLINK Data-base Management and Standards Committee (DMSC) Metadata Task Force, and identify lessons learned, ad-dressing data structures as well as data content standards. A significant result of the work was the creation of the OhioLINK Digital Media Center (DMC) Metadata Application Profile and the implementation of a core set of metadata elements and Dublin Core Metadata Element Set mappings for use in OhioLINK digital projects. The profile and core set of metatadata elements are described

Newsletters: Treasures or Trash? Parenting Newsletter Series Results in Positive Behavior Changes

The study discussed here was designed to learn if parents of kindergarten children would report a change in parenting behavior based on reading parent education newsletters. The study was done in a rural area where valued face-to-face parenting education is often impossible, given the current norm of parent\u27s lifestyles and the climate of Extension cost restrictions. The study used a post and then pre questionnaire with a sampling of parents. The study concluded that parents of kindergarten children read the newsletters and changed parenting behavior practices, thus validating the use of newsletters as a parent education tool for this audience

Perspectives on recovery in psychosis

This paper explores the concept of recovery in relation to people living with psychosis. Previous studies have examined recovery from the perspectives of clinicians and people living with psychosis. This article examines perceptions of recovery among multiple stakeholder groups. Research Design and Method: The study used data from a large Australian qualitative study which investigated employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. The sample comprised 137 participants drawn from six key stakeholder groups: people living with psychosis; care-givers; health professionals; employers; employment consultants; and community members. Data gathered during 14 focus groups and 31 individual interviews were imported into NVivo 10 and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Five themes were identified in relation to the perceived meaning of recovery in psychosis: symptomatic relief; a contented life; a meaningful life; a contributing life and functional improvement. Conclusions: The findings highlight the diverse perceptions that exist among stakeholders regarding what constitutes recovery in psychosis

Evidencing the development of distributed leadership capacity in the quality management of online learning environments (OLEs) in Australian higher education

The poster will present findings from the first year of a two-year nationally funded Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project, Building distributed leadership in designing and implementing a quality management framework for Online Learning Environments undertaken by Deakin University, Macquarie University, University of South Australia, University of Southern Queensland and RMIT University. The project is running over 2011-2012. This project aims to design and implement a framework that uses a distributed leadership approach for the quality management of Online Learning Environments (OLEs) in Australian higher education. The distributed leadership approach enables the development of the framework and in turn contributes to its implementation. The framework is the vehicle for building leadership capacity. The national project team itself represents a broad range of educational, technical and managerial expertise