Conversation Therapy with People with Aphasia and Conversation Partners using Video Feedback: A Group and Case Series Investigation of Changes in Interaction

Conversation therapies employing video for feedback and to facilitate outcome measurement are increasingly used with people with post-stroke aphasia and their conversation partners; however the evidence base for change in everyday interaction remains limited. We investigated the effect of Better Conversations with Aphasia (BCA), an intervention that is freely available online at https://extend.ucl.ac.uk/. Eight people with chronic agrammatic aphasia, and their regular conversation partners participated in the tailored 8 week program involving significant video feedback. We explored changes in: (i) conversation facilitators (such as multi-modal turns by people with aphasia); and (ii) conversation barriers (such as use of test questions by conversation partners). The outcome of intervention was evaluated directly by measuring change in video-recorded everyday conversations. The study employed a pre-post design with multiple 5 minute samples of conversation before and after intervention, scored by trained raters blind to the point of data collection. Group level analysis showed no significant increase in conversation facilitators. There was, however, a significant reduction in the number of conversation barriers. The case series data revealed variability in conversation behaviors across occasions for the same dyad and between different dyads. Specifically, post-intervention there was a significant increase in facilitator behaviors for two dyads, a decrease for one and no significant change for five dyads. There was a significant decrease in barrier behaviors for five dyads and no significant change for three dyads. The reduction in barrier behaviors was considerable; on average change from over eight to fewer than three barrier behaviors in 5 minutes of conversation. The pre-post design has the limitation of no comparison group. However, change occurs in targeted conversational behaviors and in people with chronic aphasia and their partners. The findings suggest change can occur after eight therapy sessions and have implications for clinical practice. A reduction in barrier behaviors may be easier to obtain, although the controlled case series results demonstrate a significant increase in conversation facilitators is also possible. The rehabilitation tool is available online and video technology was central to delivering intervention and evaluating change

Vulnerability, Trust and the Accompaniment of Educational Development in Nicaragua

Asymmetrical power relations, imposition and hierarchy characterize much of the field of development. Design and decisions are often dominated by the few as programs determine what is best for the local communities they seek to assist (Cooke & Kothari, 2001). The multiply wounded nation of Nicaragua is no exception to the norm, and the country has a long history of outside intervention by non-governmental and governmental organizations seeking to distribute materials or empower communities. Originally founded through a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania\u27s Graduate School of Education and a Nicaragua Corporate Social Responsibility Division, the Digital Seeds Program strives to push against the common impositional and assistencialist approaches to development through a collaborative, relational and holistic approach. Relational trust and authentic dialogue are centerpieces of what the Program calls accompaniment, or the direct, personalized support of educational actors inside and outside the classroom, and it is within these interpersonal encounters that Digital Seeds\u27 facilitators join teachers in their daily lives. Informed by over six years of participant-observation and insider-outsider evaluation of the Program from its inception in 2009, this participatory action research project seeks to understand how participants make meaning of Digital Seeds as they understand the nature and role of trust and dialogue in thee iterative construction of the Program. It is my contention that a core group of emotionally intelligent and professionally gifted staff embody this deeply relational and dialogic accompaniment model, and their example serves to show the possibilities of reciprocal vulnerability and mutual trust in cultivating respectful partnerships

Collocated Collaboration Analytics: Principles and Dilemmas for Mining Multimodal Interaction Data

© 2019, Copyright © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Learning to collaborate effectively requires practice, awareness of group dynamics, and reflection; often it benefits from coaching by an expert facilitator. However, in physical spaces it is not always easy to provide teams with evidence to support collaboration. Emerging technology provides a promising opportunity to make collocated collaboration visible by harnessing data about interactions and then mining and visualizing it. These collocated collaboration analytics can help researchers, designers, and users to understand the complexity of collaboration and to find ways they can support collaboration. This article introduces and motivates a set of principles for mining collocated collaboration data and draws attention to trade-offs that may need to be negotiated en route. We integrate Data Science principles and techniques with the advances in interactive surface devices and sensing technologies. We draw on a 7-year research program that has involved the analysis of six group situations in collocated settings with more than 500 users and a variety of surface technologies, tasks, grouping structures, and domains. The contribution of the article includes the key insights and themes that we have identified and summarized in a set of principles and dilemmas that can inform design of future collocated collaboration analytics innovations

Afterschool Matters, Fall 2016

In this issue: Creating Holistic Partnerships Between School and Afterschool by Kenneth Anthony & Joseph Morra Getting the Right Fit: Designing a Professional Learning Community for Out-of-School Time by Femi Vance, Emily Salvaterra, Jocelyn Atkins Michelsen, and Corey Newhouse Infrastructures to Support Equitable STEM Learning Across Settings by William R. Penuel, Tiffany L. Clark, and Bronwyn Bevan Measuring Program Quality: Evidence of the Scientific Validity of the Assessment of Program Practices Tool by Allison Tracy, Linda Charmaraman, Ineke Ceder, Amanda Richer, and Wendy Surr The Plague of the Broken Crayons and the Heads That Haunted Us by Sara Colehttps://repository.wellesley.edu/afterschoolmatters/1033/thumbnail.jp

Facilitators to Becoming and Remaining Open Defecation Free in Uganda: Implications for Community-Led Total Sanitation Programming

Poor sanitation behaviors, including open defecation, present risks for diarrhea, which is credited with 600,000 deaths a year in children under age five. Although CLTS is a solution to ending open defecation, more than half of the investment in producing open defecation free (ODF) communities is lost during the maintenance phase. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to understand stakeholder perceptions of the facilitators and hindrances to becoming ODF certified and maintaining ODF status and sanitary behaviors in a small village community located in Uganda, East Africa. The researcher held individual interviews and in-person focus group discussions to gather data. Major thematic findings include that open defecation was no longer an issue, civic pride was significant, and continuous growth and generativity were present. Unity, seeing and experiencing the benefits of being ODF, and having access to durable construction materials and clean water supported the maintenance of ODF sanitation behaviors. In addition, becoming ODF was facilitated by supportive rather than punitive intervention methods by demonstrating open defecation results in “eating shit,” providing access to latrine construction tools and materials, and stacking programs with holistic teaching. While slippage was not a concern for this community, respondents provided advice for those that may struggle to become and remain ODF by inviting others to come to see their success, by serving as ambassadors, and building a unified front. This research is significant as it identified facilitators to becoming and remaining ODF, which has important quality of life and public health benefits. In addition, this research suggests that social outcomes, such as self-efficacy, growth, and generativity, may well move communities beyond maintenance to generate further community development to help stakeholders flourish. These findings are translatable into practice and provide insight for supportive, holistic community-building and visually rich intervention strategies in the context of CLTS that have the potential to save lives

Growing a Garden of Healthy Masculinities: Combating Homophobia in the Imagine Project Workshops

This qualitative research study examines how peer educators can combat homophobia within the Imagine Project workshops. The Imagine Project is a three country initiative which aims to engage young men to work against sexual violence and sexual harassment through peer education. Combating homophobia is not stated as an official goal of the Imagine Project, and consequently it has not received that much attention within the workshop curriculum and preparation. A literature review and six interviews were conducted to gather information about homophobia, it’s role within the Imagine Project workshops, and how it can be combated in that context. Relevant literature from gender studies on masculinity and homophobia was reviewed, as well as literature on conducting gender transformative work with adolescent boys and designing interventions which combat homophobia. This literature was applied to the findings which stemmed from interviews with five peer educators and the founder of Emancipator. This analysis led to the conclusion that homophobia shows up within the workshops in three ways: implicitly, explicitly, and through compulsory heterosexuality which workshop participants enforce. As peer educators have facilitated workshops and gained an understanding of the limitations and challenges which their original ambitions, they have redefined success and changed their priorities within the workshops. The current strategies which peer educators use to combat homophobia include: intentional use of language, maintaining open dialogue about homophobic attitudes, and sharing personal narratives or disclosing their own non-normative gender or sexual identity

Use Them or Lose Them: Inservice Teacher Perceptions Of the Usability and Sustainability of Facilitated Individual Education Program Meeting Training and Learned Techniques

Effective collaboration among family professional partnerships (FPPs) and work groups such as a multidisciplinary individualized education program (IEP) team has been identified as a critical characteristic in developing a specially designed program for students with a disability. Unfortunately, educators often do not feel prepared to interact and collaborate with colleagues, parents, and community partners due to limited instruction and practice during preservice coursework or in-service professional development workshops. Thus, there continues to be the need for guidance on how to prepare preservice and licensed educators to collaborate effectively within IEP team meetings. An emerging IEP meeting practice called facilitated IEP (FIEP), utilizes a trained facilitator to guide IEP teams through a collaborative meeting framework where all team members’ input is valued, heard, and considered in the creation of the student’s IEP. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of educators who attended the FIEP CPR training and identify associated outcomes experienced during a meeting once the trained educators implemented tools and techniques from the training. Using qualitative interview methodology, 11 educators described their experiences with learning and then applying the FIEP strategies. Participants identified four training characteristics used to maximize the participants learning potential creating an engaging learning environment, benefitting from experienced knowledgeable trainers, providing interactive opportunities to practice new skills, and encouraging interactive opportunities to collaborate. Additionally, the research identified effective procedural techniques used during FIEP meetings to increase team collaboration and construct a compliant IEP. Participants overwhelmingly agreed the FIEP improved the traditional IEP process through increased team preparation and participation, which in turn increased team members’ understanding of the IEP process and content of the IEP, and the strengths and challenges of the student. Finally, six common tools and techniques emerged as effective structural tools used to create an organized, collaborative discussion: (a) agenda, (b) outcomes, (c) parking lot, (d) norms, (e) group memory, (f) roles, and (g) facilitative language. The implications for practice resulting from this study fall into two main categories, training, and implementation. One strong theme that emerged from the data was the need for more structured opportunities to learn how to collaborate effectively within the school setting and in particular, during the IEP meeting. The information provided gives input to teacher preparation programs and in-service professional development leaders when planning coursework or workshops in critical need areas. To ensure the training opportunities honor the unique needs of the adult learner, suggestions for addressing these characteristics are also provided. Once the educators receive training, preservice programs and state and local districtlevel agencies would benefit from following a structured implementation process that ensures FIEP team members benefit from the merits of the facilitative structures and strategies and that the facilitators implement with fidelity. Specific recommendations are outlined in the Implications for Practice section. The study adds to the growing body of literature on the effectiveness of FIEP meetings used as a proactive IEP meeting framework. However, because the FIEP process is a relatively new practice, it is critical to explore perceptions from more diverse cultures and conditions. Additionally, gathering data from various stakeholders such as the family and the student will help to address common barriers known to limit stakeholder participation, and collaboration

From increased user participation to co-creation leadership: An action research case study in public specialised mental health and substance abuse services

The main aim in this thesis has been to develop a ‘user participation method’ that ensures both service user and service provider impact on service development. An action research single case study was conducted in a Norwegian mental health and substance abuse unit. Increased user participation in public service development and dialogue between stakeholders about service development were facilitated by the researcher through participative observation and in collaboration with stakeholders. Stakeholders engaged as co-researchers and participants in planning meetings and working groups and in co-researcher led multistage focus group interviews, semi-structured individual interviews and dialogue seminars. The overall research question related to the main aim was How can participation and real influence from patients and staff in service development be ensured? Three articles were produced to inform the research question and the main aim. The contribution to theory in article one is to create awareness about concurrent diagnostic culture that keeps patient voices from being heard. The findings suggest that facilitating self-empowerment among service users and providers through training, supervision and explorative dialogue may enable reciprocal empowerment between these stakeholders. In turn, this may make it possible for them to have a united voice when it comes to developing and transforming services. Article two reveals how organisational defence mechanisms hinder double-loop learning among staff. It proposes elements necessary to unlock the potential of genuine co-production relationships between service users and providers including a mutual agreement, a fixed coproduction meeting, joint training/roleplay, and spaces for group and individual reflexivity. In article three, the contribution has been identifying leadership behaviours that enable co-created organisational adaptability in PSOs. The following definition of co-creation leadership is proposed: the ability to recognise service users, providers, and formal leaders as colleagues who co-create services and value in a reciprocally empowering working alliance. Further, some specific requirements of co-creation leadership are presented: 1) enabling dialogue and adaptive spaces, 2) acknowledging that power is negotiated and relational, 3) coconstructing and connecting leadership to core tasks and functions (not just formal position), 4) recognising consultation, facilitation and delegation as key to decision commitment and collective mobilisation, and 5) ambidextrously maneuvering between participation and decisiveness, care and autonomy, and production and innovation. To explore how knowledge about a) the relationship between the articles; b) the preliminary main result, namely a co-production method; and c) conceptualisation of co-creation leadership can contribute to existing and future PSO challenges, the following synopsis research question was posed: The role of leadership. How can systematic involvement of leaders, users and providers enable organizational adaptation in public services? The three articles and experiences with the research design have informed the main result: a renamed and updated co-creation method. This method is described as both a practice and an action research method that enables a shift in organisational culture and practice towards a co-creation orientation. In this orientation, facilitating participative coproduction of existing services is just as pertinent as facilitating coinnovation of new services. Such facilitation is accomplished through the creation of communicative and adaptive spaces for stakeholders’ exploratory dialogue. Systematic integration of a co-creation practice, which is defined as the way stakeholders actually collaborate to evaluate, improve, plan, initiate and innovate services, is central. Furthermore, an understanding of co-creation leadership has been included in the cocreation method design. Multiple choices of leadership behaviours and role-migration between stakeholders are essential. The implication for practice and research is that the co-creation method has several paths to choose from and can therefore be adapted to various contexts. The co-creation method may be introduced as both a practice and a research method, and it can be utilised as a tool for service improvement, innovation and service/environmental sustainability within and outside of PSOs. Furthermore, leader presence is encouraged to root and legitimise co-creation. Conceptualisation of co-creation leadership may strengthen the co-creation of services and value potential

Addressing harm in online gaming communities -- the opportunities and challenges for a restorative justice approach

Most platforms implement some form of content moderation to address interpersonal harms such as harassment. Content moderation relies on offender-centered, punitive justice approaches such as bans and content removals. We consider an alternative justice framework, restorative justice, which aids victims to heal, supports offenders to repair the harm, and engages community members to address the harm collectively. To understand the utility of restorative justice in addressing online harm, we interviewed 23 users from Overwatch gaming communities, including moderators, victims, and offenders. We understand how they currently handle harm cases through the lens of restorative justice and identify their attitudes toward implementing restorative justice processes. Our analysis reveals that while online communities have needs for and existing structures to support restorative justice, there are structural, cultural, and resource-related obstacles to implementing this new approach within the existing punitive framework. We discuss the opportunities and challenges for applying restorative justice in online spaces