Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

Young Adult Cancer Survivors' Experiences of Connectedness with Their Healthcare Providers

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Adolescents and young adults with cancer have poorer treatment and survivorship outcomes than either younger or older cancer patients. These individuals also have psychosocial late effects and engage in lifestyle behaviors that increase their risk of subsequent cancer and other chronic illnesses. Thus, there is a need to identify protective factors during the diagnosis and treatment period to foster healthy lifestyle behaviors. Connectedness with healthcare providers is a potential protective factor that may diminish risk-taking behaviors and foster healthcare self-management in adolescents with cancer. However, little is known about connectedness with healthcare providers from adolescents with cancer perspectives. The purpose of this study was to describe young adult cancer survivors' experiences of connectedness with their healthcare providers as they negotiated the experience across the cancer continuum from diagnosis to survivorship during adolescence. A qualitative, empirical phenomenological method guided this research. The sample consisted of 9 young adult cancer survivors who had cancer as adolescents. A broad, data generating question was constructed to elicit rich, narrative descriptions of participants' experiences of connectedness with healthcare providers, which were audio-taped and transcribed. The narrative data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method, which involved a systematic process of extracting and analyzing significant statements for formulated meanings and themes. Seven theme categories were identified and then used to develop a narrative of the essential structure of the experience of connectedness. Connectedness with healthcare providers is a multi-faceted experience that encompasses instances of not only connectedness, but also unconnectedness and disconnectedness. Effective strategies that foster connectedness with adolescents were identified. Behaviors that foster disconnectedness relate to a lack of respect for the adolescent's personhood. Findings indicate that connectedness with healthcare providers may make adolescents more likely to engage in care partnerships and effective self-management during treatment and into survivorship. When there is no connectedness or a disconnection with healthcare providers, a door shuts: there are feelings of helplessness and vulnerability, anger and resentment, and reluctance to connect with healthcare providers for cancer prevention. Clinical implications for healthcare providers are discussed. Future research should focus on connectedness theory development, measures, and interventions that foster adolescent-provider connectedness

Awakening Intuition: A Delphi Study

This study was framed by three key questions: How is intuition characterized, how is intuition in adults best developed, and what influence might the development of intuition have on individuals, organizations, and society. The data for the study was collected using the Delphi method. The panel included twenty females and twenty-three males from three Canadian provinces and eighteen American states. Eighty-three percent of the panel had post secondary degrees in over twenty different disciplines. Twenty-three percent of the panel held doctorate level degrees. Thirty-one different occupations were represented. All forty-three participants who started the study completed all three rounds. Data was collected over three rounds of the Delphi and included both open ended questions and a Likert scale questionnaire. Findings were derived from both qualitative and simple quantitative analysis. In this study, intuition is characterized by existential themes of time, space, body, being, Being, and relation. Throughout the study, panelists drew a strong connection between intuition and the creative-spiritual dimension of human beings. The panel determined that it is more appropriate to speak in terms of awakening intuition than in terms of developing it. Even though panelists reached consensus on the idea that the full potential of intuition is inherent in everyone, they also agreed that individuals could benefit from participation in practices designed to awaken and expand intuitive capacity. Findings suggest that training programs should be developed around three broad goals: 1. Exposing the beliefs, assumptions, values, and patterns of behaviour that prevent individuals from accessing the full inherent potential of their intuition. 2. Creating an environment in which it is safe to explore and to engage in activities that enhance intuition. 3). Providing a knowledge base. Specifics related to each of these goals are included in the study. While participants were careful to stress the fact that they did not see intuition and future trends in terms of a causal relationship, they did reach consensus on thirteen trends related to individuals, eleven related to changes in organizations and on fifteen societal items. Topics on which the panel reached consensus included creativity, peak experiences, physical and psychological well-being, relationships, problem-solving ability, shift in leadership, culture, structures, ethics, and productivity. They projected that initially there would be an increase in the appearance of chaos, but saw that trend as having a beneficent long term effect. Findings indicated that intuition is an essential factor in expanding consciousness, and panelists predicted that an evolutionary shift in consciousness could well be the outcome of the synergy released by the increasing numbers of adults attuning themselves to the creative-spiritual voice of their intuition. The study includes an extensive review of literature connected with intuition including western and non-western philosophy and psychology, brain and consciousness research, quantum physics, adult development, leadership, training programs, emerging spirituality, and alternative futures. The study concludes with an exploration of implications the training of intuition, for leadership, and with a broad agenda for future research related to intuition

What influences the engagement on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok

The exponential growth of the entertainment and media industry has revolutionized the social media landscape. Increasingly more people use social media platforms in their daily lives for different reasons. The goal of this research is what influences its engagement, closer insight on the reasons why people use social media, perceptual map’s associations with two dimensions, and on a conjoint analysis’s preferences. Althoughall three social media platforms do not need to readjust their positioning strategy to occupy a specific position in the market, there is still room for attributes improvement, to engage with potential Portuguese valuable consumers, considering the different needs, preferences, and behaviors. The most important feature and counterpart for the usage of social media is linked with privacy concerns

Cultivating Psychological Determinants of Flow through Autonomy-Supportive Cognitive-Behavioural Training

In educational contexts, the deep and intrinsically rewarding engagement characteristic of being in flow is invaluable to the learning process. In addition to contributing to flourishing, psychological growth and development, flow is directly related to the frequency with which a student will actively vie to continue to use and extend their highest skills. A comprehensive framework delineating how to systematically cultivate flow would prove indispensable to those who aspire to optimise their performance or facilitate this strength in others. Still, little research has examined a systematic means of actively nurturing autonomous forms of motivational regulation to engage and the psychological strengths which underlie and promote flow in academic learning contexts. Therefore, the main objective of this small-scale descriptive pilot study was to ascertain the extent to which student-athletes could learn to wilfully cultivate dispositional flow states. It was presupposed that autonomy-supportive cognitive-behavioural training in a collaborative learning environment could in fact facilitate the process. The endeavour was thus approached by establishing a multimodal cognitive-behavioural training program designed to systematically cultivate the nine dimensions of flow. The study adhered to an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design. Thus, the 13 sport science students (four females and nine males) participating in the 12-week seminar completed pretest/posttest dispositional assessments of their locus of motivational regulation, their use of cognitive-behavioural performance enhancement strategies, and flow. In addition, six months subsequent to the intervention, structured interviews were conducted with a subset of the cohort and a thematic analysis of the resultant data set was conducted in an effort to both further interpret and elucidate the results yielded from the quantitative data set. Although the psychometric test findings did not yield unequivocal results, they demonstrated posttest increases in students’ intrinsic motivational regulation as well as their use of self-talk, activation, imagery, and attention control strategies. Finally, while all but two student-athletes reported an increase in their general propensity to experience unidimensional flow, unvarying results were not yielded across the multidimensional measures thereof. However, the thematic analysis provided evidence that the student-athletes believed that if employing performance strategies including a systematic goal setting process, arousal regulation, imagery, and self-talk, one can in fact cultivate flow if one wants to. Therefore, this study contributes to scholarship pertaining to understanding how to deliberately promote flow in similar higher learning contexts

Global Citizenship Education and Heritage Preservation of Host National Students in GCC International Bilingual Schools

International private schools adopt Eurocentric accreditation and curriculum standards that aim at developing global citizens. However, global citizenship education is a problematic construct based on a colonial instrumentalist framework. Contextualized in Type C international schools for GCC host national students, the problem of practice is GIBS’s unmitigated adoption of international GCE accreditation and curriculum standards in a manner that erodes the students’ culture and heritage. Grounded in a transformative worldview, GIBS’s accreditation and curriculum coordinator is in a unique position to lead organizational improvement that restructures school systems in a way that prioritizes GCC host national students’ heritage while empowering teachers to enact equitable instructional change. To address the problem of practice, a framework of change was developed by integrating ISA’s (2017) accreditation framework with Schein’s (2017) model of change management and Cawsey et al.’s (2016) change path model while using transformative, instructional, and servant leadership approaches. Culturally responsive learning’s three dimensions of culturally responsive care, culturally responsive instruction, and curriculum indigenization and decolonization were identified as the key to solving the problem of practice. To monitor and evaluate GIBS’s embedding of CRL into formal school systems, organizational change management takes place at the macro and micro levels using the API Model and PDCA cycle respectively. Synchronous alignment of GIBS’s accreditation phases and strategic improvement cycle with the OIP’s change implementation plan leverages the school’s pre-existing systems to achieve successful transformation

Clinical Nurse Experts\u27 Experience of Transitioning to the Novice Nurse Educator Role

Clinical nurse experts are often recruited into educator roles based solely on clinical expertise. Without support and mentorship, clinical nurse experts struggled with transitioning into the educator role. The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of new nurse educators’ transition from a clinical nurse expert to novice nurse educator and to examine the perceptions of supports and barriers. Transitional theory provided the conceptual framework and informed the development of the interview protocol. The research questions focused on the experience of transitioning from expert to novice and on identifying supports and barriers that influenced transition. Using a case study design, the experience of 6 new nurse educators, with 3 years or greater of clinical practice and 3 years or fewer of teaching experience were captured. The study participants were recruited through purposeful sampling. Interview data were validated for trustworthiness through member checking, and themes were identified through a manual coding process. The findings revealed the following 6 areas of supports and barriers: role identity and role clarity, workload expectations and time management, adaptation and motivation, leadership, socialization and mentorship, and feeling valued. The project for this research study used findings to inform the development of a mentorship professional development program for new nurse educators. This study has implication of positive social change by providing a structured transition for new nurse educators to develop a new professional identity, make social-professional connections, and manage workload expectations. The mentored entry into the new role has implication to promote a positive social change in health care institutions by improving job satisfaction and work force retention

‘Till long-term care do we part’: Exploring the impacts of separating married couples on couplehood and well-being

This capstone project explores the impact of separating married couples when one spouse has dementia in long-term care settings. In particular, on couples’ abilities to maintain a sense of couplehood within the socio-physical environment of long-term care and its impacts on each spouse\u27s health and wellbeing. The theoretical perspectives of attachment theory and person-environment exchange are utilized to guide this project, providing a holistic and insightful approach to investigating spousal relationships in long-term care. The goals of this project are two-fold. First, a scoping review of the limited literature will be presented. Second, based on the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant guidelines, a mock grant proposal was developed. The purpose of the grant is to critically examine the institutional practice of separating married couples in LTC settings in British Columbia when one spouse lives with dementia and requires more complex care and support. The proposed study will focus on couples\u27 abilities and challenges in maintaining their relationship within the LTC environment and the effects of separation on their health and wellbeing. Overall, this capstone project will help guide future research, practice, and policy in this important yet understudied topic in gerontology