Cultural competency in the delivery of health services for Indigenous people

Aim and objectives This review aims to examine available evidence on cultural competence in health care settings to identify key approaches and strategies that can contribute to improving the development and implementation of Indigenous health services and programs. The objectives are to: 1. define cultural competency –– we consider the significance of cultural competence and how it has been defined in international and local literature, including the use of similar terms and meanings 2. report on the quantity, nature and quality of available evidence –– we look at available evidence on cultural competency in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, including how cultural competence has been measured, and assess the quality of the evidence against basic methodological criteria 3. identify approaches and strategies that are effective in improving cultural competency among health services staff 4. examine the relationship between cultural competency and health outcomes 5. develop an evidence-informed conceptual framework of cultural competency

Developing operational competence in purchasing

This paper contributes to the emerging theory of purchasing competence. First, it replicates and cross-validates the construct with five underlying supply-side competence dimensions of Narasimhan, Jayaram and Carter (2001), using telephone survey data from 200 high-turnover European companies. The addition of an IT Competence dimension to the construct is proposed and empirically validated. In response to the growing importance of services, equivalence of the competence construct across manufacturing and financial services contexts was shown using the structural equation technique of invariance analysis. Using set correlation analysis competence dimensions were found to be significant drivers of multiple operational performance measures. All competence dimensions had significant positive impact upon at least one performance measure. IT Competence had the most significant positive impact, driving Quality, Purchase-Order Cycle Time and Professionalism. Certain dimensions had significant negative effects upon performance, providing evidence for the possible existence of "competency trap" phenomena.Operational Competence; Purchasing; Empirical Methods;

Reforming Juvenile Justice Systems: Beyond Treatment

Evaluates the role of youth development and cultural competence in the Reclaiming Futures initiative to improve substance abuse interventions as part of juvenile justice reform. Explores issues of evidence-based approaches to funding promising practices

Reducing behaviour problems in young people through social competence programmes

There is a relatively strong relationship between the concepts of behavioural problems and social competence, in that social competence is regarded as one of the most important protective factors in the prevention of behavioural problems. This paper argues that the concept of social competence should include social skills, social practice and empathic understanding. It identifies the components that form part of an effective social competence programme, including enhancing an understanding of social situations, increasing the generation of adequate social skills, improving the management of provocations which may lead to uncontrolled anger, and developing empathic understanding. The evidence also suggests that effective social competence programmes for children and young people should be multi modal and consist of mixed groups of pupils with and without difficulties. The paper concludes with a brief description of Aggression Replacement Training as an example of a programme which follows the recommended guidelines.peer-reviewe

How young children understand electric circuits: prediction, explanation and exploration

This paper reports findings from a study of young children’s views about electric circuits. Twenty- eight children aged 5 and 6 were interviewed. They were shown examples of circuits and asked to predict whether they would work and explain why. They were then invited to try out some of the circuit examples or make circuits of their own choosing. Children expressed a variety of views about the connections needed in a circuit, offered different kinds of explanation and showed differing levels of competence in circuit making. The range of responses showed similarities to those of older students found in previous research. The relationship between practical competence, prediction and explanation was not straightforward. For example children with similar levels of practical competence made different predictions or offered different kinds of explanation. Analysis of the circuits children chose to construct suggested influences of existing competence and knowledge. In particular some children tested out circuit examples about which they had been unsure during the interview while others explored circuit connections more generally. Findings underline the importance of drawing on a variety of evidence in assessing young children’s understandings of electric circuits. They indicate that young children may offer views about electric circuits not unlike those of older children and adults with similar experience. Finally there was some suggestion that the interview procedure may have acted as an instructive stimulus in helping children to become more conscious of their own views and reflect on their thinking in the light of further evidence

Hand to mouth in a Neandertal : right-handedness in regourdou 1

We describe and analyze a Neandertal postcranial skeleton and dentition, which together show unambiguous signs of right-handedness. Asymmetries between the left and right upper arm in Regourdou 1 were identified nearly 20 years ago, then confirmed by more detailed analyses of the inner bone structure for the clavicle, humerus, radius and ulna. The total pattern of all bones in the shoulder and arm reveals that Regourdou 1 was a right-hander. Confirmatory evidence comes from the mandibular incisors, which display a distinct pattern of right oblique scratches, typical of right-handed manipulations performed at the front of the mouth. Regourdou's right handedness is consistent with the strong pattern of manual lateralization in Neandertals and further confirms a modern pattern of left brain dominance, presumably signally linguistic competence. These observations along with cultural, genetic and morphological evidence indicate language competence in Neandertals and their European precursors

Developing sexual competence? Exploring strategies for the provision of effective sexualities and relationships education

School-based sexualities and relationships education (SRE) offers one of the most promising means of improving young people's sexual health through developing 'sexual competence'. In the absence of evidence on whether the term holds the same meanings for young people and adults (e.g. teachers, researchers, policy-makers), the paper explores 'adult' notions of sexual competence as construed in research data and alluded to in UK Government guidance on SRE, then draws on empirical research with young people on factors that affect the contexts, motivations and outcomes of sexual encounters, and therefore have implications for sexual competence. These data from young people also challenge more traditional approaches to sexualities education in highlighting disjunctions between the content of school-based input and their reported sexual experience. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these insights for developing a shared notion of what SRE is trying to achieve and suggestions for recognition in the content and approaches to SRE.</p

Factors contributing to Australian adolescents’ self-report of their motor skill competence

An adolescents motor skill competence can affect areas such as sports participation, social activities and future academic or employment decisions. The Adolescent Motor Competence Questionnaire (AMCQ) is a 26-item questionnaire that uses a four point Likert response (never, sometimes, frequently, always) to assess motor-related activities during adolescence. This study aims to provide evidence of the construct validity using Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and to identify factors that contributed to Australian adolescent self-reported motor competence. A final aim was to determine whether individual item responses differed between males and females. The AMCQ was completed by 160 adolescents (Mage = 14.45 SD = .75, 12 to 16). The PCA using varimax rotation extracted four factors (Eiqenvalue of 1.21 or above) explaining 52% of variance and representing Participation in Physical Activity and Sports, Activities of Daily Living, Public Performance, and Peer Comparison. Overall males reported higher AMCQ scores compared to females. Females responded negatively (sometimes/never) to all items particularly those on Physical Activity and Sports and Public Performance. Males who responded negatively had lower AMCQ scores than the females. These findings indicate male and female adolescents may judge their motor competence on different factors, which should be considered when planning physical activity interventions

Service-learning @ Lingnan : facts & figures

This booklet summarizes the results and findings from the ongoing research and evaluation studies of Service-Learning. It provides supporting evidence that Service-Learning enhances students’ development in seven learning outcomes: Subject-Related Knowledge, Communication Skills, Social Competence, Problem- Solving Skills, Research Skills, Organization Skills and Civic Orientation.https://commons.ln.edu.hk/osl_book/1011/thumbnail.jp

Voting and the macroeconomy: separating trend from cycle

Voters respond differently to trend growth as opposed to economic cycles in GDP. When assessing incumbent competence the rational voter filters out economic cycles when they are the product of external shocks but rewards strong trend growth over the previous term of office. Voters also respond to policy platforms, and parties closest to the median voter have an advantage à la Downs (1957). This advantage is theorized to be heightened in times of recession. Using data from elections in OECD countries and a much more exacting econometric specification than used in previous analyses we find robust evidence of a positive vote response to strong performance in trend growth. We also find evidence to support the hypothesis that centralizing garners additional votes during recession.economic voting, competence, median voter, voter rationality