How to add a RADAR resource to Moodle

RADAR is fully integrated with Brookes Virtual, the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for Oxford Brookes University. This two-page guide explains how to search for RADAR resources and then add them to your Brookes Virtual online course

The evolution of RADAR

PowerPoint slides from a presentation by Steve Burholt and Rowena Rouse at the Equella Customer Advisory Board in March 2013 in London. The slides show how the RADAR repository at Oxford Brookes University has evolved to include an eclectic mix of resources

How to add a RADAR resource to Moodle using the PLATO plagiarism tutorial as an example.

A 2-page guide that explains how to add a link to the PLATO plagiarism tutorial in a Brookes Virtual course. This document is intended for COURSE DESIGNERS ONLY

The impact of residential immobility and population turnover on the support networks of older people living in rural areas: Evidence from CFAS Wales

This article addresses two questions: Are ‘stayers’ - defined as older people who were born in an area and lived there for 25 years or more prior to interview – more likely to have locally integrated or family dependent networks than other types of networks in the 21st Century? Does population turnover influence the support networks of older people more strongly than being a ‘stayer’? A sample of 1,870 participants living in rural areas is drawn from cross-sectional (Wave 1) data (version 2) from The Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS Wales). Five multinomial logistic regression models are used to establish how demographic covariates, cumulative population turnover, inflow, outflow and ‘stayer’ influence membership of Family Dependent (FD), Locally Integrated (LI), Local-Self Contained (LSC), Wider Community Focused (WCF) and Private Restricted (PR) support networks. The results reveal significant differences in the distribution of network types between stayers and non-stayers. Stayers were more likely to have LI or FD networks and were less likely to have WCF or PR networks than non-stayers. Gender, marital status, education, disability, childlessness, area deprivation, and cumulative population turnover, inflow and outflow (by age group) also influence membership of different networks. The research has implications for planning of formal services in rural places characterised by ‘ageing in place’ or as ‘ageing places’ and comprising socially engaged and socially marginalized networks. In particular, providers of social care should take into account the different types of support that may be required to bolster socially marginalized support networks

RADAR for e-Pioneers

Slides from an introductory workshop for e-Pioneers at Oxford Brookes University in November 2012. Steve Burholt discusses how RADAR can help manage and share online teaching resources, and the challenges that exist

Quick start guide to OER

A brief introduction to Open Educational Recources (OER), in the context of Oxford Brookes University. Included is a summary of the pros and cons of using OER as well as useful sources of OER

Exploring intergenerational, intra-generational and transnational patterns of family caring in minority ethnic communities: the example of England and Wales

We investigated family caring using established questions from national surveys of 1,206 adults aged 40+ from six minority ethnic communities in England and Wales. We included in our analysis factors that predisposed caring (age, sex, marital status and household composition) and enabled caring (health, material resources, education, employment and cultural values). In the general population, 15% of adults are family carers. Three groups reported lower levels of caring (Black African [12%], Chinese [11%] and Black Caribbean [9%]) and three reported higher levels of caring (Indian [23%], Pakistani [17%] and Bangladeshi [18%]). However, ethnicity predicted caring independent of other factors only for the Indian group

Improving continence management for people with dementia in the community in Aotearoa, New Zealand: Protocol for a mixed methods study

Background: The number of people living with dementia (PLWD) in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) was estimated at 96,713 in 2020 and it is anticipated that this number will increase to 167,483 by 2050, including an estimated 12,039 Māori (indigenous people of NZ) with dementia. Experiencing urinary incontinence (UI) or faecal incontinence (FI) is common for PLWD, particularly at the later stages of the disease. However, there is no robust estimate for either prevalence or incidence of UI or FI for PLWD in NZ. Although caregivers rate independent toilet use as the most important activity of daily living to be preserved, continence care for PLWD in the community is currently not systematised and there is no structured care pathway. The evidence to guide continence practice is limited, and more needs to be known about caregiving and promoting continence and managing incontinence for PLWD in the community. This project will seek to understand the extent of the challenge and current practices of health professionals, PLWD, caregivers and family; identify promising strategies; co-develop culturally appropriate guidelines and support materials to improve outcomes; and identify appropriate quality indicators so that good continence care can be measured in future interventions. Methods and analysis: A four-phase mixed methods study will be delivered over three years: three phases will run concurrently, followed by a fourth transformative sequential phase. Phase 1 will identify the prevalence and incidence of incontinence for PLWD in the community using a cohort study from standardised home care interRAI assessments. Phase 2 will explore continence management for PLWD in the community through a review of clinical policies and guidance from publicly funded continence services, and qualitative focus group interviews with health professionals. Phase 3 will explore experiences, strategies, impact and consequences of promoting continence and managing incontinence for PLWD in the community through secondary data analysis of an existing carers’ study, and collecting new cross-sectional and longitudinal qualitative data from Māori and non-Māori PLWD and their caregivers. In Phase 4, two adapted 3-stage Delphi processes will be used to co-produce clinical guidelines and a core outcome set, while a series of workshops will be used to co-produce caregiver resources

A Cultural Framework of Care and Social Protection for Older People in India

This article applies a cultural political economy lens within a sustainable livelihood framework and examines how cultural norms and values as well as social protection amplify or attenuate livelihood shocks leading to care-home entry. We used framework analysis and higher-level interpretive analysis of data from interviews with 30 older care-home residents from three districts in Tamil Nadu, India, to understand the practices that allow the social welfare system to function alongside the beliefs and values legitimizing these practices. Results reveal a divergence between the value orientation of social-protection policy and cultural practices which constrains the choices available for care in later life and reinforces culturally constructed inequalities rather than protecting or remediating livelihood shocks and loss of assets

Transitions in loneliness in later life: the role of social comparisons and coping strategies

This study explored the coping strategies and social comparisons used by older adults on different loneliness trajectories (decreased loneliness, stable loneliness and degenerating loneliness). The adaptive consequences of social comparison in later life are recognised as an important strategy for preserving life satisfaction regardless of age-related losses. Coping strategies are also important in managing loneliness. Narrative interviews were conducted with lonely older adults (N = 11) who had participated in Wave One of the Maintaining Function and Well-being in Later Life Study Wales (CFAS Wales). The study found key differences in the coping strategies employed by older adults on different loneliness trajectories. Differences in coping styles between those who reported decreased loneliness and those who were chronically lonely stemmed from perceptions as to whether loneliness was modifiable or not. Different types of social comparison were also found to modulate the loneliness experience. The findings indicate that higher-order strategies (problem, emotional and meaning focused) are not distinct entities but are part of a dynamic process. The management of loneliness in later life may be dependent on several factors, including older adults’ interpretations of the cause of loneliness. These interpretations will have implications for interventions aimed at alleviating chronic loneliness, where the focus may have to be on changing older adult's perceptions of unmodifiable loneliness