The Influence of Glasser\u27s Control Theory and Reality Therapy on Educators: A Case Study

The influence of Glasser\u27s control theory and reality therapy on educators\u27 perceptions of change, relationships and self reflection has to date not been researched. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the influence that control theory and reality therapy training had on educators in one school district. A case study method was chosen because of its descriptive and evaluative strength in educational settings, its qualitative character and its flexibility. All educators currently employed who had participated in one week of training or more were sent a fifteen item survey. From the group of 100 who received the survey, 69 responded. Educators who had participated in one advanced week training or more, were asked to volunteer for interviews. Of the 14 to volunteer, eight were certified in reality therapy and six had advanced training. There were five men and nine women; of these there were three principals, three counsellors, five teachers, and three teacher support workers. Three of the interviewees were 50-54 years of age, four were 45-49, four were 39-44, two were 34-38 and one was in the 29-33 age range. Interviews and the open ended questions on the surveys elicited rich, heartfelt accounts of how the training had influenced educators\u27 personal and professional lives. As a result of the data analysis on questions about change, relationships and self reflection, a number of themes were identified. The themes of this study indicate that for the large majority of participants the training influenced the way they cope with change in terms of their interpersonal communication and personal reflection skills, heightened their awareness of their own and other\u27s needs and increased their self confidence. Participants perceived their engagement in self reflection increased and had become qualitatively different since taking the training. Their handling of conflict in their personal and professional relationships was positively influenced by the training. Findings indicate that those who had taken advanced training were more strongly influenced by the training than those who had only completed the basic training, the women were more influenced than men, and the training was perceived to be the key influencer, not age

Transforming a doctoral summer school to an online experience: A response to the COVID‐19 pandemic

For the last 28 years, one of the leading international science education organisations has regularly provided a week-long summer school experience for doctoral students. In summer 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented international travel and close-contact interactions between scholars. This required the transformation and relocation of learning interactions between mentors and doctoral students online through a virtual week-long summer school. All doctoral participants, from across the five continents, were invited to reflectively comment on their educative experience after the online event. This paper consequently presents the perspectives of these science education PhD students who engaged with the transformed virtual summer school to consider how the range of varied online interactions maintained the learning opportunities for them and enabled their introduction to an established research community. The study indicates how the digital activities facilitated and maintained high-quality learning exchanges through a varied array of intellectual activities involving both experienced and novice scholars. The findings demonstrate how successful academic outcomes can be achieved remotely while minimising international travel and significantly reducing financial outlay. This was achieved through creatively structuring a week-long virtual experience and combining a series of synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities for different groupings of participants within the international summer school community

Community-Based OT Program Planning: A Virtual Level II Fieldwork Program Developed in Response to the Global Pandemic

The purpose of this article is to explain how an occupational therapy (OT) program in a university setting developed a virtual Level II community-based fieldwork program in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This virtual fieldwork program, guided by the PRECEDE-PROCEED Planning Model (PPM), was designed to help keep students on track with their academic goals while providing them with experiential learning that would increase their confidence in OT program planning and promote their professional development. Outcome measures for this study consisted of a pre-and post-fieldwork survey that asked participants to rank their self-perceived confidence in five distinct areas of community-based OT program development. Some portions of Section III in the Student’s Evaluation of the Fieldwork Experience (SEFWE) form were also used to examine students’ feedback after participating in this virtual fieldwork program. Retrospective data analysis of pre-post survey results showed improvements in students’ perceived confidence with certain aspects of OT program development in community settings. Within the core function of program development, occupation-based approaches to community-based programs can be used to inform, educate, and empower people and populations about important health issues while simultaneously offering students rich opportunities for professional development and identity. Dissemination of this information can be helpful to other OT professionals who are developing alternate fieldwork programs in response to the pandemic and beyond

A cognitive style study of Native Indian children

This study examined the issues of culture, measurement and development involved in field-dependent-independent cognitive style research with Native Indian and Non-Indian students. Two cultural groups were tested, and each group consisted of 75 students from ages 8 to 12. One of the cultural groups was composed of Tsimshian Indians living in villages outside of Prince Rupert, and the other was composed of non-Natives living in Prince Rupert. Four measures of field-dependent-independent cognitive style were individually administered to students. One test (Embedded Figures Test) was established as the criterion measure of cognitive style, and the potential of the other three tests as measures of cognitive style was investigated. Five ages were included so that differences in developmental trends could be determined. Results showed that the non-Natives scored significantly closer to the field-independent end of the continuum than the Natives on two of the four measures of cognitive style. These results indicated that cultural differences do exist between the two cultural groups for two of the measures. The four cognitive style measures were found to inter-correlate highly, which indicated that they form a reasonable battery to use for measuring field-dependence-independence. Results also showed no interaction between age and culture, thereby indicating that no significant differences in development existed between the two cultural groups. In both groups, cognitive style developed in the same linear sequence, and reached the same level of development by age 12.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat

Who speaks for whom at work: worker voice and social dialogue

Over the last few decades academic research has often neglected issues of power and influence concerning labour market institutions, employment regulation, models of collaborative partnership between workers, unions and employers, and systems for inclusion and wider stakeholder voice. Through a body of research involving international collaborators, Tony Dundon has provided evidence on new processes and forms of worker voice and social dialogue that can enhance decent work goals, expose labour market inequalities, and support collaborative employment partnerships. The research was undertaken with policymakers, consultancies, employers, employer associations, trade unions, HR managers, workers, and shop steward and non-union employee representatives. First, it impacted employee voice mechanisms at workplace levels. Second, it has impacted employee information and consultation policy, including European Directive transposition issues at national and organisational levels. Third, it has impacted labour market reforms for enhanced collective bargaining and work futures. Finally, it has impacted policies on accessing apprenticeship skills and learning in Irelan

Dynamics of Influenza Virus Infection and Pathology▿

A key question in pandemic influenza is the relative roles of innate immunity and target cell depletion in limiting primary infection and modulating pathology. Here, we model these interactions using detailed data from equine influenza virus infection, combining viral and immune (type I interferon) kinetics with estimates of cell depletion. The resulting dynamics indicate a powerful role for innate immunity in controlling the rapid peak in virus shedding. As a corollary, cells are much less depleted than suggested by a model of human influenza based only on virus-shedding data. We then explore how differences in the influence of viral proteins on interferon kinetics can account for the observed spectrum of virus shedding, immune response, and influenza pathology. In particular, induction of high levels of interferon (“cytokine storms”), coupled with evasion of its effects, could lead to severe pathology, as hypothesized for some fatal cases of influenza

Cancer risks for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: results from prospective analysis of EMBRACE

Background: Reliable estimates of cancer risk are critical for guiding management of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. The aims of this study were to derive penetrance estimates for breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and contralateral breast cancer in a prospective series of mutation carriers and to assess how these risks are modified by common breast cancer susceptibility alleles.<p></p> Methods: Prospective cancer risks were estimated using a cohort of 978 BRCA1 and 909 BRCA2 carriers from the United Kingdom. Nine hundred eighty-eight women had no breast or ovarian cancer diagnosis at baseline, 1509 women were unaffected by ovarian cancer, and 651 had been diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer. Cumulative risks were obtained using Kaplan–Meier estimates. Associations between cancer risk and covariables of interest were evaluated using Cox regression. All statistical tests were two-sided.<p></p> Results: The average cumulative risks by age 70 years for BRCA1 carriers were estimated to be 60% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 44% to 75%) for breast cancer, 59% (95% CI = 43% to 76%) for ovarian cancer, and 83% (95% CI = 69% to 94%) for contralateral breast cancer. For BRCA2 carriers, the corresponding risks were 55% (95% CI = 41% to 70%) for breast cancer, 16.5% (95% CI = 7.5% to 34%) for ovarian cancer, and 62% (95% CI = 44% to 79.5%) for contralateral breast cancer. BRCA2 carriers in the highest tertile of risk, defined by the joint genotype distribution of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with breast cancer risk, were at statistically significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer than those in the lowest tertile (hazard ratio = 4.1, 95% CI = 1.2 to 14.5; P = .02).<p></p> Conclusions: Prospective risk estimates confirm that BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers are at high risk of developing breast, ovarian, and contralateral breast cancer. Our results confirm findings from retrospective studies that common breast cancer susceptibility alleles in combination are predictive of breast cancer risk for BRCA2 carriers.<p></p&gt