Teacher perspectives of cultivating learning through practitioner enquiry to transform practice

This paper reports on the first year of an innovative Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Advanced Education Practice, designed to meet the specific staff and development needs of one school in the North West of England. The programme is underpinned by three strands of practice based learning: learning about practice (theory), learning in practice (application) and learning through practice (reflection) through critical reflection. This paper considers professional development situated around teaching and learning and outlines a new approach to cultivating learning, both for teachers and educational practitioners through a collaborative learning model with a Higher Education Institute (HEI). A further strand to the research considers transformative impact on practice including references to personal experience and reflections by the participants. Throughout the report it is evident that school leaders were keen to enhance the performance of staff by supporting them in Masters level study to enhance professional practice and impact on learning. Through questionnaires and interviews, an insight into personal and professional impact, challenges, evaluation, details of the progression, next steps in the small scale research study were considered

Carer experience of end-of-life service provision : a social network analysis

Objective To identify the position of formal service providers in the networks of those providing end-of-life care in the home from the perspective of the informal network. Methods Using third-generation social network analysis, this study examined the nature and strength of relationships of informal caring networks with formal service providers through individual carer interviews, focus groups of caring networks and outer network interviews. Results Service providers were usually highly valued for providing services, equipment, pain management and personalised care for the dying person plus support and advice to the principal carer about both caring tasks and negotiating the health system. However, formal service providers were positioned as marginal in the caring network. Analysis of the relative density of relationships within networks showed that whereas relationships among family and friends had similar density, relationships between service providers and family or friends were significantly lower. Conclusion The results supported the Circles of Care model and mirror the perspective of formal service providers identified in previous research. The research raises questions about how formal and informal networks might be better integrated to increase their effectiveness for supporting in-home care

The 10K Initiative: Towards Meaningful Relationships and Network Centred Aged Care

It is well accepted that as people age their social worlds often shrink. Additionally, living in an aged care facility can disrupt people’s social worlds, resulting in loneliness, isolation and misery for many. Being connected, having a positive identity, continuing to contribute to the fabric of society are essential to positive healthy ageing, increased life expectancy and overall life satisfaction fundamental to wellbeing. As such, a whole of population approach focussing on social networks and relationships is a move towards social and collective responsibility for the wellbeing of our increasingly ageing population. To achieve this requires a re-imagination of aged services and communities to embrace network centred care and improve our elders wellbeing and enjoyment of life. The 10k initiative was an innovative community development and network centred approach to aged care and was a collaboration between Southern Cross Care, The GroundSwell Project and Western Sydney University. The study took place in an aged care facility in the Western Suburbs of Sydney NSW. The goal of the project was to develop an effective community development model for the aged care sector with applicability to residential aged care. Methods involved social network mapping, interviews and focus groups with residents, families, staff and community members before, during and after placement of an embedded community development worker. This report documents the identified barriers and opportunities associated with a community development model. New knowledge has been generated detailing what is required to address our elders shrinking social worlds and to increase their overall wellbeing through maintaining and expanding social networks and relationships while they are living in an institutionalised setting

Death Literacy Index: A Report on its Development and Implementation

The Death Literacy Index (DLI) provides a means to measure and research public health palliative care initiatives, including those under the umbrella of Compassionate Communities, by exploring the ways in which community members’ knowledge and practice are enhanced through these initiatives. Within public health palliative care, the Compassionate Communities approach views the community as equal partners in the long and complex task of providing quality health care at end of life. Over the past decade there has been growing acknowledgement that communities have been marginalised in the increasingly professionalised EOL care service sector. In contrast Compassionate Communities draw upon the social connections, reciprocity and trust available when social capital is present in a community. Thus, the DLI is designed to be used by community practitioners and researchers alike. This report provides an overview of the concept of death literacy and the development of the DLI. The DLI was developed from personal narratives of carers, with input from a wide range of professionals and experts and was tested on a national sample of Australians. The report includes detailed information about the development of the Index, reliability and validity statistics, four case studies demonstrating the uses of the DLI and a series of data tables for understanding the norms and baseline data about death literacy in Australia

Single-cell multi-omics analysis of the immune response in COVID-19

Funder: Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001255Funder: University College London, Birkbeck MRC Doctoral Training ProgrammeFunder: The Jikei University School of MedicineFunder: Action Medical Research (GN2779)Funder: NIHR Clinical Lectureship (CL-2017-01-004)Funder: NIHR (ACF-2018-01-004) and the BMA FoundationFunder: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (grant 2017-174169) and from Wellcome (WT211276/Z/18/Z and Sanger core grant WT206194)Funder: UKRI Innovation/Rutherford Fund Fellowship allocated by the MRC and the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform (MR/5005579/1 to M.Z.N.). M.Z.N. and K.B.M. have been funded by the Rosetrees Trust (M944)Funder: Barbour FoundationFunder: ERC Consolidator and EU MRG-Grammar awardsFunder: Versus Arthritis Cure Challenge Research Grant (21777), and an NIHR Research Professorship (RP-2017-08-ST2-002)Funder: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)Abstract: Analysis of human blood immune cells provides insights into the coordinated response to viral infections such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We performed single-cell transcriptome, surface proteome and T and B lymphocyte antigen receptor analyses of over 780,000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells from a cross-sectional cohort of 130 patients with varying severities of COVID-19. We identified expansion of nonclassical monocytes expressing complement transcripts (CD16+C1QA/B/C+) that sequester platelets and were predicted to replenish the alveolar macrophage pool in COVID-19. Early, uncommitted CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells were primed toward megakaryopoiesis, accompanied by expanded megakaryocyte-committed progenitors and increased platelet activation. Clonally expanded CD8+ T cells and an increased ratio of CD8+ effector T cells to effector memory T cells characterized severe disease, while circulating follicular helper T cells accompanied mild disease. We observed a relative loss of IgA2 in symptomatic disease despite an overall expansion of plasmablasts and plasma cells. Our study highlights the coordinated immune response that contributes to COVID-19 pathogenesis and reveals discrete cellular components that can be targeted for therapy

Safety, immunogenicity, and reactogenicity of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines given as fourth-dose boosters following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 and a third dose of BNT162b2 (COV-BOOST): a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised trial

Background Some high-income countries have deployed fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but the clinical need, effectiveness, timing, and dose of a fourth dose remain uncertain. We aimed to investigate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of fourth-dose boosters against COVID-19.Methods The COV-BOOST trial is a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised controlled trial of seven COVID-19 vaccines given as third-dose boosters at 18 sites in the UK. This sub-study enrolled participants who had received BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) as their third dose in COV-BOOST and randomly assigned them (1:1) to receive a fourth dose of either BNT162b2 (30 µg in 0·30 mL; full dose) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna; 50 µg in 0·25 mL; half dose) via intramuscular injection into the upper arm. The computer-generated randomisation list was created by the study statisticians with random block sizes of two or four. Participants and all study staff not delivering the vaccines were masked to treatment allocation. The coprimary outcomes were safety and reactogenicity, and immunogenicity (antispike protein IgG titres by ELISA and cellular immune response by ELISpot). We compared immunogenicity at 28 days after the third dose versus 14 days after the fourth dose and at day 0 versus day 14 relative to the fourth dose. Safety and reactogenicity were assessed in the per-protocol population, which comprised all participants who received a fourth-dose booster regardless of their SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. Immunogenicity was primarily analysed in a modified intention-to-treat population comprising seronegative participants who had received a fourth-dose booster and had available endpoint data. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, 73765130, and is ongoing.Findings Between Jan 11 and Jan 25, 2022, 166 participants were screened, randomly assigned, and received either full-dose BNT162b2 (n=83) or half-dose mRNA-1273 (n=83) as a fourth dose. The median age of these participants was 70·1 years (IQR 51·6–77·5) and 86 (52%) of 166 participants were female and 80 (48%) were male. The median interval between the third and fourth doses was 208·5 days (IQR 203·3–214·8). Pain was the most common local solicited adverse event and fatigue was the most common systemic solicited adverse event after BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 booster doses. None of three serious adverse events reported after a fourth dose with BNT162b2 were related to the study vaccine. In the BNT162b2 group, geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration at day 28 after the third dose was 23 325 ELISA laboratory units (ELU)/mL (95% CI 20 030–27 162), which increased to 37 460 ELU/mL (31 996–43 857) at day 14 after the fourth dose, representing a significant fold change (geometric mean 1·59, 95% CI 1·41–1·78). There was a significant increase in geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration from 28 days after the third dose (25 317 ELU/mL, 95% CI 20 996–30 528) to 14 days after a fourth dose of mRNA-1273 (54 936 ELU/mL, 46 826–64 452), with a geometric mean fold change of 2·19 (1·90–2·52). The fold changes in anti-spike protein IgG titres from before (day 0) to after (day 14) the fourth dose were 12·19 (95% CI 10·37–14·32) and 15·90 (12·92–19·58) in the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 groups, respectively. T-cell responses were also boosted after the fourth dose (eg, the fold changes for the wild-type variant from before to after the fourth dose were 7·32 [95% CI 3·24–16·54] in the BNT162b2 group and 6·22 [3·90–9·92] in the mRNA-1273 group).Interpretation Fourth-dose COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccines are well tolerated and boost cellular and humoral immunity. Peak responses after the fourth dose were similar to, and possibly better than, peak responses after the third dose

Bearing witness : toward a pedagogical practice of love?

How do you actually do postgraduate supervision? What informs your doing? Using writing as a form of inquiry, this paper seeks to explore and interrogate a particular set of postgraduate supervisory practices and relationships. Positioning postgraduate supervision as pedagogy I try and show a set of practices informed by bell hooks' idea of a supervisor as someone who witnesses the student and their work. This seems to be especially important when working with students whose research topic involves stories, experiences and other 'data' which can engender a visceral effect on the listener/reader. The emerging results of this inquiry are that self consciously embracing a head/heart stance within the supervisory relationship is crucial in an environment where emotions and the body are often neglected or silenced

The subalterns speak: a collaborative inquiry into community participation in health care

This thesis is about change, community and the health system. It is about women. It is about challenging the status quo and advocating for and with the less powerful. It is about fore grounding previously silenced voices, valuing the subjugated knowledge of people other than those who make the decisions. Many voices are woven together, including those of the author, community health workers, non-government agency workers, people who use community health services, and members of the public. This is a narrative of a group of people researching the issue of community participating in community health, concentrating on the Blue Mountains district of NSW. The inquiry centred on the premise that community participating is both desirable and achievable. The group spoke to over 100 people, and the conclusion was reached that, while community participation is promoted by the NSW Health Department, at present it is an idea that has not been thought through, is ill defined, and lacks support in practice. Debates about health and illness take place within a medical discourse, and there must be a reorientation to viewing health as a social phenomenon if community participation in decision making is to occu

Representando comunidad(es)

In diesem Beitrag erzähle ich die Geschichte einer Gruppe von Gemeindemitarbeiter/innen, Aktivist/innen und Akademiker/innen, die im Rahmen eines partizipativen Forschungsansatzes zuzammengekommen sind, um "erfolgreiche Geschichten von Differenz und Widerstand" zu untersuchen. Anschließend an ein Konzept des "Wandels von den Rändern" befassten wir uns mit und sammelten wir lokale Erzählungen von Hoffnung und von erfolgreichem, alltäglichem Widerstand. Wir taten dies, indem wir uns Geschichten erzählten, einander zuhörten, Spaß miteinander hatten, lachten, aßen und kreativ waren – um so unsere Erfolge und unser solidarisches Miteinander zu zelebrieren, zu dokumentieren, zu analysieren und für andere sichtbar zu machen. Nach fünf Jahren kamen ca. 40 Personen zusammen, um eine erste creative community conference in den Blue Mountains (Neusüdwales, Australien) zu planen und zu organisieren. Im Zuge dieser gemeinsamen Arbeit entstand dann auch eine creative reflective writing group, die an WINTER, BUCK und SOBIECHOWSKAs (1999) Konzept der patchwork texts und RICHARDSONs (2000) writing as inquiry als theoretische und methodologische Grundlage der eigenen Arbeit anschloss. Im Verlauf von Gesprächen mit dem (statt über das) Publikum entwickelte diese Gruppe ein Drehbuch (AMBLER et al. 2002) für ein Stück, das bei bisher vier Konferenzen aufgeführt wurde. In diesem Beitrag befasse ich mich mit dieser Gruppe und ihrer Arbeit, dem Drehbuch und dessen Aufführungen, als Beispiel für eine performative Sozialwissenschaft in Aktion. Ich behandle dabei auch theoretische Fragen z.B. nach der geschichtlichen Perspektive einer performativen Sozialwissenschaft als performative Ethnografie. Dies scheint mir insbesondere wichtig, da wir als Sozialwissenschaftler/innen an einer "zukunftsorientierten Forschung" interessiert sind, deren Arbeiten zugleich klar und an Veränderung orientiert sein und die Welt nicht nur beschreiben sollten (DENZIN 2000, S.915). URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0802573This paper tells the story of a group of community workers, activists and academics who came together, in a participatory inquiry, to explore "good news stories of difference and resistance". Using an organising principle of social change from the margins we engaged in, and collected, local stories of hope, ordinary resistances and success. Using simple strategies such as story telling, purposeful listening, fun, laughter, food and creativity we sought to celebrate, document, analyse and make visible our successes and nurture each other. After five years 40 people came together to plan and host a creative community conference in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales (NSW, Australia). As a result of this a creative reflective writing group was established to reflect on this event using WINTER, BUCK and SOBIECHOWSKA's (1999) notion of a patchwork text and RICHARDSON's (2000) writing as inquiry as theoretical and methodological underpinnings. Concerned with talking with, rather than to, our audiences the writing group developed a play script (AMBLER et al., 2002) which was performed at four conferences. This article discusses the creative writing group/inquiry group process, the play script and performances as examples and manifestations of performative social science in action. In so doing I explore theoretical questions which underpin the historical moment of performative social science as performance ethnography. This seems important if, as social scientists, we are interested in "future-oriented research" which produces works that speak clearly and powerfully as well as works that are committed to changing the world not just describing it (DENZIN, 2000, p.915). URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0802573Este artículo cuenta la historia de un grupo de trabajadores comunitarios, activistas y académicos quienes se reunieron, en una indagación participativa, para explorar "buenas nuevas historias de la diferencia y la resistencia". Al usar un principio organizador del cambio social desde los márgenes nos involucramos, y recolectamos historias locales de esperanza, triunfos y resistencias ordinarias. Usando estrategias simples como el contar historias, escucha intencional, diversión, risas, comida y creatividad buscamos celebrar, documentar, analizar y hacer visible nuestros triunfos y cultivarlos cada uno. Luego de cinco años, 40 personas se reunieron para planear y realizar una conferencia de comunidad creativa en las Montañas Azules del Nuevo Gales del Sur (Australia). Como un resultado de este grupo de escritura creativa reflexiva se estableció usar la noción de texto-collage de WINTER, BUCK y SOBIECHOWSKA (1999) y la escritura como indagación de RICHARDSON (2000) como sustentos teóricos y metodológicos. Preocupados acerca del hablar con, en lugar del hablar para nuestro público, el grupo de escritura desarrollo un guión teatral (AMBLER et al. 2002) que se presentó en cuatro conferencias. Este artículo discute el proceso de indagación de grupo/de escritura creativa, el guión teatral y las representaciones como ejemplos y manifestaciones de ciencia social preformativa en acción. Al hacerlo así, exploro preguntas teóricas que subyacen al momento histórico de la ciencia social preformativa como etnografía preformativa. Esto parece importante si, como científicos sociales, estamos interesados en la "investigación orientada-al futuro" que produce obras que hablan clara y poderosamente así como obras comprometidas a cambiar el mundo y no solo describirlo (DENZIN 2000, p.915). URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs080257