Discovering Discourse Analysis: Uncovering the ‘Hidden’ in youth work research, Methodological approaches to research in youth work: Changing the paradigm

Purpose: Discourse can be regarded as established ways of talking that people adopt at certain points of time that help to inform their understanding of the world and how they should behave in it. Foucault (1998) explains discourse as both an instrument and an effect of power, transmitting and producing power, but also undermining and exposing it. Tilsen (2018) argues that prevailing discourses can marginalise young people through imposing specifications on what constitutes normal behaviour, as well as framing problems within totalising accounts. Often these are hidden and unacknowledged discourses that young people and youth work practitioners are not aware of; especially in terms of their role in contributing to their creation and maintenance. This paper explores the concept of discourse and subsequently discourse analysis as a methodology. Approach: The paper examines how discourse analysis fits with youth work values and principles; providing a unique perspective to research with young people. There is also critical discussion on ethical concerns in discourse analysis; especially around ensuring young people’s authentic voice is heard above the researcher’s own analysis. Practical Implications: The paper presents examples of how discourse analysis has been, and could be used in research with young people. Originality: There is limited research that currently explores discourse analysis methodology in youth work research. The article concludes that discourse analysis is not an easy approach to research, but one that can give voice to young people to create counter discourse

Do medical student attitudes towards patients with chronic low back pain improve during training? a cross-sectional study

<p><b>Background:</b> Health care professionals with positive attitudes towards the functional abilities of patients with low back pain are more likely to encourage activity and avoidance of rest as per recommended guidelines. This study investigated whether medical student training fosters positive attitudes towards patients with back pain and their ability to function.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> First (n = 202) and final (n = 146) year medical students at the University of Glasgow completed the Health Care Professionals' Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS) questionnaire. This measures attitudes of clinicians towards the functional ability of patients with back pain. A group of first (n = 62) and final year (n = 61) business students acted as non-health care controls. Attitudes were compared using two-way ANOVA with year of study and discipline of degree as independent variables.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Both year of study [F(1,465) = 39.5, p < 0.01] and discipline of degree [F(1,465) = 43.6, p < 0.01] had significant effects on total HC-PAIRS scores and there was a significant interaction effect [F(1,465) = 9.5, p < 0.01]. Medical students commenced their course with more positive attitudes than non-health care students (65.7 vs. 69.2 respectively; p < 0.01) - lower scores translating into more positive attitudes. In their final year, the difference between the two student groups had widened (56.4 vs. 65.3; p < 0.01).</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Undergraduate medical training promotes positive attitudes towards the functional ability of patients with back pain, suggesting that students may be more likely to develop an evidence-based approach to this patient group after qualification. Some adjustments to training may be warranted to encourage a more positive shift in attitudes.</p&gt

Out of the Weald, the secret Weald

This volume details the results of archaeological work conducted across four sites within the Sussex Weald. Among the findings presented here are some regionally important remains including a Palaeolithic handaxe, perhaps some of the earliest land division so far excavated in the Wealden region dating to the Late Bronze Age, a Roman shrine and what could possibly constitute the remains of an Iron Age fort, one of the hill-slope type

Educating Informal Educators on Issues of Race and Inequality: Raising Critical Consciousness, Identifying Challenges, and Implementing Change in a Youth and Community Work Programme

The debate regarding institutional racism and White privilege within higher education (HE) remains prevalent, and higher education institutions (HEIs) are not exempt from the racial equality debate. Youth and Community Work is underpinned by anti-oppressive practice, highlighting a need to educate informal educators on the structural underpinnings of Race and inequlaity, so that they can be challenged in practice to bring about social change. For Youth and Community Workers, this is primarily done through informal education and critical pedagogy. The research aimed to unearth race inequality within the Youth and Community Work programme at Wrexham Glyndŵr University (WGU). Critical reflection methodology was used to deconstruct departmental processes of recruitment, learning and assessment, student voice, and support. Research data was analysed using thematic analysis, determining three themes: critical consciousness, challenge, and change. These are discussed within the framework of Critical Race Theory and critical pedagogy. The research concludes that oppression, and therefore inequality, occurs in the Youth and Community Work programme. Further reading of issues reported in HEIs across the United Kingdom shows that more analysis and deconstruction is needed through CRT. Educating informal educators on issues of race and inequality to raise critical consciousness is one way this can be achieved

Pracademia—Role Modelling HyFlex Digital Pedagogies in Youth Work Education

This research evaluates the experience of educators and students engaging in HyFlex learning experiences on a university Youth Work programme during the Covid-19 pandemic. Adopting a mixed methods approach, the research identifies challenges, opportunities, and possibilities of HyFlex learning. The research explores how digital skills gained in the classroom supported students to be more confident in role modelling these to deliver Digital Youth Work and support them in a post-Covid-19 environment. HyFlex pedagogies supported the development of pracademics, creating opportunities for learning in the classroom and translating this into real-world practice. Themes of time, technology, accessibility, and communities of practice (COP) are also discussed. Recommendations are made for future Higher Education practice which can be applied beyond Youth Work programmes

Divergent Human Cortical Regions for Processing Distinct Acoustic-Semantic Categories of Natural Sounds: Animal Action Sounds vs. Vocalizations

A major gap in our understanding of natural sound processing is knowledge of where or how in a cortical hierarchy differential processing leads to categorical perception at a semantic level. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we sought to determine if and where cortical pathways in humans might diverge for processing action sounds vs. vocalizations as distinct acoustic-semantic categories of real-world sound when matched for duration and intensity. This was tested by using relatively less semantically complex natural sounds produced by non-conspecific animals rather than humans. Our results revealed a striking double-dissociation of activated networks bilaterally. This included a previously well described pathway preferential for processing vocalization signals directed laterally from functionally defined primary auditory cortices to the anterior superior temporal gyri, and a less well-described pathway preferential for processing animal action sounds directed medially to the posterior insulae. We additionally found that some of these regions and associated cortical networks showed parametric sensitivity to high-order quantifiable acoustic signal attributes and/or to perceptual features of the natural stimuli, such as the degree of perceived recognition or intentional understanding. Overall, these results supported a neurobiological theoretical framework for how the mammalian brain may be fundamentally organized to process acoustically and acoustic-semantically distinct categories of ethologically valid, real-world sounds