Young peoples' views of online historical archives

Digitized collections are ‘a rich source of instructional material for history teachers’ [1 p314] but it has been noted these ‘remained largely underused’. There is ‘a growing interest in both improving the user experience and in justifying the creation of digital collections to multiple stakeholders’ [2 p339]. Within the UK an estimated £130m has been invested in digitisation projects [3]. Re-cent changes to the UK National Curriculum for history have placed greater emphasis upon the importance of understanding methods of historical enquiry and the use of evidence. Therefore, the digitized collections created by this investment should be a vital classroom tool. This study set out to investigate within the UK the level of awareness of these resources and their value to young learners aged 8-16 years. There were two stages to this qualitative study. Stage one was the delivery of a workshop which introduced young learners to a range of digital archives. After this the young people were given a period of time to use the online archives and explore the difference forms of historical evidence. Stage two involved focus groups with a sample of the young people during which participants were asked to discuss their end-user experience. Key findings included enhanced personal learning experience, development of a personal connection to the past, and identification of issues related to usability and practical application in a classroom learning context

Japanese Ancient Arts and Shinrin-Yoku

Forest bathing (taking in the forest environment through our senses) (shinrin-yoku) (FB) has gained popularity throughout the world recently as research has demonstrated its benefits to health. In Japan FB can be practiced in isolation, or with activities such as gazing at landscapes (Miyazai 2018). This research seeks to establish whether practicing ancient art forms during a FB session can provide any added benefit to the experience. This is based on the assumption that these arts come from a meditative perspective, and that some of these practices have already been shown to improve health. It is proposed that traditions such as haiku, or the creation of small Japanese style rock gardens (within the forest), or learning basic moves in the way of the Japanese sword (iaido) using a wooded bokken (training sword) are included in a traditional FB session. A trained forest bathing guide, and staff who can provide insights into these arts prior to and during the session will be present. Adopting a constructivist perspective and using semi-structured interviews the authors will seek insights relating to health from those who have attended these sessions. The findings will be compared to those related to traditional forest bathing. It is anticipated that the results will add to the growing corpus of research relating to forests and nature, and also, importantly, consider how practices from the ancient arts can further contribute to understandings of wellbeing within a modern setting. Miyazaki, Y. 2018. Shinrin-yoku. Octopus Publishing

An international qualitative feasibility study to explore the process of using social innovation (co-production) strategies with older people: the SAIL project

Purpose This paper aims to present the feasibility study findings from a four-year project funded by the European Union Commission (the SAIL project, Staying Active and Independent for Longer). The funding stream was Interreg 2Seas which offers opportunities for coastal areas on both sides of the English Channel to work together on complex practical issues. The project focused on enabling older people to stay active and independent for longer using social innovation (co-production) approaches. Design/methodology/approach Ten pilot projects were developed, and each of the pilots worked with an academic partner to undertake a feasibility study that included 10 pilots across the four countries involved, France, Belgium, Holland and England. Findings This paper presents barriers and facilitators (using logic models) to the social innovation process with older people, which has wider relevance in terms of social innovation and its application. Research limitations/implications The findings which inform this paper are extensive, and this is a longitudinal qualitative study with much of the data collection being done using an online wiki (complemented by interviews and documentary analysis) which is a relatively new method for data collection. However, the consistency of the findings when analysed by three researchers was clear and pragmatically this complex method was required to examine complexity in the process of implementing social innovation in practice. Practical implications This project has enabled greater understanding of how social innovation can be applied and has highlighted contextual issues that can undermine or enable attempts to adopt the approach. Social implications For the 10 pilot projects generated, there were obviously important cultural and geographical differences in terms of engagement and practical implementation of social innovation. Some of which, as mentioned in this paper, are very important for the successful implementation of social innovation in a particular setting and indeed may be a strength or a barrier in terms of engaging with local people and agencies. Originality/value The development of logic models is a useful approach when the topic under study is complex and likely to produce a diverse set of process outcomes. The logic model focuses upon the relationships between the resources that are used to create the intervention and what is produced in terms of outcomes. Ultimately, this enables the identification of the factors that contribute to a successful intervention. Thus, in relation to this study, logic models have helped to provide an evidence-based framework that can support decision-making regarding the most effective use of limited resources to support successful social innovation processes in the future. The logic model for each area of the findings presented here can in the future be used to help implement social innovation; also, to consider how it can be improved in future research

The Rise in Emergence Admissions Project

A report for West Midlands NHS ExecutiveAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/48403 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Home Health Care: Charting a Course for Future Research

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01621424.2011.64191