The complexities of failing (Social Work) students - a workshop for practice educators of Social Work students held at the University of Lincoln on Thursday 27th November 2014

This workshop for practice educators teaching social work students whilst on placement explored issues relating to failing students. Reasons why students might experience difficulties whilst on placement, early identification of problems, barriers to making a fail decision and resolution of concerns were discussed. The session considered how to evidence and articulate concerns in relation to HCPC Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for Students and the appropriate PCF levels and how to develop appropriate intervention plans, using the University's concerns process or Fitness to Practise procedures where necessary

Empirical Analysis of Firefighting – Large-Fire Suppression in Victoria, Australia

Large fires can cause the deaths of hundreds of people, burn thousands of homes, and cost billions of dollars in damages. Suppression is the primary means of large-fire management. Most suppression costs, billions of dollars, come from large-fire suppression. Yet, formal knowledge of large-fire suppression is limited. Fire managers make decisions that impact the lives of thousands of people. As the effectiveness of large-fire suppression is mainly unquantified, there is little beyond their tacit knowledge to guide decisions. Before we address effectiveness, we must address a fundamental question: ‘How are suppression resources used on large fires?’ This thesis uses qualitative and quantitative methods to answer that question. This thesis examines the suppression of 74 large fires that occurred between 2010 and 2015 in Victoria, Australia. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning made this research possible by providing operational data. The first step to resolving suppression resource use was to develop a framework of large-fire suppression (Chapter 3). A qualitative document analysis was performed on a subset of ten large fires. Three approaches were involved: 1) daily fire reconstructions were completed, covering 156 days, 2) a five-stage classification of suppression was developed by analysing the reconstructions and comments in 674 operational documents, and 3) content analysis was performed on the comments to classify discrete suppression tasks. Large-fire suppression was framed as a progression through five discrete stages with 20 identified tasks. A striking result was that 57% of resource use was on tasks that fall outside of current suppression modelling and productivity research

Marshall University Music Department Presents a Senior Recital, Heather Elliott and Laura Simpson, flutes, accompanied by Edwin Harkless, piano

https://mds.marshall.edu/music_perf/1437/thumbnail.jp

A temporal framework of large wildfire suppression in practice, a qualitative descriptive study

Suppression activities on large wildfires are complicated. Existing suppression literature does not take into account this complexity which leaves existing suppression models and measures of resource productivity incomplete. A qualitative descriptive analysis was performed on the suppression activities described in operational documents of 10 large wildfires in Victoria, Australia. A five-stage classification system summarises suppression in the everyday terms ofwildfire management. Suppression can be heterogeneous across different sectors with different stages occurring across sectors on the same day. The stages and the underlying 20 suppression tasks identified provide a fundamental description of how suppression resources are being used on largewildfires. We estimate that at least 57% of resource use on our sample of 10 large wildfires falls outside of current suppression modelling and productivity research

The expectations and experiences of volunteers offering psychosocial support to vulnerable children.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.This qualitative study is an exploratory investigation aimed at understanding the expectations and experiences of volunteers offering psychosocial support to vulnerable children. It serves as an evaluation of one aspect of the Structured Group Therapy Programme (SGTP) implemented within peri-urban and rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Volunteers from within these communities are involved in facilitating this community-based programme, and in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of this project, it is important to understand what (i) motivates an individual to volunteer in the programme, and (ii) what keeps them involved. Two groups of research participants were selected to participate in this study. The first group comprised of five volunteers who were more experienced in their work with vulnerable children than the second group of participants. The first group of participants had been involved in the Vulnerable Children's Programme (VCP) for a longer duration, across all the communities in which the programme operates, and were involved in training new facilitators. The second group of participants consisted of eight community facilitators, who were involved in implementing the programme within their local community alone, and were less experienced than the first group. The nature of this study required careful consideration of ethical principles before, during, and even after the study was complete. A focus group was run with each of the groups with the aim of exploring the volunteers' expectations before entering the programme and their experiences within the programme. The focus groups were transcribed and analysed within an interpretive, phenomenological framework

Transformation through adaptation: a grounded theory of the patient experience of Alcohol-Related Brain Damage

Background: Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) is an umbrella term used to describe the range of effects that long-term consumption of alcohol can have on the structure and function of the brain. Despite the increasing prevalence of ARBD, there is a lack of research in this area, and as a result, there are no current guidelines and few services available for the treatment of this condition. There is therefore a need to increase the evidence base in this area, which will assist in the understanding, and ultimately treatment, of ARBD. Aims: This thesis consists of two parts. The first is a systematic review journal article which asks the question: “What is the impact of alcohol-abuse on memory function within the first three weeks of alcohol withdrawal?” The second part is a qualitative research project which aims to develop a grounded theory regarding the patient experience of ARBD, identifying and highlighting themes and concepts that are central to the experience. Methods: For the systematic review, four databases were searched. Studies that were included in the review had to have participants with alcohol-dependence; abstinence of less than or equal to three weeks; and to have undergone some form of neuropsychological assessment of memory function. Data from 15 articles were extracted and assessed for quality. For the qualitative study, participants (n=10) were interviewed regarding their experiences of ARBD and the data was then analysed using grounded theory methodology. Results: The results of the systematic review were somewhat ambiguous with some studies reporting impairments in verbal and visual memory, while other studies found no impairments. Episodic memory deficits were present in all studies reviewed. The results of the qualitative study propose a tentative model which describes “transformation through adaptation”. This model hypothesises that successful negotiation of the journey through ARBD hinges on the adaptations that need to be made in order to progress towards transformation. The model is understood in the framework of a number of phases, “Being diagnosed with ARBD, “Focusing on abstinence”, “Taking ownership of life with ARBD” and “Creating a valuable life”, all of which exist within a framework of being supported by specialist services. Conclusions and implications: The systematic review demonstrated some support for deficits in visual and episodic memory within the first three weeks of abstinence, while it appeared that verbal memory was relatively preserved. The heterogeneity of the studies, coupled with the methodological variability, meant that all conclusions need to be considered as tentative, and be interpreted with caution. The main difficulties with interpretation were to do with the confounding factors often found within this client group. The results reinforce the concept of tailored treatment programmes for individuals due to the large variability of the effect of alcohol (and other factors). The qualitative study proposes a model that shows how adaptation appears to play a key role in the successful negotiation of a diagnosis of ARBD. The study describes a series of categories that can be used as a framework to identify and support the changes that are necessary for recovery and reintegration. The value in this study is that the results are directly attributable to individuals who have been diagnosed, and are now successfully living, with ARBD

Interactions between soil fertility and climate drive variation in functional traits in New Zealand forests.

Plant functional traits provide a mechanistic approach to understanding the processes of environmental filtering and community assembly. Variation along environmental gradients results in changes in the adaptive values of traits. Climate and soil fertility are two dominant factors that drive these patterns of trait variation. These two factors simultaneously select for traits during environmental filtering. However, we do not understand how interactions between climate and soil fertility influence the variation in community-level traits of multiple plant organs. The roles of traits in New Zealand forests are also yet to be studied at a national scale. This thesis aimed to determine the adaptive values of multiple functional traits across broad climate and soil fertility gradients in New Zealand forests. This was achieved by the following methods. Data were collected for leaf, stem, root, seed, flowering, and whole-plant traits from the 64 most common native trees in forests nationwide. Community composition and soil properties were measured at 324 plots across the country. For each plot, long-term average climate data were extracted from a model. A variable representing variation in soil fertility in the plots was derived by principal components analysis (PCA). Community-weighted mean (CWM) functional traits, i.e. average trait values weighted by the abundance of species, were calculated for each plot. Dimensionality of the specie-trait matrix was determined by PCA. Multiple linear regression was used to model the variation of each of the CWM traits as functions of mean annual temperature (MAT), vapour pressure deficit (VPD), soil fertility, soil fertility × MAT interaction, soil fertility × VPD interaction, total basal area and topography. Five dimensions of trait variation were identified among New Zealand trees. Soil fertility was a more significant predictor of CWM traits than either of the climate variables. However, both of the interaction effects were significant for most traits and overrode the importance of the main effects. For example, in sites with high fertility soil, leaf economics traits varied from ‘slow’ in cool and dry conditions to ‘fast’ in warm and moist conditions, but in sites with low fertility, these traits were ‘slow’ in all climates. Therefore, the adaptive values of multiple functional traits of New Zealand forests varied depending on both soil fertility and climate. This thesis provides the first recognition of the significant roles of the interaction effects between soil fertility and climate in driving variation in CWM traits from multiple plant organs. Climate and soil fertility interact in a way that influences CWM trait values independently from the influence of each environmental variable. These interactions are suspected to be important globally and should be tested for worldwide to confirm the generality of their effects. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that studying the relationships between CWM traits and soil fertility or climate independently is insufficient, when attempting to understand the process of environmental filtering. It is critical that the interaction effects between climate and soil fertility are included in future studies to enhance our understanding and ability to predict community-level responses to processes such as climate change

The Role of Intonation Units in Memory for Spoken English

Comprehension and production of spoken language are very memory-intensive tasks, especially in real-time natural interactions. Yet, it is well-known that human beings have a very limited capacity for retention of newly-presented material, a phenomenon normally attributed to limitations on short-term memory. This dissertation provides evidence that the Intonation Unit (IU), an intermediate-level prosodic phrase, serves a critical role in processing of spoken English by carving up the continuous speech stream into bite-sized 'chunks' that can be easily fit into listeners' limited focus of attention. Three empirical studies are presented: a study of memory span in terms of IUs, employing data from a verbatim recall experiment; a study of association strength between and across IU boundaries, employing data from the same recall experiment; and a study of priming duration in terms of IUs, analyzing a corpus of spoken English. The implications of the findings with respect to Wallace Chafe's (1980,1987,1994) conception of Intonation Units and theories of short-term memory are explored

From potential to reality: the development and use of an e-portfolio in social work education

Students studying for a degree in social work are required to undertake one hundred and seventy days of direct practice with service users in social care settings (TCSW, 2011). Traditionally students on practice placements have produced a hard copy portfolio which compiles evidence to meet a range of educational and professional requirements, as well as demonstrating key attributes such as critical thinking and reflection. Following a scoping exercise which demonstrated that there were significant advantages to using an electronic portfolio, the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln developed, piloted and introduced an eportfolio on both its’ undergraduate and Master’s social work degree programmes. This paper provides a rationale and contextualisation for the introduction of this type of innovative digital technology and reviews the pedagogical and practical opportunities and limitations presented by the e-portfolio. This presentation will also provide an opportunity for participants to view the e-portfolio in operation