Enriching The Learning Experience In Upper Level Business Law

This paper is a brief explanation of one method used to engage student participation and facilitate learning in an upper level business law course

A Model for Hospital Discharge Preparation: From Case Management to Care Transition

There has been a proliferation of initiatives to improve discharge processes and outcomes for the transition from hospital to home and community-based care. Operationalization of these processes has varied widely as hospitals have customized discharge care into innovative roles and functions. This article presents a model for conceptualizing the components of hospital discharge preparation to ensure attention to the full range of processes needed for a comprehensive strategy for hospital discharge

Engaging with quality via the CEM model: Enhancing the content and performance management of postgraduate in-sessional academic skills provision

This research contributes to practice in the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) by demonstrating how business management approaches and tools can enhance the content and performance management of in-sessional academic skills provision. It was the result of a teaching and research collaboration between a Business Management (Logistics) lecturer and an EAP lecturer. The framework used in this research to evaluate student engagement with in-sessional provision is the CEM Model (Sloan & Porter, 2010) (Conceptualisation, Embedding and Mapping), and forms the basis for an evaluation, using a Best-Worst Discrete Choice Survey, to uncover from a student perspective the most valued academic skills content. From the Business Management perspective, the findings led to a reconceptualization of the CEM Model as a balanced scorecard, a strategic performance measurement tool to assess levels of student, staff and institutional engagement. For EAP practitioners the findings inform identification of in-sessional EAP provision to support international postgraduate students through enhancing the content and performance management of in-sessional EAP provision

Understanding well-being outcomes in primary care arts on referral interventions: a mixed method study

Background: Arts on Prescription programmes are designed to support mental health and well-being of patients with a variety of clinical needs within the community. Despite a number of studies reporting benefits, there are some patients that do not see improvements in well-being. Yet, there is limited research investigating the reasons for this. Methods: Using a sequential mixed-methods design the present study sought to understand why some participants (N=312) experienced an increase in well-being and others did not (N=95) after attending an Arts on Prescription intervention based in the South West of England between 2009 and 2016. Results: Quantitative comparisons between the two groups identified little differences, aside from age and baseline well-being (WEMWBS scores), with those that improved being slightly younger, and having lower well-being at the outset compared with those that did not improve. A process model depicting the perceived facilitative and inhibitive factors of attending the programme was developed from the qualitative findings. This model suggests that the social aspect of the course may be implicated in the participants differential outcomes; with those that showed a decrease in well-being reporting difficulties in interacting with others during the intervention. Further, the participants who reported an increase in well-being felt vulnerable to “relapse” when finishing the course due to uncertainties regarding future support and at their ability to maintain their well-being without the provision of the programme. Conclusions: This research suggests a need to promote communication amongst groups in such interventions with the hope that this will provide a more facilitative environment for all participants to benefit. Also, such programmes should consider follow-on options to ensure the participants feel supported and confident in managing their well-being once the course comes to an end. Findings will be pertinent to those commissioning primary care art interventions, ensuring that referral policies and pathways are designed for optimal effectiveness and for potentially tailoring social prescribing programmes to suit the participants specific needs

From Brideprice to Dowry in Mediterranean Europe

Se traza, en este estudio, la evolución a largo plazo de los sistemas de dote que puede ir, desde el precio de la novia, a la dote (idea de compra, precio del intercambio, riqueza de la novia y de la dote) y se argumenta sobre la existencia y desarrollo de los dos tipos de dote: la que dan sus padres a la novia y la que regala en novio a cambio de la novia (donación proter nupcias). Considera la dote medieval como una vuelta al sistema de Grecia y de Roma y un alejamiento del sistema del "precio de la novia" por la dote que era símbolo del estatus patrimonial patrilineal. Considera la ofrenda marital como expresión de los principios conyugales bilaterales. Piensa también que la dote fue un sistema de desheredamiento por la exclusión de la mujer en la herencia, que en Europa mediterránea fue progresivamente concentrada mediante el sistema de bienes vinculados y por la renuncia de ellos por parte de las mujeres. Así, donde la dote floreció, fue desplazando a las otras asignaciones matrimoniales. Contra J Goody, afirma que la dote fue una forma de desheredamiento dentro del grupo social cuya organización se habría vuelto significativamente menos bilateral.This study traces the long term evolution of dowry systems, which can go from brideprice to dowry (the idea of purchase, exchange price, or the value of the bride for that of the dowry). The author discusses the existence and development of two types of dowry: that which is given by the bride's parents and that which is given by the groom in exchange for the bride (propter wedding donation). She considers the medieval dowry to be a return to the Greek and Roman system and a move away from the "brideprice'' system toward dowry, which was a symbol of the patrimonial status of the paternal family line. She argues that the marital offering was an expression of bilateral conjugal principies. She further argues that the dowry was a system of disinheritance, or the exclusion of women from the inheritance, which in Mediterranean Europe was concentrated progressively through the system of entailed property and the renunciation of family property by women. Thus, where dowry flourished, it ended up supplanting other forms of marital assignment. In contrast to J. Goody, Hughes asserts that dowry was a form of disinheritance within the social group, the organisation of which had become significantly less bilateral

The Physiological and Biochemical Outcomes Associated with a Reflexology Treatment: A Systematic Review

Background. Reflexology is one of the top forms of complementary and alternative medicine in the UK and is used for healthcare by a diverse range of people. However, it is offered by few healthcare providers as little scientific evidence is available explaining how it works or any health benefits it may confer. The aim of this review was to assess the current evidence available from reflexology randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that have investigated changes in physiological or biochemical outcomes. Methods. Guidelines from the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions were followed: the following databases were searched from inception to December 2013: AMED, CAM Quest, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Medline Ovid, Proquest, and Pubmed. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two members of the review team and overall strength of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation guidelines. Results. Seventeen eligible RCTs met all inclusion criteria. A total of 34 objective outcome measures were analysed. Although twelve studies showed significant changes within the reflexology group, only three studies investigating blood pressure, cardiac index, and salivary amylase resulted in significant between group changes in favour of reflexology. The overall quality of the studies was low

Factors That Help and Hinder the Implementation of Community-Wide Behavior Change Programs

Novel community-wide approaches that gamify physical activity through challenges and competition have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, little is known about the factors that help or hinder their implementation. This qualitative study aimed to address this gap in the literature by systematically investigating the facilitators (organizational and experiential) and barriers to successful implementation of a community-wide intervention delivered in Gloucester, the United Kingdom. A two-phased process evaluation was conducted. Phase 1 involved the thematical analysis of open question feedback from n = 289 adults. Phase 2 included three focus groups conducted with n = 12 participants. This research showed that promoting the initiative through primary education settings was fundamental to enhancing awareness and participation. Social elements of the intervention were identified as a motivating factor for, and a consequential outcome of, participation. A lack of promotion to wider-reaching proportions of the community was perceived to be a significant barrier to implementation, potentially limiting inclusivity and participation in the activity. Game dynamics, timing, and fears regarding sustainability represented further difficulties to implementation

The Status of Ethics in Technology Education

Ethics is not a new concept within technology education. The inclusion of ethics evolved naturally from the progression of technological activity in the latter part of the twentieth century. During this shift to a postindustrial society, people started to look at technology from a more humanistic view than they previously had. To keep pace with these changes, a new ethic was suggested to help advance technological literacy by highlighting the relationship between humans, the environment, and technology (DeVore, 1980, 1991). How far have we come? This chapter reviews the current state of ethics within technology education. In the first two sections, materials for classroom instruction, including textbooks and modular materials, are examined. The third section discusses and recommends resources and practices that appear in professional literature. A survey of international technology education and ethics constitutes the fourth section. The chapter concludes with a look at professional ethics as they relate to technology teachers, teacher educators, and administrators