National security: A propositional study to develop resilience indicators as an aid to personnel vetting

Within the National Security domain there is a convergence of security responsibility across the national security agencies, law enforcement and private security sectors. The sensitivity of this environment requires individuals operating in the domain to be honest, trustworthy and loyal. Personnel vetting is a formal process used to determine an individual’s suitability for access to this domain. Notwithstanding this process, significant breaches of trust, security, and corruption still occur. In psychology, resilience is a well researched phenomenon that is considered a multidimensional construct where individual attributes, family aspects and social environment interact in aiding individuals to deal with vulnerability. There are many understandings and definitions of resilience based on theorists’ different perspectives; however, most agree that resilience is represented by a minimum of two aspects. The first is adversity and second, how the individual deals with adversity that demonstrates situational adaptation in a positive manner. The study is a work in progress and proposes the use of a recently developed Lifespan Resilience Scale. This scale will use resilience markers as an aid to National Security by providing vetting agencies with an additional tool for proactive intervention. The Lifespan Resilience Scale is currently undergoing reliability and validity testing within a student population. Once validated within this population, the scale will be adjusted and tested within the vetting environment using cross validated cohorts and expert opinion. Such a tool will assist National Security through better personnel risk management

How the experience of living with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator influences the educational needs and concerns of patients and their partners.

Background: The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of how the experience of living with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) influenced patients and their partners' educational needs and concerns. An ICD is a device that is designed to treat patients who have life-threatening arrhythmias. The quality of life (QoL) of the ICD recipient is not only influenced by the disease itself but by adjustment to an altered life situation. Providing patient education can be an effective intervention to improve patient adjustment to the device. However, there is little qualitative research on the educational needs and concerns of these patients. It is therefore argued that qualitative research focussing on the lived experiences of patients is needed to identify appropriate educational interventions to facilitate this adjustment. Methodology: The constant comparative method of constructivist grounded theory was employed for data collection and analysis. Semi-structured face-toface interviews were carried out with fourteen ICD patients and four partners. Findings: A grounded theory model was developed which described how patient's experiences of getting back to normal following the insertion of an ICD influenced their educational needs and concerns and ultimately led to their acceptance of the ICD. The model had two key components, getting back to normal and being informed. How the patients and carers experienced getting back to normal consisted of adapting lifestyle, focusing on the positive, effect on the family and living with the uncertainty regarding experiencing an ICD shock. Their experience of the ICD influenced their educational needs in that the information needed to be tailored to their individual experiences. Discussion: This study found a strong need to feel informed, which is a major part of Mishels theory of uncertainty. The model is also compared to the crisis theory and the common-sense model of illness representations. The chapter ends with a conclusion and recommendations for future reseaawd_pdtunpub1814_ethesesunpu

The 2022 Utah College Sexual Behavior Survey: Qualitative Report

Purpose: The purpose of the 2022 Utah College Sexual Behavior Survey project was to use retrospective sexual behavior and education measures to gain a better understanding of the sexual behaviors and perceptions of sex education of Utah youth by asking students aged 18-21 years old about their sexual behaviors as youth. This supplement provides additional qualitative research that aids in understanding our quantitative findings. Measures: The qualitative survey questions represented three topical areas. These areas included questions about consent, sex education satisfaction, and student’s parental preference when discussing topics about sex and health. Method: A one-time survey was disseminated to students aged 18-21 at three universities in Utah. We relied on a convenience sampling strategy to answer the research questions guiding this study. Analysis: Inductive coding was used. One member of the team created codebooks for each question and then received feedback from two other team members who examined interrater reliability to establish final codes and themes. Results: This report outlines the qualitative results from the 2022 Utah College Sexual Behavior Survey. Results showed that students generally felt that a more comprehensive sex education was needed in Utah, that consent is easy to give and obtain, and that young adults thought their mothers were easier to discuss sex and health topics with

Leading and Managing the 21st Century Research University: Creating, Implementing, and Sustaining Strategic Change

Universities are competing in an environment in which only the most adaptable to sustainable change will prosper. In order to evolve in this challenging time, universities must embrace strategies for transformational change. This paper reviews two case studies that illustrate the universal applicability of theories of Change Science for achieving sustainable change in stressful times of prosperity and austerity. Understanding the phases of the Change Process that include Creating Vision, Implementing Vision, and Sustaining Vision can promote sustainable change directly related to the culture and mission of the institution

Narrative and portfolio approaches to teacher professional standards

This paper analyses various uses of narrative in the exploration of teacher identity. It highlights the way many contemporary education writers use terminology such as &lsquo;storying lives&rsquo; and &lsquo;storied landscapes&rsquo; to describe teacher processes of reflection on practice. In this paper the authors discuss some recent approaches to narrative that incorporate or suggest systematic uses of narrative theory (Conle 2003, Kamler, 2001, Richardson, 2003). Consideration is also given to the links between critical ethnography and narrative in order to critique the use of teacher portfolios, as in a recent Australian initiative for the appraisal of beginning teachers. The authors conclude with an argument for the rehabilitation and refinement of narrative theory in the &lsquo;writing&rsquo; of teacher identity.<br /

Noticing a flow of networks

The world of the classroom is no less a &lsquo;flow of networks&rsquo; (Castells 1999) than the globalised world outside its doors. In this fluid context of the world outside and the inner world of identity, the linear and somewhat found understandings of reflective practice (Schon 1987) and observations of classroom practice may serve to limit rather than reveal. The authors of this paper have been engaging with the ways teachers shape personal and professional theory through a movement - oriented process of noticing (Moss et al 2004). Noticing,working at the elusive intersections of observation and construction, permits non-linear connections. Noticing theorised in this way draws on the physical (Mason 2002). The movement occurs between the seen and the seer &ndash; between beliefs, identity and responses. The movement of the eye in noticing touches the seen in various places &ndash; pulling in and out of focus that which is seen. The same movement brings in and out of focus the seer- the beliefs and values held and let go in the seeing. The focusing in the act requires convergence and divergence (&lsquo;Notitia&rsquo; being known -&lsquo;Middle English from Old French from Latin Notitia being known from notus past part. of noscere know&rsquo;). The paper will report on early data on the impact of implementing this theoretical model in mass teacher education at the University of Melbourne, Australia.<br /

Knowledge management practices for development - Lessons from post-earthquake Nepal. A case-study on using technology to facilitate inclusive data gathering

Responding effectively and appropriately to large scale natural disaster requires information-driven coordinated action between many different stakeholders. Evidence from one NGO engaged in reconstruction work after the 2015 Nepal earthquake sets out some of the knowledge management practice issues faced by an organization performing this work in a challenging geographical environment with low-connectivity. Key issues are identified and a data gathering tool that encourages data-driven bottom-up development practices is presented