A Correlational Study of the Relationship Between Holistic Self-Care Practices and Burnout in Middle School Teachers

Teachers, particularly at the middle school level, are experiencing feelings of burnout, leading to high attrition rates. Wellness initiatives have been implemented in schools to help combat burnout, but few have taken a holistic approach to self-care. The theory of holism supports that teachers who take care of all aspects of self—physical, essential, creative, coping, and social—are ultimately able to be more engaged, effective teachers. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship burnout has with holistic self-care practices, gender, and years within the profession for full-time middle-level educators. A total of 196 full-time teachers of grades six, seven, and eight from the United States were surveyed, using two valid instruments: the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educator Survey and the Five-Factor Wellness Inventory. A quantitative correlational research design was utilized for this study to examine the direction and magnitude of the relationships. Findings from this study indicated a statistically significant negative correlation between measures of self-care and burnout, and no correlation between burnout and gender, or burnout and years within the profession. The results from this study suggest that educational policies and practices must be adapted to promote wellness for educators at all stages of their careers

The Role of Media Outreach and Program Modernization in the Growth of the SNAP Caseload

This research seeks to understand the role of information, in the form of media campaigns, and changes in transaction costs, in the form of online applications and call centers, in the growth in county-level SNAP caseloads. We find that SNAP radio advertisements are associated with a small increase in the SNAP caseload, though the magnitude of the estimates are sensitive to the econometric specification. The SNAP television ads, which were run only in 2006, are negatively correlated with caseloads. We find evidence of endogeneity in the placement of the advertising campaigns, leading to a positive bias in the estimated effect of the radio ad campaigns and a negative bias in the estimated effect of the TV ad campaigns. We also find the modernization policies are generally negatively correlated with caseloads, suggesting that providing information via the web and call centers did not successfully lower transaction costs in a uniform way that lead to higher SNAP participation.Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, food stamps, food assistance, outreach, advertising, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, H53, I3,

Factors Affecting Music Education in Ontario Secondary Schools: Teachers\u27 Perspectives

This study investigated the perceptions of secondary level music educators representing 20 English public Ontario school boards using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design combining large-scale data collection from an online survey (phase one) with more in-depth follow-up interviews (phase two). In both phases, music teachers offered their perceptions of music education programs (curricular and extra-curricular) in their schools and across the province concerning music enrolment trends, music course offerings, extra-curricular music activities, the factors facilitating and/or impeding positive change in music programs, and possible solutions to problems facing music education in Ontario public schools. This study employed a grounded theory approach in order to ascertain the authentic viewpoints of the participants with minimal direction from the researcher. Two key themes emerged: first, music teachers expressed apprehension regarding the increasingly hierarchical business model of Ontario’s education system (power above); second, the perceived decline of elementary music education in the province is viewed by participants as having a detrimental impact on secondary level music education (power below). Both of these issues are compounded by the perceived lack of control expressed by music educators in the implementation of solutions to these problems (power within). The resulting model is informed by business and education literature (including New Public Management models and Kanter’s Structural Theory of Organizational Behavior) to represent teacher perceptions of employee empowerment and professional capital. The findings of this research and theoretical model generated may contribute to positive change through a better understanding of the state of music education in Ontario

“The Boy Who Lived”: Harry Potter and the Practice of Moral Literacy

Using Isocrates’ theory of education, I argue that Harry Potter and the fandom culture it inspires cultivates a moral and ethical literacy. Isocrates proclaims that texts are a pivotal tool in instructing students and are a means to instill values. This theory helps frame the way I see reading Harry Potter and participating within online fandom spaces as a form of ethical instruction unique to the phenomenon that is the Harry Potter Generation, those who grew up along with the release of the texts, films, and subsequent canonical expansions. I articulate how the book provides readers with examples they can draw on to understand the world around them. These examples are then put into practice within online communities where readers develop and hone literacy skills that cultivate their moral and ethical frameworks to be more accepting of marginalized groups and individuals. This approach establishes the literacy and rhetorical capacity of online communities and the moral and ethical potential of these spaces when combined with worthy texts

'White picket fences' : lesbians' narratives of kinship building with their sisters in Newfoundland and Labrador

This thesis is based on a study in which I interviewed lesbians about their familial relationships with their heterosexual sisters. The 'lesbian sister' I analyze in this thesis is both literal and metaphorical. At its most literal level, the 'lesbian sister' signifies a concern with the experiences of lesbian sisters who participated in an interview-based study that composes a part of this thesis. At a metaphorical level, the 'lesbian sister' signifies its concern with the dis/continuities of the lesbian subject in feminism. I discuss the narratives of the lesbians I interviewed from their position within society as family's 'outlaws'. It is through the picture of lesbians as family's outlaws that family as a site of heterosexual privilege comes into view. While heterosexual women's powerlessness within the family marks their oppression, it is lesbians' lack of access to family that marks theirs. This difference in heterosexual women's and lesbians' experiences of sisterhood suggests that heterosexuality is not equally compulsory for heterosexual women and lesbians and compulsory heterosexuality does not mean the same thing for both. In this thesis I suggest that feminist analysis of family fails to grasp lesbians' position in society as family's outlaws because distinctions between heterosexuality as male dominance and heterosexuality as heterosexual dominance are under theorized. I call for a critical shift in feminist methodology to relinquish the idea that heterosexism is nothing but a by-product of sexism in order to bring into view the specific experiences of lesbian 'sisters'

Measuring the benefits of the integration of health and social care: qualitative interviews with professional stakeholders and patient representatives

Abstract: Background: Integrated care has the potential to ease the increasing pressures faced by health and social care systems, however, challenges around measuring the benefits for providers, patients, and service users remain. This paper explores stakeholders’ views on the benefits of integrated care and approaches to measuring the integration of health and social care. Methods: Twenty-five semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with professional stakeholders (n = 19) and patient representatives (n = 6). Interviews focused on the benefits of integrated care and how it should be evaluated. Data was analysed using framework analysis. Results: Three overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) integrated care and its benefits, with stakeholders defining it primarily from the patient’s perspective; (2) potential measures for assessing the benefits of integration in terms of system effects, patient experiences, and patient outcomes; and (3) broader considerations around the assessment of integrated care, including the use of qualitative methods. Conclusions: There was consensus among stakeholders that patient experiences and outcomes are the best measures of integration, and that the main measures currently used to assess integration do not directly assess patient benefits. Validated health status measures are readily available, however, a substantial shift in practices is required before their use becomes commonplace

Measures for the integration of health and social care services for long-term health conditions: a systematic review of reviews

Abstract: Background: As people are living longer with higher incidences of long-term health conditions, there is a move towards greater integration of care, including integration of health and social care services. Integrated care needs to be comprehensively and systematically evaluated if it is to be implemented widely. We performed a systematic review of reviews to identify measures which have been used to assess integrated care across health and social care services for people living with long-term health conditions. Methods: Four electronic databases (PUBMED; MEDLINE; EMBASE; Cochrane library of systematic reviews) were searched in August 2018 for relevant reviews evaluating the integration of health and social care between 1998 and 2018. Articles were assessed according to apriori eligibility criteria. A data extraction form was utilised to collate the identified measures into five categories. Results: Of the 18 articles included, system outcomes and process measures were most frequently identified (15 articles each). Patient or carer reported outcomes were identified in 13 articles while health outcomes were reported in 12 articles. Structural measures were reported in nine articles. Challenges to measuring integration included the identification of a wide range of potential impacts of integration, difficulties in comparing findings due to differences in study design and heterogeneity of types of outcomes, and a need for appropriate, robust measurement tools. Conclusions: Our review revealed no shortage of measures for assessing the structures, processes and outcomes of integrated care. The very large number of available measures and infrequent use of any common set make comparisons between schemes more difficult. The promotion of core measurement sets and stakeholder consultation would advance measurement in this area