Pre-service primary teachers’ perceptions of early childhood philosophy and pedagogy: A case study examination

This study examined the experiences of three primary teacher education students participating in early childhood-focused community play sessions, as well as their perceptions of early childhood and primary philosophy and pedagogy. The purpose was to explore perceived differences in primary and early childhood pre-service teacher courses, which may then translate to differences in approaches to pedagogy in the field. Three pre-service teachers participated in a weekly community play session on a rural university campus in NSW, Australia. As these students had been educated in primary education pedagogy, a focus group interview was conducted to gain insights to their experiences in the play sessions, which had an early childhood emphasis in theory and practice. Qualitative analysis suggests that these students found several major differences in their early childhood and primary experiences. Themes and properties that emerged included Pedagogy (curriculum, parents, play) and Foundational Knowledge (developmental theory, discontinuity of development). These primary students found the idea of developing curriculum based on observations and interests rather than mandated Syllabus outcomes, challenging. Also, they found the role of play and parent-teacher relationships in early childhood and primary to differ. Students also noted a lack of foundational developmental theory, specifically in the birth-two period, in their teacher education course, and expressed the idea that younger children are discretely different from older children, rather than seeing development as a continuous process. Implications for teacher education courses and children’s transition to school are discussed

The effectiveness of communication-skills training interventions in end-of-life noncancer care in acute hospital-based services: A systematic review

A systematic review was conducted in order to explore the effectiveness of communication-skills training interventions in end-of-life care with noncancer acute-based healthcare staff. Articles were included if they (1) focused on communication-skills training in end-of-life/palliative care for noncancer acute-based staff and (2) reported an outcome related to behavior change with regard to communication. Sixteen online databases were searched, which resulted in 4,038 potential articles. Screening of titles left 393 articles that met the inclusion criteria. Abstracts (n = 346) and full-text articles (n = 47) were reviewed, leaving 10 papers that met the criteria for our review. All articles explored the effect of communication-skills training on aspects of staff behavior; one study measured the effect on self-efficacy, another explored the impact on knowledge and competence, and another measured comfort levels in discussing the end of life with patients/families. Seven studies measured a number of outcomes, including confidence, attitude, preparedness, stress, and communication skills. Few studies have focused on end-of-life communication-skills training in noncancer acute-based services. Those that do have report positive effects on staff behavior with regard to communication about the end of life with patients and families. The studies varied in terms of the population studied and the health services involved, and they scored only moderately or weakly on quality. It is a challenge to draw a definite conclusion about the effectiveness of training interventions in end-of-life communication because of this. However, the findings from our review demonstrate the potential effectiveness of a range of training interventions with healthcare professionals on confidence, attitude, self-efficacy, and communication skills. Further research is needed to fully explore the effectiveness of existing training interventions in this population, and evidence using objective measures is particularly needed. Ideally, randomized controlled trials or studies using control groups and longer follow-ups are needed to test the effectiveness of interventions

Dialectical Tensions Between Glocalization And Grobalization For Wal-mart In The United States

This qualitative analysis examines Wal-Mart managers‟ perspectives of the strategies that the U.S. corporation has implemented in order to increase its sales and profits at more than 4,000 stores in local U.S. communities. Two theoretical paradigms are specifically used: glocalization and grobalization. The former refers to cultural adaptation; the latter means standardization. The ultimate goal of the researcher is to identify the dialectical tensions between those two current forms of globalization. In-depth, face-to-face, qualitative interviewing of ten Wal-Mart managers in Central Florida allowed the researcher to actually comprehend managers‟ perspectives, gather fresh data, and construct a final product to enlighten readers on the current Wal-Martization of the United States. Throughout the data reduction process, four key themes surfaced as the most relevant to the initial research questions: (1) Awareness of Glocalization as Key to Success, (2) Grobalization Strategies Implemented, (3) Centralization as a Pattern of Grobalization, and (4) Organizational Socialization. Overall, it was found that Wal-Martization is a process that requires complex strategies and efforts to match the contemporary conditions of globalization. Meeting the needs of local Wal-Mart stores varies from one geographical location to the next. While, by definition, grobalization is a reversal of the meaning of glocalization, this study has revealed that part of Wal-Mart‟s phenomenal success is to be both grobalizing and glocalizing. Wal-Mart offers its customers the opportunity of consuming locally (e.g., Hispanic products, Mediterranean food), globally (e.g., universal U.S. merchandise), or both simultaneously (like products and traditions found in Orlando stores). In this sense, both glocalization and grobalization are effective for the successful Wal-Martization of U.S. communitie

Subjective experience or objective process:understanding the gap between values and practice for involving patients in designing patient-centred care

Purpose – Patient-centred care and patient involvement are increasingly central concepts in health policy in the UK and elsewhere. However, there is little consensus regarding their definition or how to achieve “patient-centred” care in everyday practice or how to involve patients in service redesign initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues from the perspective of key stakeholders within National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews, covering a range of topics related to service redesign, were conducted with 77 key stakeholders across three NHS Trusts in the West Midlands. In total, 20 of these stakeholders were re-interviewed 18 months later. Data were managed and analysed using the Framework Method. Findings – While patient-centred care and patient involvement were regularly cited as important to the stakeholders, a gap persisted between values and reported practice. This gap is explained through close examination of the ways in which the concepts were used by stakeholders, and identifying the way in which they were adapted to fit other organisational priorities. The value placed on positive subjective experience changed to concerns about objective measurement of the patients as they move through the system. Research limitations/implications – Increased awareness and reflection on the conceptual tensions between objective processes and subjective experiences could highlight reasons why patient-centred values fail to translate into improved practice. Originality/value – The paper describes and explains a previously unarticulated tension in health organisations between values and practice in patient centred care and patient involvement in service redesign. </jats:sec

Selecting A Suitable Approach To Analyze The Future Of Higher Education

How are higher education organizations going to cope with the challenges of a society that is continuously changing? Although the education sector needs to adapt to technological and socioeconomic changes, methodologies on which we have relied in the past will not be adequate in the future. In fact, the past represents just one of an infinite number of possible outcomes and the future may involve a completely different framework. As a consequence, we should attempt to identify an appropriate technique for analyzing higher education in the future. This paper aims to identify the advances and new trends that will allow the definition of a new model for higher education. A crucial paradox is also outlined: whether the witnessed never-before-seen democratization in the accessibility to higher education is going to co-exist in the future with a possible scenario that might restrict its access because of increasing competition and concentration of higher education organizations. We posit that the quantum approach to time and change (QATC) is a suitable approach that helps to set out the future scenario where the current educational model will be called into question; it is also a key tool for studying the relationship between higher education and society

Pre-service primary teachers’ perceptions of early childhood philosophy and pedagogy: A case study examination

Abstract: This study examined the experiences of three primary teacher education students participating in early childhood-focused community play sessions, as well as their perceptions of early childhood and primary philosophy and pedagogy. The purpose was to explore perceived differences in primary and early childhood preservice teacher courses, which may then translate to differences in approaches to pedagogy in the field. Three pre-service teachers participated in a weekly community play session on a rural university campus in NSW, Australia. As these students had been educated in primary education pedagogy, a focus group interview was conducted to gain insights to their experiences in the play sessions, which had an early childhood emphasis in theory and practice. Qualitative analysis suggests that these students found several major differences in their early childhood and primary experiences. Themes and properties that emerged included Pedagogy (curriculum, parents, play) and Foundational Knowledge (developmental theory, discontinuity of development). These primary students found the idea of developing curriculum based on observations and interests rather than mandated Syllabus outcomes, challenging. Also, they found the role of play and parent-teacher relationships in early childhood and primary to differ. Students also noted a lack of foundational developmental theory, specifically in the birth-two period, in their teacher education course, and expressed the idea that younger children are discretely different from older children, rather than seeing development as a continuous process. Implications for teacher education courses and children’s transition to school are discusse

“It's been quite a challenge”: Redesigning end-of-life care in acute hospitals

AbstractObjective:This paper reports the findings of an interview-based study undertaken to investigate the introduction of end-of-life (EoL) care pathways in three acute trusts, as part of a larger project examining service redesign. The aim was to examine the barriers to and facilitators of change.Method:Twenty-one in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with staff working in three National Health Service (NHS) acute hospital trusts. These staff members were involved in end-of-life care, and their accounts were analyzed to identify the key issues when introducing service changes in these settings.Results:Thematic analysis revealed five major themes—two of which, leadership and facilitation, and education and training, indicate what needs to be in place if end-of-life care pathways are to be adopted by staff. However, the remaining three themes of difficult conversations, diagnosing dying, and communication across boundaries highlight particular areas of practice and organization that need to be addressed before end-of-life care in hospitals can be improved.Significance of results:Organization of end-of-life care in acute hospitals is challenging, and care pathways provide a degree of guidance as to how services can be delivered. However, even when there is effective leadership at all levels of an organization and an extensive program of education for all staff support the use of care pathways, significant barriers to their introduction remain. These include staff anxieties concerning diagnosing dying and discussing dying and end-of-life care planning with patients and their families. It is hoped these findings can inform the development of the proposed new care plans which are set to replace end of life care pathways in England.</jats:sec

Cytotoxic Hydrogen Bridged Ruthenium Quinaldamide Complexes Showing Induced Cancer Cell Death by Apoptosis

This report presents the first known p-cymene ruthenium quinaldamide complexes which are stablized by a hydrogenbridging atom, [[{(p-cym)RuIIX(N,N)}{H+ }{(N,N)XRuII(p-cym)}][PF6] (N,N = functionalised quinaldamide and X = Cl or Br). These complexes are formed by a reaction of [p-cymRu(-X)2]2 with a functionalised quinaldamide ligand. When filtered over NH4PF6, and under aerobic conditions the equilibrium of NH4PF6 NH3 + HPF6 enables incorporation of HPF6 and the stabilisation of two monomeric ruthenium complexes by a bridging H+ , which are counter-balanced by a PF6 counterion. Xray crystallographic analysis is presented for six new structures with O···O distances of 2.430(3)-2.444(17) Å, which is significant for strong hydrogen bonds. Chemosensitivity studies against HCT116, A2780 and cisplatin-resistant A2780cis human cancer cells showed the ruthenium complexes with a bromide ancillary ligand to be more potent than those with a chloride ligand. The 4'-fluoro compounds show a reduction in potency for both chloride and bromide complexes against all cell lines, but an increase in selectivity towards cancer cells compared to non-cancer ARPE-19 cells, with a selectivity index > 1. Mechanistic studies showed a clear correlation between IC50 values and induction of cell death by apoptosis