The 2011 Libyan revolution and Gene Sharp\u27s strategy of nonviolent action : what factors precluded nonviolent action in the 2011 Libyan uprising, and how do these reflect on Gene Sharp\u27s theory?

This thesis explores impediments to regime change using the strategy of nonviolent action, through an integrated examination of consensual power theory as articulated by Gene Sharp and Antonio Gramsci, and by incorporating James Scott’s theory that observable consent in the public discourse can belie a private realm of resistance to a system of domination. Using the context of the 2011 Libyan uprising, this thesis analyses the reality of consensual power in Libya to explain what factors precluded nonviolent action succeeding in the 2011 revolution. Critically evaluating the theories, this study examines a wide range of information about the historical, political, economic and social power structures of Libya and the significance of these factors in the 2011 Libyan revolution. By clearly elucidating the internal dynamics of the Libyan system, this thesis argues that domination and not consent served as the primary source of political power for Qadhafi’s revolutionary regime and thus Sharp’s strategy of withdrawing consent does not fit the reality of Libya. Additionally, consent must be understood as a vastly more complex phenomenon if nonviolent strategy is to be successful in the future

Second generation governance indicators

This paper summarizes progress made in a DfID-funded World Bank initiative to test and develop policy-relevant, politically acceptable, quantitative indicators of governance. There are two major components involved in the process of generating indicators that are practical means of reform. Political acceptability is key in developing neutral quantitative benchmarks of good governance that can be embraced by reformers. In addition to political acceptability, measuring governance must be comprehensive and institutionally specific so that reformers know which institutions to reform and how to do so. This paper explores some of the most promising second generation indicators of good governance and elaborates on how they are being used in World Bank operations.governance, institutions, development

Catching them early? Using a pre-arrival task to encourage first year students’ engagement with professionalism

BackgroundMedical professionalism includes aspects of professional governance, professional patient care and personal and professional development (Owen, Hill &amp; Stephens, 2009). There is growing interest in what medical professionalism is and how we teach it. In the UK, the GMC specifically emphasised the doctor as a professional in Tomorrow’s Doctors (2009). While there is agreement that it is important to include medical professionalism in the undergraduate curriculum, there is still no clear model for doing so (Passi, Doug, Peile, Thistlethwaithe &amp; Johnson, 2010). That said, there is a strong argument for teaching the cognitive basis of professionalism and then building upon this through experiential learning (Cruess &amp; Cruess, 2006). Following a curriculum re-design in 2013/14 Southampton medical school began to teach explicit professionalism in the early years through a combination of lectures, symposia, student presentations and tutorials. The introduction was accompanied by an evaluation (using quantitative and qualitative data), which indicated that the majority of students were struggling to see the relevance. In addition to reconsidering content, format and delivery, a pre-arrival task was introduced in 2014/15. Pre-arrival tasks are increasingly used within higher education more broadly. They are intended to build student engagement and seek to mobilise students’ prior learning and experiences in order to connect them with a new course and/or institution. This, to our knowledge is the first time that a pre-arrival task has been used in a UK medical school context. The presentation will outline what we did, how students responded and will offer key learning points (for staff and students). ReferencesCruess, R. L., &amp; Cruess, S. R. (2006). Teaching professionalism: general principles. Medical teacher, 28(3), 205-208.Owen, D., Hill, F. &amp; Stephens, C. (2009). Medical professionalism: more than fitness to practise. The Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine Newsletter, 01, (18), 16-19.Passi, V., Doug, M., Peile, E., Thistlethwaite, J., &amp; Johnson, N. (2010). Developing medical professionalism in future doctors: a systematic review.International Journal of Medical Education, 1, 19–29. doi:10.5116/ijme.4bda.ca2aRiley, S., &amp; Kumar, N. (2012). Teaching medical professionalism. Clinical Medicine, 12(1), 9-11.Tomorrow's doctors. General Medical Council. Education Committee, 2009.<br/

An exploration of students’ experiences of the PPD pre-arrival task: Its feasibility and impact

Background and purpose: firm guidelines have been put forward on professional outcomes and standards in medical education1, yet there is no agreed model for teaching professionalism2. Following a curriculum re-design in 2013/14, Southampton medical school introduced a programme of personal and professional development (PPD) in the early years. A pre-arrival task was introduced in 2014/15 to encourage students to research and document what kind of doctor they would like to be and what they think it means to be a medical professional. Pre-arrival tasks are increasingly used in Higher Education to help students prepare for the transition to university3,4, although to our knowledge this was the first time that a pre-arrival task has been used in a UK medical school. The early feedback from students in 2014/15 was positive and the PAT was re-run in 2015/16. This research explores the student experience of the PAT, looking at whether completing the PAT was feasible, the task itself, how participants approached the task and any impact it had.Methodology: all first year students on the BM5 programme at Southampton University were eligible to participate. A total of 22 students participated, with a mix of graduate entrants (GE, n=9) and undergraduate entrants (UE, n=13). Four focus groups were conducted, ranging in length from 42-77 minutes. With participants’ consent, the focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed thematically. Results: the task was feasible for most students, with the exception of 2 participants who had issues with timing. Many participants were unsure about what was expected of them, although GEs were less worried than the UEs. GEs tended to approach researching for the PAT with articles and material from the GMC, whereas UEs sought advice from family and the University website and often struggled to meet the required length. The impact of the task was more prominent for UEs: helping them to re-focus on studying, gain greater understanding into professionalism and the importance of it as future doctors. Ultimately, the PAT was considered more helpful for UEs. Discussion and conclusions: there appear to be differences in how UE and GE students understood what was expected of them, how they approached the task, and what they took away from it. This suggests that there may be some important differences in how UE and GE students engage with professionalism teaching when they arrive at medical school<br/

Mindfulness interventions delivered by technology without facilitator involvement : what research exists and what are the clinical outcomes?

New cost-effective psychological interventions are needed to contribute to treatment options for psychiatric and physical health conditions. This systematic review aims to investigate the current literature on one potentially cost-effective form of mindfulness-based therapy, those delivered through technological platforms without any mindfulness facilitator input beyond the initial design of the programme. Three electronic databases (Ovid Medline, PsychINFO and Embase) were searched for relevant keywords, titles, medical subject headings (MeSH) and abstracts using search terms derived from a combination of two subjects: ‘mindfulness’ and ‘technology’. Overall, ten studies were identified. The majority of studies were web-based and similar in structure and content to face-to-face mindfulness-based stress reduction courses. Clinical outcomes of stress (n = 5), depression (n = 6) and anxiety (n = 4) were reported along with mindfulness (n = 4), the supposed mediator of effects. All eight studies that measured significance found at least some significant effects (p .005). However, methodological issues (e.g. selection bias, lack of control group and follow-up) which reflect the early nature of the work mean these largest effects are likely to be representative of maximal rather than average effects. Whilst there are important differences in the construction, length and delivery of interventions, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the most effective models. Suggestions of key characteristics are made though, needing further investigation preferably in standardised interventions. Given the existing research and the speed at which technology is making new platforms and tools available, it seems important that further research explores two parallel lines: first, refinement and thorough evaluation of already established technology-based mindfulness programmes and second, exploration of novel approaches to mindfulness training that combine the latest technological advances with the knowledge and skills of experienced meditation teachers.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Establishment of an Innovative Telehealth Speech and Language Therapy Placement as a Rapid Response to COVID-19: Sharing the Learning

The aim of this evaluation was to explore practice educators’ and speech and language therapy (SLT) students’ experiences of a rapid response telehealth placement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to inform quality improvement. In March 2020, public health restrictions were imposed across Ireland in efforts to ‘flatten the curve’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All placements were cancelled. According to an Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists survey in April 2020, 47% of SLTs were redeployed to swabbing and contact tracing roles, and many remain redeployed seven months later. This redeployment, along with strict public health measures in clinical sites, significantly reduced the availability of clinical placements. A rapid response was required to enable students to develop clinical competencies. Although telehealth has been used to deliver speech and language therapy in other countries, it had not been used routinely in service provision in Ireland. In this article, we outline how we built on existing partnerships with practice educators, both on- and off-site, to design a much-needed telehealth placement. We explored educators’ and students’ experiences using an online focus group and online survey respectively. The evaluations of practice educators were positive in that despite their initial apprehension, they reported that this placement provided valuable learning opportunities for students while also providing benefits for clients. They also reported some technological and sustainability challenges. The students also evaluated this placement positively with 83.3% of respondents rating the placement as ‘excellent ‘and 16.7% rating it as ‘good’. All stakeholders valued this learning experience

Childhood socioeconomic position, gender, adult body mass index, and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus over 34 years in the Alameda County Study

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61273/4/ajph.2007.123653.pd

Human and Organisational Factors as a Risk Management Strategy in an Aviation Maintenance Company

Aviation has for many years been one of the leading industries in addressing human and organisational factors (HOF) within its different sectors – flight operations, air traffic control, ground operations, maintenance, etc. In particular aviation has led the way in mandating a range of measures that address HOF issues – reporting systems, shift-handover procedures, etc (e.g. UK CAA, 2003). A key element of the regulation has been the mandating of initial and continuation training in HOF for virtually all personnel working in aviation maintenance. By contrast the development of practice and regulation of risk and safety management in aviation has lagged behind process (Gambetti et al., 2012) and power (Leva et al., 2012). industries ICAO published its requirements for Safety Management in 2009 (ICAO, 2009) and these are still being translated into regulations by local aviation authorities. For example the EASA regulations require implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) in airlines by 2013. As a consequence of this historical sequence – the development of HOF regulations prior to safety management regulations – organisations are facing the challenge of integrating two programmes with related objectives developed to meet the requirements of different regulations. HOF training in aviation maintenance, in the European context, normally comprises of a two day initial training classroom based workshop supplemented by a one-day continuation training workshop every 2 years. The continuation training typically comprises a refresher of key HOF concepts and information about company specific challenges. E-learning and blended learning are sometimes used for continuation training, but their acceptance by the local aviation authorities is variable. This paper reports an initiative to integrate HOF continuation training within a risk management context in an aviation maintenance company

Interviews with Irish healthcare workers from different disciplines about palliative care for people with Parkinson’s disease: a definite role but uncertainty around terminology and timing

Background: An integrated palliative care approach is recommended in all life-limiting diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). However research shows that people with PD have unmet palliative care needs. The study aimed to explore multidisciplinary healthcare workers’ (HCWs) views on palliative care for people with PD, identifying perceived barriers and facilitators. Methods: A qualitative design was used; data was analysed using Thematic Analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 HCWs, working either with people with PD or in a palliative care setting in Ireland. Results: A number of perceived barriers were evident helping to account for the previously reported unmet palliative care needs in PD. A lack of education about PD and palliative care meant that HCWs were unsure of the appropriateness of referral, and patients and carers weren’t equipped with information to seek palliative care. A lack of communication between PD and palliative care specialists was seen to impede collaboration between the disciplines. Uncertainty about the timing of palliative care meant that it was often not introduced until a crisis point, despite the recognised need for early planning due to increased prevalence of dementia. Conclusions: Most HCWs recognised a need for palliative care for people with PD; however several barriers to implementing a palliative care approach in this population need to be addressed. Implications for clinical practice and policy include the need for an integrated model of care, and education for all HCWs, patients, carers, and the public on both the nature of advanced PD, and the potential of palliative care in support of patients and their family members