Fluctuations in Learners’ Willingness to Communicate During Communicative Task Performance: Conditions and Tendencies

A person’s willingness to communicate (WTC), believed to stem from a combination of proximal and distal variables comprising psychological, linguistic, educational and communicative dimensions of language, appears to be a significant predictor of success in language learning. The ability to communicate is both a means and end of language education, since, on the one hand, being able to express the intended meanings in the target language is generally perceived as the main purpose of any language course and, on the other, linguistic development proceeds in the course of language use. However, MacIntyre (2007, p. 564) observes that some learners, despite extensive study, may never become successful L2 speakers. The inability or unwillingness to sustain contacts with more competent language users may influence the way learners are evaluated in various social contexts. Establishing social networks as a result of frequent communication with target language users is believed to foster linguistic development. WTC, initially considered a stable personality trait and then a result of context-dependent influences, has recently been viewed as a dynamic phenomenon changing its intensity within one communicative event (MacIntyre and Legatto, 2011; MacIntyre et al., 2011). The study whose results are reported here attempts to tap into factors that shape one’s willingness to speak during a communicative task. The measures employed to collect the data - selfratings and surveys - allow looking at the issue from a number of perspectives

What has economics got to do with it? The impact of socioeconomic factors on mental health and the case for collective action

A clear link exists between social and economic inequality and poor mental health. There is a social gradient in mental health, and higher levels of income inequality are linked to higher prevalence of mental illness. Despite this, in the late 20th and early 21st century, psychiatric and psychological perspectives have dominated mental health research and policy, obscuring root socioeconomic contributors. Drawing on contemporary research on the social determinants of mental health, with particular reference to Europe and the U.S., this paper argues that a sharper focus on socioeconomic factors is required in research and policy to address inequalities in mental health. Current attempts to move this direction include: evaluation of the impact of economic policies on mental health, community-based partnerships, increased professional awareness and advocacy on socioeconomic factors. This necessitates greater understanding of the barriers to such actions. This paper argues that advancing ‘upstream’ approaches to population mental health requires an interdisciplinary research vision that supports greater understanding of the role of socioeconomic factors. It also demands collective cross-sectoral action through changes in social and economic policy, as well as economic frameworks that move beyond an exclusive focus on economic growth to embrace collective and societal wellbeing

Opening Educational Practices in Scotland (OEPS)

OEPS is a cross-sector project led by the Open University in Scotland (OUiS) and funded by the Scottish Funding Council. The project began in late spring 2014 and runs until the end of July 2017. It has its origins in OER projects carried out by the OUiS over the preceding four years. In most cases these involved close partnership between the university and other organisations that would not normally be involved in the creation of educational materials. OEPS aims to build on these approaches, and on other valuable experience from across the Scottish sector, to increase the use of open licensed resources in Scotland, develop better understanding of good open educational practice and support widening participation and transitions. The project is multi-stranded, involving a wide range of partners in development work. Integral to the project methodology is a process of embedded research and evaluation aimed at understanding and evidencing good practice. In this paper we share the progress of the project to date and highlight some of the questions and issues that are emerging

Public understandings of potential policy responses to health inequalities:Evidence from a UK national survey and citizens’ juries in three UK cities

A substantial body of research describes the distribution, causes and potential reduction of health inequalities, yet little scholarship examines public understandings of these inequalities. Existing work is dominated by small-scale, qualitative studies of the experiences of specific communities. As a result, we know very little about what broader publics think about health inequalities; and even less about public views of potential policy responses. This is an important gap since previous research shows many researchers and policymakers believe proposals for ‘upstream’ policies are unlikely to attract sufficient public support to be viable. This mixed methods study combined a nationally representative survey with three two-day citizens' juries exploring public views of health inequalities and potential policy responses in three UK cities (Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool) in July 2016. Comparing public opinion elicited via a survey to public reasoning generated through deliberative processes offers insight into the formation of public views. The results challenge perceptions that there is a lack of public support for upstream, macro-level policy proposals and instead demonstrate support for proposals aiming to tackle health inequalities via improvements to living and working conditions, with more limited support for proposals targeting individual behavioural change. At the same time, some macro-economic proposals, notably those involving tax increases, proved controversial among study participants and results varied markedly by data source. Our analysis suggests that this results from three intersecting factors: a resistance to ideas viewed as disempowering (which include, fundamentally, the idea that health inequalities exist); the prevalence of individualising and fatalistic discourses, which inform resistance to diverse policy proposals (but especially those that are more ‘upstream’, macro-level proposals); and a lack of trust in (local and national) government. This suggests that efforts to enhance public support for evidence-informed policy responses to health inequalities may struggle unless these broader challenges are also addressed

Beyond the public health/political science stalemate in health inequalities : can deliberative forums help?

Recent efforts to counter the shortcomings of 'evidence-based policy' include strategies for democratising the utilisation of evidence. Deliberative forums involving a small number of lay citizens ('mini publics') are one of the most popular innovations. This chapter explores a specific type of mini-public known as 'citizens’ juries', using health inequalities in the UK as a case study. After introducing citizens' juries, this chapter reflects on earlier research by the lead author, which identified a presumption among policy actors and researchers that the British public were unsupportive of the kind of macro-level policy proposals research suggests are required to reduce health inequalities. This chapter challenges this presumption via a review of existing qualitative studies, a national representative survey and three citizens' juries. This analysis is used to reflect on the potential for citizens' juries to help overcome the apparent tensions that exist between evidence, policy and publics. This chapter concludes that deliberative spaces offer constructive discursive spaces in which it appears possible to overcome tensions between evidence, policy and publics for at least some long-standing societal challenges. However, it also acknowledges reasons to be cautious, given limited political engagement, the high resources required, and challenges around ethically representing minority groups

Mental health literacy and adolescent help-seeking: the mediating and moderating effects of personal and perceived stigmas

No abstract available

Associations between dimensions of Mental Health Literacy and adolescent help-seeking intentions

Background: The majority of long‐term mental health problems begin during adolescence. Low mental health literacy (MHL) may impede help‐seeking for these problems. Although MHL is a multidimensional construct and adolescent help‐seeking can be through formal and informal means, little is known about how dimensions of MHL influence these help‐seeking intentions. This study examines associations between dimensions of MHL and formal and informal help‐seeking intentions among adolescents. It also investigates whether informal help‐seeking mediates the association between dimensions of MHL and formal help‐seeking, and whether these associations are moderated by gender. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey including measures of MHL, and help‐seeking intentions was distributed to participants in 10 schools (12–17 years) across Scotland (n = 734). Data were analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results: Confirmatory Factor Analyses identified two distinct dimensions of MHL: ability to identify a mental health problem, and knowledge of treatment efficacy. Only knowledge of treatment efficacy was associated with increased intention to seek formal and informal help. Ability to identify a mental health problem was negatively associated with both forms of help‐seeking intentions. Informal help‐seeking mediated the association between both forms of MHL and formal help‐seeking. Gender did not moderate the associations between MHL and help‐seeking. Conclusions: Care should be taken when providing MHL interventions to ensure that adaptive forms of MHL are promoted. Future research should investigate possible mechanisms by which discrete forms of MHL influence adolescent help‐seeking as well as investigating other potential moderators of MHL and help‐seeking, such as stigma

Practising the Space Between: Embodying Belief as an Evangelical Anglican Student

This article explores the formation of British evangelical university students as believers. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with a conservative evangelical Anglican congregation in London, I describe how students in this church come to embody a highly cognitive, word-based mode of belief through particular material practices. As they learn to identify themselves as believers, practices of reflexivity and accountability enable them to develop a sense of narrative coherence in their lives that allows them to negotiate tensions that arise from their participation in church and broader social structures. I demonstrate that propositional belief – in contexts where it becomes an identity marker – is bound up with relational practices of belief, such that distinctions between “belief in” and “belief that” are necessarily blurred in the lives of young evangelicals

Treating and Preventing Influenza in Aged Care Facilities: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

PMCID: PMC3474842This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Reliability and validity of a modified MEDFICTS dietary fat screener in South African schoolchildren are determined by use and outcome measures

BACKGROUND In South Africa, noncommunicable diseases and obesity are increasing and also affect children. No validated assessment tools for fat intake are available. Objective To determine testeretest reliability and relative validity of a pictorial modified meats, eggs, dairy, fried foods, fats in baked goods, convenience foods, table fats, and snacks (MEDFICTS) dietary fat screener. DESIGN We determined testeretest reliability and diagnostic accuracy with the modified MEDFICTS as the index test and a 3-day weighed food record and parental completion of the screener as primary and secondary reference methods, respectively. Participants/setting Grade-six learners (aged 12 years, 4 months) in an urban, middleclass school (n¼93) and their parents (n¼72). OUTCOME MEASURES Portion size, frequency of intake, final score, and classification of fat intake of the modified MEDFICTS, and percent energy from fat, saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol of the food record. Statistical analyses For categorical data agreement was based on kappa statistics, McNemar’s test for symmetry, and diagnostic performance parameters. Continuous data were analyzed with correlations, mean differences, the Bland-Altman method, and receiver operating characteristics. RESULTS The classification of fat intake by the modified MEDFICTSwas testeretest reliable. Final scores of the group did not differ between administrations (P¼0.86). The correlation of final scores between administrations was significant for girls only (r¼0.58; P¼0.01). Reliability of portion size and frequency of intake scores depended on the food category. For girls the screener final scorewas significantly (P<0.5) correlated to total, saturated fat, and cholesterol intakes (butnot topercentenergy fromfat andsaturatedfattyacids intakes).The sensitivity of the modified MEDFICTS was very high (>90%), but chance corrected agreement between the classifications was poor. Parents did not agree with their children. CONCLUSIONS Testeretest reliability and relative validity of a modified MEDFICTS dietary fat screener in South African schoolchildren depended on the use and outcome measures applied.http://ac.els-cdn.comhb201