Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Worldly Realism

Austen and Woolf are materialists, this book argues. ‘Things’ in their novels give us entry into some of the most contentious issues of the day. This wholly materialist understanding produces worldly realism, an experimental writing practice which asserts egalitarian continuity between people, things and the physical world. This radical redistribution of the importance of material objects and biological existence, challenges the traditional idealist hierarchy of mind over matter that has justified gender, class and race subordination. Entering their writing careers at the critical moments of the French Revolution and the First World War respectively, and sharing a political inheritance of Scottish Enlightenment scepticism, Austen’s and Woolf’s rigorous critiques of the dangers of mental vision unchecked by facts is more timely than ever in the current world dominated by fundamentalist neo-liberal, religious and nationalist belief systems

Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Worldly Realism

Austen and Woolf are materialists, this book argues. ‘Things’ in their novels give us entry into some of the most contentious issues of the day. This wholly materialist understanding produces worldly realism, an experimental writing practice which asserts egalitarian continuity between people, things and the physical world. This radical redistribution of the importance of material objects and biological existence, challenges the traditional idealist hierarchy of mind over matter that has justified gender, class and race subordination. Entering their writing careers at the critical moments of the French Revolution and the First World War respectively, and sharing a political inheritance of Scottish Enlightenment scepticism, Austen’s and Woolf’s rigorous critiques of the dangers of mental vision unchecked by facts is more timely than ever in the current world dominated by fundamentalist neo-liberal, religious and nationalist belief systems

Exploring the impact of user involvement on health and social care services for cancer in the UK.

This report presents the findings from a study of cancer network partnership groups in the UK. Cancer network partnership groups are regional organisations set up to enable joint working between people affected by cancer and health professionals, with the aim of improving cancer care

Case Studies in Managing Collections That Grow

Almost all archivists have at one time or another confronted the issue of managing additions to existing archival or manuscript collections. Managing these types of collections can prove extremely challenging, even for experienced professionals. Archivists have several options for making these types of collections available to researchers, but it is not always clear which option is best. Archivists from Purdue University and Georgia State University will discuss two of the options in the following case studies on managing growing collections. These case studies are meant to serve as examples for other archivists who may be faced with managing similar collections. The case studies include justifications for each archivist’s plan of work, the methodology used, the results of the work, and what was learned from the process. Pros and cons relating to each situation are also addressed, and an evaluation form has been included that will help archivists decide what steps to take when dealing with their own expanding collections in the future

Quality Improvement (QI) in Evaluation: Anatomy of a Fishbone (Diagram)

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

Improving Performance: Facts, Flowcharts, Fishbones, Five Whys, and the Failure

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

Paving the Way for Practice Success Under Value-Based Payments

A comprehensive look at The Southern New England Practice Transformation Network (SNE-PTN), which supports implementation of person-centered, high quality, efficient, and coordinated care. SNE-PTN is funded under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative. SNE-PTN is a complex, large-scale care transformation effort that requires a multi-faceted approach and alignment with state and national health care reform efforts. It is important to articulate the value proposition for clinicians

Stories from the Frontline: Patient-Centered Medical Home Care Transitions

The Massachusetts Patient-Centered Medical Home Initiative (MA PCMHI) was a three-year multi-payer demonstration designed to promote clinical model transformation in practices across the state and prepare the practices for PCMHI recognition. It was a partnership between MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program, and UMass Medical School. An analysis of the project at 46 participating practices finds that primary care practice transformation takes time; care transitions, including emergency room and post-discharge follow-up care, require the development of new clinical workflows; and the processes of care are more likely to improve before outcomes are affected. These lessons learned can aid provider organizations nationwide: focus on highest-risk patients, prioritize high-volume hospital systems for information-sharing; streamline documentation of the workflow in the electronic health record; and clearly identify the role and function of each care team member in the new process

Assessing Barriers to Community Pediatric Dental Needs

Introduction: Oral health is an often overlooked aspect of healthcare with many effects on an individual’s well-being. Dental caries is the most common chronic disease in children, and most dental problems are preventable. Barriers to accessing dental care for low income children include: oral health beliefs of parents, transportation issues, and difficulty locating providers who accept Medicaid. Investigation of the pediatrician’s role showed an increase in dental visits among children who were recommended for care by their primary care providers. Recent data indicates that 67.1% of Vermont Medicaid enrolled children received dental care within one calendar year. While indicating a gap in services, this is the highest rate in the U.S. A comprehensive national survey found that 85% of Vermont children received preventive care in the past year, while recent state data shows that 18% of Vermont children on Medicaid and 16% of children overall have untreated dental decay. In 2009, The Ronald McDonald House Charities, along with the Health Center of Plainfield, implemented the Vermont Ronald McDonald Care Mobile (RMCM), a traveling dental clinic providing dental care for Vermont’s underserved children. In one year, the RMCM visited 15 Vermont schools and treated 214 children, only 9% of the 2400 children projected. The RMCM currently serves sites in three Counties: Grand Isle, Orange, and Lamoille. The objective of our study was to investigate barriers to access to Dental care among Vermont children, with particular regard to the RMCM. The underutilization of the RMCM was assessed by researching current data on Vermont oral health and by surveying overall attitudes toward both the RMCM and Towns the RMCM visited in the past year pediatric dental care in Vermont.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1060/thumbnail.jp

of the Nature of the Preparation of Practice Educators in Five Health Care Disciplines

Overview This study aimed to investigate university-based preparation of physiotherapy practice-based educators, in order to explore perceived needs and identify principles of good practice. Physiotherapy (alongside occupational therapy, radiography, dietetics and nursing) was studied throughout the UK and Ireland. Questionnaires were sent out to all pre-registration physiotherapy courses (n=37) and 21 were returned, giving a response rate of 57%. The questionnaire findings were synthesised with analysis of policy documents and the wider literature Current practice Students must complete a minimum of 1000 hours of assessed satisfactory clinical practice under the supervision of a practice-based educator, who must be a registered physiotherapist. All universities provide training for clinical educators, but the nature of provision varies. There is a nation-wide shortage of clinical placements within physiotherapy at a time when student numbers are rising. The debate on how to counteract the placement crisis centres on three main issues: • The requirement for specialist physiotherapy practice placements in defined areas. • Models of clinical supervision where physiotherapy practice educators are responsible for more than one student. • The timing of physiotherapy placements within the curriculum and competition for placements in particular geographical areas. The perceived benefits of being a clinical educator include the contribution it makes to continuing professional development, fulfilment of professional responsibility and the opportunity to market services to potential recruits. Problems associated with taking students on placement were perceived to derive largely from resource constraints. Discussion Several areas of innovative practice emerged in the areas of practice educator preparation, interprofessional student learning, models of student supervision and evidencing student competence in specialist areas. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has recently launched a scheme for accrediting clinical educators (ACE) that it hopes will be adopted across all courses. Summary Increasing student numbers places growing pressure on an already stretched placement resource. There are many challenges in providing appropriate clinical learning experiences, particularly as physiotherapy moves increasingly towards primary care and interprofessional working. It is recommended that managers, universities and the multidisciplinary team should adopt key roles in supporting physiotherapy practice-based educators. Profile PHYSIOTHERAPY content