Physical play - How do we inspire and motivate young children to be physically active through play? An international analysis of twelve countries’ national early years curriculum policies and practices for physical activity and physical play

Lifelong movement and physical activity (PA) patterns develop during early childhood. Therefore, educators (teachers and practitioners) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) should provide opportunities to support children’s play, PA, and movement development. The World Health Organization (2019) offers new recommendations for PA, for children under five years. The guidelines do not specify the ways ECEC staff can support PA through play. Therefore, this paper investigates, how physical play (PP) is enacted globally. An international policy and practice analysis of twelve countries, (Australia [Victoria], Belgium [Flanders], Canada [Alberta], China, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK [England] and USA) was completed by analyzing the ECEC curricula and their implementation in different cultural contexts. A content analysis was undertaken by AIESEP Early Years SIG experts revealing that PP was not clearly defined. When defined, it was described as PA, and important for children’s holistic development. The majority of curricula did not state the length/time for PP. Three main strategies for implementing PP were found: a) pedagogical framework; b) active learning methods; and c) motor development. This international analysis highlights the global need for better ECEC staff support in acknowledging and implementing PP to aid children’s overall development, PA and wellbeing

Learning resources and open access in higher education institutions in Ireland

This report arises from the findings of a collaborative project led by Dr. Angelica Risquez from the Centre for Teaching and Learning in the University of Limerick. The project was funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. The project team included Dr. Claire McAvinia, Learning Development Officer, Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre, Dublin Institute of Technology; Dr. Anne O Keeffe, Director of Teaching and Learning, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick; Ms Catherine Bruen, Technology Enhanced Learning Manager, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; Ms. Yvonne Desmond, Manager of the Library Central Services Unit, Dublin Institute of Technology; Dr. Pauline Rooney, Learning Development Officer, Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre, Dublin Institute of Technology; Dr. Sharon Flynn, Assistant Director, Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, National University of Ireland, Galway; Dr. Deirdre Ryan, Teaching and Learning Officer, Blended Learning Unit and Centre for Teaching and Learning, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick; Dr; Fiona Farr, Dean Teaching and Learning, University of Limerick; and Dr Ann Marcus Quinn, University of Limerick. Dr. Ann Coughlan was appointed to the project as Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Limerick.National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learningnon-peer-reviewe

Feasibility and Acceptability of Facilitated Advance Care Planning in Outpatient Clinics: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Caregivers Experiences

Guidelines recommend advance care planning (ACP) for people with advanced illness; however, evidence supporting ACP as a component of outpatient care is lacking. We sought to establish the feasibility and acceptability of a facilitated ACP intervention for people attending tertiary outpatient clinics. Data from 20 semi-structured interviews with patient (M = 79.3 ± 7.7, 60% male) and caregiver (M = 68.1 ± 11.0, 60% female) participants recruited as part of a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial (RCT) were analyzed using qualitative descriptive methodology. Patients were randomized to intervention (e.g., facilitated support) or control (e.g., standard care). Intervention patients expressed high satisfaction, reporting the facilitated ACP session was clear, straightforward, and suited to their needs. Intervention caregivers did not report any significant concerns with the facilitated ACP process. Control participants reported greater difficulty completing ACP compared to intervention participants. Embedding facilitated ACP into tertiary outpatient care appears feasible and acceptable for people with advanced illnesses

Assigning and Scheduling Service Visits in a Mixed Urban/Rural Setting

International audienceThis papera describes a maintenance scheduling application, which was developed together with an industrial partner. This is a highly combinatorial decision process, to plan and schedule the work of a group of travelling repair technicians, which perform preventive and corrective maintenance tasks at customer locations. Customers are located both in urban areas, where many customers are in close proximity, and in sparsely populated rural areas, where the travel time between customer sites is significant. To balance the workload for the agents, we must consider both the productive working time, as well as the travel between locations. As the monolithic problem formulation is unmanageable, we introduce a problem decomposition into multiple sequential steps, that is compatible with current management practice. We present and compare different models for the solution steps, and discuss results on datasets provided by the industrial partner