Adopting a blended approach to learning: experiences from radiography at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh

The perspective of the radiography teaching team at Queen Margaret University (QMU) was that a transmission mode of programme delivery was sub-optimal in helping students to learn and make links between theory and practice. Programme redesign adopted a blended learning approach with both face-to-face and online learning aimed at enhancing the students’ control over their own learning. Online tasks within Web Classroom Tools (WebCT) were used as an integral part of careful programme design, which resulted in a programme enabling synthesis of the skills, knowledge and competencies acquired in the academic and clinical environments. With the move towards a more learner-centred, blended educational experience for the students the lecturers’ role shifted to that of facilitator with WebCT providing the tutor with a more transparent view of student learning. Lecturers plan learning activities that build upon the skills students have developed through learning in groups, online and in class. The explicit connections that now exist between the academic programme and the opportunities for applying knowledge in practice allow students to engage more deeply in their learning

A Scottish Executive review of speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy for children and speech and language therapy for adults with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND TO THE REVIEW 1. In early 2002, the Scottish Executive embarked on a national review of Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy for children and Speech and Language Therapy for adults with learning disabilities. 2. The review was called in response to a number of concerns: There has been a significant increase in funding for Speech and Language Therapy for children with records of needs in recent years yet children still find it difficult to access services. The Riddell Advisory Committee Report 1 into the Education of Children with Severe and Low Incidence Disabilities (SLID) highlighted the problem of shortages of therapists leading to unacceptable waiting times for children with SLID. It raised questions about the current management and organisation of therapists and reported some dissatisfaction with funding mechanisms. The report of the Learning Disabilities Review, The same as you?2 stated that adults with learning disabilities found it difficult to access Speech and Language Therapy. It recommended that the review of children's therapy recommended by the Riddell Committee 1 should be extended to cover Speech and Language Therapy for adults with learning difficulties. 3. The review, therefore, intended to address issues such as continued shortages of therapists, the management of therapy provision and current funding mechanisms particularly for children's therapy. 4. The review was guided by a steering group made up of representatives from the Scottish Executive Education Department and the Scottish Executive Health Department as well as advisors from a number of stakeholder groups (see Appendix A for membership). 5. Queen Margaret University College provided consultancy to the review team. The University College undertook an investigation of Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy for children and Speech and Language Therapy for adults with learning disabilities as part of the review. The investigation is described in Chapter 4. In addition, a focus group was organised by the Scottish Consortium of Learning Disability to seek the views of adults with learning disabilities who use Speech and Language Therapy. The views of parents were fed into the review by the parent representative on the steering group.casl1 Scottish Executive (1999) The Riddell Advisory Committee Report on Education of Children with Severe Low Incidence Disabilities. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 2 Scottish Executive (2000) The same as you? A review of services for people with learning disabilities. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 3 General Register for Scotland (GROS) (2002) 2001 Population Report. Edinburgh: GROS. 4 Scottish Executive Education Department (2002) Statistical Bulletin Edn/B1/2002/3. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 5 Stalker K (2000) Supporting Disabled Children and their Families in Scotland: A Review of Policy and Research. Foundations Series N90. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 6 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (1999) Supporting Disabled Children and their Families. Foundations Series N79. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 7 Scottish Executive (2001) For Scotland's Children: Better Integrated Children's Services. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 8 McGrother, CW and Thorp, CF (1999) Planning and Research Information to improve services for people with learning disabilities, Annual Scientific Meeting of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Glasgow. 9 Mansell J (1993) Services for people with learning disability and challenging behaviour and mental health needs: Report of a Project Group. London: HMSO. 10 Van der Gaag A. (1998) Communication Skills and Adults with Learning Disabilities: Eliminating Professional Myopia. BILD Keynote Reviews, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26(3), 88-93. 11 Public Health Institute of Scotland (2001) Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Needs Assessment Report. Glasgow: PHIS. 12 Scottish Executive (2000) Standards in Scotland's Schools Etc. Act Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Education Department. 13 Stalker K and Jones C (1998) Normalisation and critical disability theory. In: Jones D, Blair SEE, Hartery T and Jones RK (eds.) Sociology and Occupational Therapy. An Integrated Approach. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. 14 Wolfensberger W (1972) The principle of normalisation in human services. Toronto, National Institute on Mental Retardation. 15 O'Brien J (1987) A guide to lifestyle planning: suing the activities catalogue to integrate services and natural support systems. In: Wilcox BW and Bellamy GT (eds.) The activities catalogue: an alternative curriculum for youth and adults with severe disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Brookes. 16 Scottish Executive (2001) Making inclusion in the classroom a reality for Scottish pupils. Press Release SE0029/2001. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 17 Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 asp 12. Edinburgh: HMSO. 18 Special Needs and Disability Act (2001) London: HMSO. 19 Scottish Executive (2001) Assessing our children's educational needs. The Way Forward. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 20 Scottish Executive (2001) Assessing our children's educational needs. The Way Forward. Scottish Executive Response to the Consultation. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 21 Scottish Executive (1999) Implementing Inclusiveness: Realising Potential. Report of the Beattie Committee. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 22 Department of Health (2001) Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century. CM 5086. London: HMSO. 23 Information and Statistics Division, NHSiS (1981) Scottish Health Statistics 1979, Edinburgh: ISD. 24 Information and Statistics Division, NHSiS (2002) Scottish Health Statistics 2000, Edinburgh: ISD. 25 Pope C, Ziebland S and Mays N (2000) Qualitative research in health care: analysing qualitative data. British Medical Journal 320: 114-116. 26 Hall E and Social Work Services Inspectorate (2001) Equipment and Adaptation Services in Scotland: A Survey of Waiting Times for Social Work Provision. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Central Research Unit. 27 Scottish Executive (2001) Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2000. Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication. Statistical Bulletin: Social Work Series, SWK/S/2001/23. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 28 Review of Care Management in Scotland, Scottish Executive Central Research Unit, 2002. 29 ISD (2000) Professions Allied to Medicine employed by the NHS in Scotland 1990-1999: a Health Briefing. No. 00/07. Edinburgh: ISD. 30 Scottish Executive (2000) Our National Health: A Plan for Action, A Plan for Change. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 31 Ritchie P, Christie S and Wilson E (1996) Population Needs Assessment in Community Care. A Handbook for Planners and Practitioners. Edinburgh: Social Work Services Inspectorate for Scotland. 32 Scottish Executive (2002) Planning Together. Final Report of the Scottish Integrated Workforce Planning Group and Response by Scottish Executive Health Department. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 33 Scottish Executive (2002) Building on Success: Future Directions for the Allied Health Professions in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 34 Scottish Executive (2002) Working for health: the workforce development action plan for NHS Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 35 Department of Health (2000) Meeting the Challenge: a strategy for the Allied Health Professions. London: DoH. 36 Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine (2002) Nineteenth report on professions allied to medicine CM5346. 37 Speech and Language Therapy Working Party (1999) Speech and Language Therapy For Children - Whose Responsibility? A perspective from Speech and Therapists Across Scotland. 38 Scottish Executive (2000) A teaching profession for the 21st Century. The McCrone Report. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. 39 Scottish Executive (2001) Patient Focus and Public Involvement. Edinburgh, Scottish Executive.pub27pu

The impact of spousal bereavement on self-assessed health status: evidence from the Taiwanese elderly population

経済学 / EconomicsBereavement is a grieved and inevitable event in our life. For an aging society, the incidence of spousal bereavement and parental bereavement is higher than the other kinds of bereavement events. This study employs the difference-in-differences (DiD) strategy and the Taiwanese panel Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly (SHLSE) to evaluate the impact of losing a spouse on well-being measured by self-assessed health status, depression, and life satisfaction.The results show that spousal bereavement causes substantial depression and loss in life satisfaction. The spousal bereavement impact increases depression by 1.46 CES-D points and reduces life satisfaction by 0.71 points. The decay effect of time is not observed in this study. We also examine the demographic differences of the spousal bereavement impact and find that the gap in life satisfaction between the bereaved who received more than 9 years education and the bereaved who received 9 years or less is 1.43 points, which implies that spousal bereavement causes less impact on more educated people in terms of life satisfaction. The increase in depression for the bereaved in a larger household is smaller than that for those in a small household by 2.75 CES-D points but it is weakly significant.The self-reported health outcomes are the intermediate outcomes between spousal bereavement and societal costs such as healthcare utilisation and death. The association between self-reported health status and mortality and health utilization has been well documented by literature. Thus, our results also provide the policy insight that giving proper interventions on the onset of bereavement may cause less societal costs afterwards.http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/leon_gonzalez_roberto

Cross-language differences in pitch range

British speakers are thought to vary their pitch range more (their voice goes more up and down) than German speakers do, but this has never been systematically compared. The main aim of this project is to develop the methodology that would allow us to investigate the nature of variability in pitch range across speakers of different languages. In this project the use of pitch range in the read speech of a group of 30 female German speakers will be compared to that of 30 female British speakers. Two measurement techniques will be used, one which is based on long-term raw statistical methods involving mean and median values, another which is based on specific target points in speech that are linguistic in nature. These measures will be statistically analysed and followed by a perception study in which listeners are asked to rate German and English speech (which is low-pass filtered to filter out verbal content and some voice quality but preserve f0) on how German/English it sounds. The strength of correlations between speakers' judgements and the various measures of cross-language difference will then be examined. This will determine which measures of pitch range are perceptually relevant in cross-language comparisons

Verbal interaction in media interviews An analysis of current affairs interviews conducted during the 1987 General Election campaign

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX96663 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Constraints on evidence-based policy: insights from government practices

Insights are offered into UK government built environment policy-making processes through an insider's perspective (based on experience of being the chief executive of a public body, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment – CABE) on three empirical examples. The government's mandate was for policies to be evidence based. There was no shortage of demand for evidence, but it was fed into political and bureaucratic domains where less- or non-evidence-based influences were also at work. The questions considered are how much the evidence really influenced the content of policy; and whether making a policy ‘evidence based' led to its acceptance across government, causing departments to commit to its delivery. It is found that evidence (1) is powerful for defining issues to which policy should attend, (2) captures the attention of policy and decision-makers, but only if presented succinctly, and (3) is essential for testing outcomes. Supposedly evidence-based policy is not always truly evidence based. Many subjective forces counterbalance objectivity. The most significant reasons for this are mooted. Advice is offered on how to make evidence a more effective part of a process that will always be partly technical and objective, but also political and subjective