Professional perceptions of domestic violence: The relationship between causal explanations and views on prevention and intervention

The 1970s saw a shift of focus by professions responding to domestic violence cases perpetrated by men towards women within Australia. Their focus was targeted at the factors that surround male perpetrators? violent behaviour. As a result, a number of alternative interventions were established based on a new understanding of domestic violence. Wider explanations have therefore led professional groups to form different angles of approach. Consequently researchers have found that perceptions towards domestic violence and the effectiveness of relevant interventions remain controversial across professions (Laing, 2002). Based on the literature supporting the importance of consistent professional perceptions and responses towards domestic violence, the current qualitative research aimed to measure the consistency of perceptions across five Perth professional groups: Police, community-based, women\u27s refuge, justice and health professionals (N: 39). Participant responses (from survey and interview questions) about the causal explanations of domestic violence were measured in terms of their relationship with views on effective interventions

The Educational Achievement Gap as a Social Justice Issue for Teacher Educators

The educational achievement gap is a critical social justice issue. Catholic and Marianist conceptions of social justice in particular call people to work with others in their spheres of life to transform institutions in order to further human rights while promoting the common good. Drawing on key elements of Catholic teaching on social justice, we argue that the achievement gap constitutes a social injustice. We then offer a case illustrating collaboration between university-based teacher educators and school faculty to address the achievement gap through transforming the institutions of school and of teacher preparation. The Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), founded on the University of Dayton’s campus to prepare seventh through 12th graders to become first-generation college graduates, has become an essential site for preparing University of Dayton teacher candidates to become effective teachers of traditionally underachieving students. Our collaboration has resulted in the ongoing transformation of a school and a university’s teacher education program to address the social injustice of the educational achievement gap

Lipid Markers and Compound-Specific Carbon Isotopes as Diet and Biosynthesis Reflectors in the Northern Neptune Whelk \u3ci\u3eNeptunea heros\u3c/i\u3e

A suite of lipid biomarkers plus compound-specific carbon isotopes of major sterols were determined in muscle tissues across increasing sizes of northern Neptune whelks Neptunea heros, developing eggs and potential diets to link trophic patterns, metabolism and carbon sources on the Chukchi Sea shelf. Analysis of primary prey included the northern clam Astarte borealis, water column particulate organic matter (POM) and surface sediments near the collection sites. Sterols specific to major algal groups along with algal-derived polyunsaturated fatty acids (C20:5n-3, C20:4n-3, C22:6n-3) in whelk muscle tissue reflected the importance of algal primary production to benthic consumers and its direct incorporation. Compound-specific carbon isotope values of cholesterol and Δ5,7-sterols present in foot muscle of N. heros also suggest a transition from scavenging/detrital feeding in smaller juveniles to predatory consumption by larger adults. Sexually mature adult female N. heros (shell lengths \u3e10 cm) contained lower sterol concentrations compared to smaller whelks, which may reflect reduced consumption rates or lipid translocation during the annual reproductive cycle. Analysis of N. heros eggs at 3 developmental stages ranging from internal egg masses to mature egg cases showed significant transfer of algal-derived sterols and fatty acids which were conserved during egg maturation. The suite of individual lipid signatures and δ13C sterol values observed in N. heros suggest that the northern Neptune whelk relies on both direct lipid incorporation as well as metabolic modification of algal-derived food sources for sterol requirements that transition as animals mature and become predatory consumers

Psychometric concerns with the 10-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) as a measure of trait autism in the general population

The 10-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) is a self-report questionnaire used in clinical and research settings as a diagnostic screening tool for autism in adults. The AQ10 is also increasingly being used to quantify trait autism along a unitary dimension and correlated against performance on other psychological/medical tasks. However, its psychometric properties have yet to be examined when used in this way. By analysing AQ10 data from a large non-clinical sample of adults (n = 6,595), we found that the AQ10 does not have a unifactorial factor structure, and instead appears to have several factors. The AQ10 also had poor internal reliability. Taken together, whilst the AQ10 has important clinical utility in screening for diagnosable autism, it may not be a psychometrically robust measure when administered in non-clinical samples from the general population. Therefore, we caution against its use as a measure of trait autism in future research

The Educational Achievement Gap as a Social Justice Issue for Teacher Educators

The educational achievement gap is a critical social justice issue. Catholic and Marianist conceptions of social justice in particular call people to work with others in their spheres of life to transform institutions in order to further human rights while promoting the common good. Drawing on key elements of Catholic teaching on social justice, we argue that the achievement gap constitutes a social injustice. We then offer a case illustrating collaboration between university-based teacher educators and school faculty to address the achievement gap through transforming the institutions of school and of teacher preparation. The Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), founded on the University of Dayton’s campus to prepare seventh through 12th graders to become first-generation college graduates, has become an essential site for preparing University of Dayton teacher candidates to become effective teachers of traditionally underachieving students. Our collaboration has resulted in the ongoing transformation of a school and a university’s teacher education program to address the social injustice of the educational achievement gap

Who Is Responsible for Nurse Wellbeing in a Crisis? A Single Centre Perspective

BACKGROUND: Leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic often manifested as a command-and-control style of leadership which had detrimental emotional impacts on staff, particularly the nursing workforce. Leadership can have detrimental effects on staff wellbeing, or it can greatly boost their ability to handle a crisis. We sought to explore the interrelationship between leadership and nurses’ wellbeing in an inner-city university hospital during the initial wave of the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses of interview data collected during a hospital-wide evaluation of barriers and facilitators to changes implemented to support the surge of COVID-19 related admissions during wave one. Data were collected through semi-structured video interviews during May–July 2020. Interviews were analysed using Framework analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-one nurses participated, including matrons (n = 7), sisters (n = 8), and specialist nursing roles (n = 16). Three overarching themes were identified: the impact on nurses, personal factors, and organisational factors. The impact on nurses manifested as distress and fatigue. Coping and help-seeking behaviours were found to be the two personal factors which underpinned nurses’ wellbeing. The organisational factors that impacted nurses’ wellbeing included decision-making, duty, and teamwork. CONCLUSIONS: The wellbeing of the workforce is pivotal to the health service, and it is mutually beneficial for patients, staff, and leaders. Addressing how beliefs and misconceptions around wellbeing are communicated and accessing psychological support are key priorities to supporting nurses during pandemics

Interventions to prevent hypothermia in extremely preterm low-weight infants undergoing cardiac catheterisation

BACKGROUND: In January 2019, a new device called the Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus in infants weighing more than 700 g and of postnatal age more than 3 days. Premature low-weight infants are predisposed to hypothermia when transported outside of the thermo-neutral environment. At our institution, 90% of extremely preterm low-weight infants developed transient moderate hypothermia in the cardiac catheterisation suite. METHODS: We conducted a study testing multiple hypotheses aimed at preventing hypothermia in the cardiac catheterisation suite. Interventions included increasing ambient room temperature, reducing exposure to cold environment and reducing overall time spent in the remote location. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who developed transient hypothermia at the start of the procedure in the cardiac catheterisation suite. The secondary measures included mean core body temperature at four different instances, as well as anaesthesia time, procedure time and radiation exposure. RESULTS: During the study period, 10 patients were enrolled in each group. The postintervention group saw a reduction in transient hypothermia from 90% to 40% (absolute risk reduction 50%, p=0.02). Data analysis showed an improvement in mean core body temperature (35.4°C vs 36.4°C, p\u3c0.01) as well as a smaller percentage drop in temperature (4% vs 1.3%, p\u3c0.01) between the two groups, both of which were statistically significant. The anaesthesia time, procedure time and radiation exposure reduced between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The application of the interventions reduced hypothermia in this high-risk population. The implementation of a protocol with collaboration of a multidisciplinary team is indispensable in providing optimal care to extremely preterm infants

‘Why has my world become more confusing than it used to be?’ Professional doctoral students reflect on the development of their identity

This article reports on research into the experience of professional doctoral students and is written by the students themselves. We, the authors, are currently studying for the Doctorate in Education at the University of Manchester, UK. We place our work in the context of recent empirical research into the development of doctoral student identity, noting that these literatures are usually authored by programme directors and supervisors. Using a theoretical approach based on the work of Etienne Wenger, we examine how the aims and curriculum of our programme interplay with our professional learning. In interviews with our cohort of students, we explore the complexity and non-linearity of learning. We do not find a simple progression from practitioner to researcher; rather, we find a fluid and complex relationship between those two identities. We consider the extent to which Wenger’s modes of identification are a useful conceptual tool for understanding this interplay and for theorising about our findings. We conclude that there is further scope for the development of our theoretical framework by drawing on other scholarly work on identity development and reflexivit