Lessons in Collaboration

This document contains notes used in a presentation by Tom Carter and Anita Friesen, Research Liaison Director and Community Liaison Director of the Winnipeg Inner-City Research Alliance (WIRA), respectively on the ocassion of their presentation at the 2003 CUExpo in Saskatoon

Planning [E]mergence: The Convergence of Theory and Practice Through the Collaborative Efforts of the Winnipeg Inner-City Research Alliance

An evaluation of an innovative collaborative urban research organization that builds partnerships between academics, researchers, and communities. This case study investigates the Winnipeg Inner-City Research Alliance (WIRA). While focusing on inner-city issues, WIRA also aims to enhance and increase theory - practice discourse. In this, WIRA strives to connect and develop innovative partnerships between communities, researchers, academics, and practitioners

Systematic review of interventions for the secondary prevention and treatment of emotional abuse of children by primary carers

Background Emotional abuse (or psychological maltreatment, as it is more commonly called in the US) is an inadequately researched and poorly understood concept, despite increasing awareness about the harm it can cause to children‟s lives. Although it unifies and underpins all types of maltreatment it also occurs alone and when it does, tends to elude detection and intervention. There have to date been no systematic reviews of the literature on the secondary prevention and treatment involving the parents or primary carers of emotionally abused children. Objective The objective of the review was to identify studies that evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in the secondary prevention and treatment of child emotional abuse involving the parents or primary carers of children aged 0 – 19 years. Methods Studies were included if they involved any intervention which was directed at emotionally abusive parenting and that measured change in (i) emotional unavailability (ii) negative attributions (i.e. that involve the parent attributing negative intentions, beliefs or attitudes toward the child); (iii) developmentally inappropriate interactions; (iv) lack of recognition of children‟s boundaries; (v) inconsistency of parenting role; (vi) missocialisation or consistent failure to promote the child‟s social adaptation. The primary outcomes evaluated involved proxy measures of a range of parent, family and child outcomes including parental psychopathology, parenting attitudes and practices, family functioning and/or child behaviour and the child‟s development and adaptation. . A broad search strategy was developed in order to identify as many relevant studies as possible. An electronic search of a wide range of databases was carried about. No study type was excluded. The search was augmented by direct contact with academics and practitioners known in this field. The search included studies written in English, Spanish, French and German. Studies were included if the intervention was described, and the impact on at least one indicator of emotional abuse was assessed. Included studies were critically appraised by two reviewers using standard criteria. Data were extracted using a standard proforma, and a qualitative synthesis of results was carried out. Results The initial search yielded 4248 publications of potential interest. Of these, 175 were obtained for possible inclusion or as background material. A total of 21 studies of 18 interventions, met all the inclusion criteria. A further 43 studies were relevant, but did not meet all of the inclusion criteria. Studies were organised according to the type of emotional abuse targeted: emotionally abusive parenting; parents of infants with faltering growth; missocialisation: parenting interventions with substance-abusing mothers. Twelve included studies had quantitative designs. Of these, 6 comprised randomised controlled trials; 1 comprised a follow-up of a randomised controlled trial; 2 were controlled studies; and 3 had one-group pre- and post-designs. The remaining 9 were case studies. Included studies involved a wide range of interventions. The 8 studies for parents which address emotionally abusive parenting (rejection, misattribution, parent-child role reversal and anger management) involved evaluations of cognitive-behavioural training (CBT), behavioural training and parent-infant psychotherapy. Two further case studies involved cognitive-behavioural training, mentalisation and family-based therapy. The 9 interventions with parents of infants with faltering growth evaluated CBT, behavioural training, parent infant psychotherapy and interaction guidance; lay home visitors, and a range of therapeutic options based on the diagnostic condition of the parents. The 3 studies of interventions for substance abusing mothers evaluated a relational psychotherapy group for mothers, and a residential treatment for substance abuse with a parenting component. The sample sizes for quantitative studies were small and ranged from 17 to 98 participants. Ten interventions involved mothers alone, while a further 11 included fathers, either at the outset or at a later stage, and in 3 cases extended family members. Interventions for emotionally abusing parents The findings from the 8 included studies evaluating CBT, psychotherapy, and behavioural approaches suggest that group-based CBT may be an effective means of intervening with this group of parents, although it cannot currently be recommended with parents experiencing symptoms of severe psychopathology. While one comparative study showed a psychotherapeutic intervention to be more effective than a CBT focused intervention, the outcomes measured in this study (i.e. parent and child representations) favoured the former. Behavioural case work involving the use of problem-solving techniques may also have a role to play with some parents, although further research is still needed. Interventions to enhance parental sensitivity The findings from a systematic review of 81 interventions that aimed at enhancing parental sensitivity and / or infant attachment found strong evidence that short term (less than 16 sessions) interventions, with a behavioural focus and aimed exclusively at enhancing maternal sensitivity were also most effective in enhancing infant attachment security. This supports the notion of a causal role of sensitivity in shaping attachment. Interventions that included fathers as well as mothers showed higher effect sizes but results are tentative since they are based on a small number of small scale trials. Parental behaviours associated with faltering growth Nine studies evaluated a range of interventions with parents of babies with faltering growth including interaction guidance, home visiting; parent-child psychotherapy, behavioural casework and multi-component interventions. The findings show that interaction guidance and parent-infant psychotherapy may be potentially effective means of working with this group of clients along with behavioural casework, but that further research is needed before these can be recommended. Missocialisation: Parenting interventions for substance-abusing parents 5 studies (one of which was a 6-month follow-up) evaluated interventions for substance abusing mothers, including a relational psychotherapy group and a residential treatment for substance abusing adults with a parenting component. The findings show that initial gains made in the former were not sustained at 6-months and few benefits from residential intervention. Conclusions Emotional abuse is a complex issue resulting in part from learned behaviours, psychopathology and/or unmet emotional needs in the parents, and often compounded by factors in the families‟ immediate and wider social environment. As such, a „one-approach-fits-all‟ is unlikely to lead to sustained change. The evidence base is weak, but suggests that some caregivers respond well to cognitive behavioural therapy. However, the characteristics that define these parents are not clear. There is currently no evidence to support the use of this intervention alone in the treatment of severely emotionally abusive parents. Some of the evidence suggests that a certain form of emotional abuse (for example, highly negative parent affect, which may be expressed as frightened and frightening behaviours in the parent) stemming from unresolved trauma and loss, is less amenable to CBT. There is some evidence that interaction guidance and psychotherapeutic approaches can generate change in parents with more severe psychopathology. Further research is urgently needed to evaluate the benefits of both psychotherapeutic and cognitive behavioural interventions, including those which take the form of family therapy, with parents at the more severe end of the spectrum, with fathers, and with older children. There is also a need to gain further understanding about which forms of emotional abuse respond best to different treatments

Wireless Learning Technology in Higher Education – a Case Study in Singapore

Wireless Learning Technologies (WLTs) are set to replace the traditional methods of information sharing and set the trend for future information presentation and collaborative multiuser sharing. Wireless learning technologies (WLTs) used in education include mobile technologies such as smartphones, tablets and laptops as well as systems designed to be used specifically in technology-rich collaborative learning spaces. Such spaces are networked both technologically as well as through student-to-student interactions.This paper undertakes a literature review of wireless learning technologies for multi-platform compatibility over a multitude of personal devices and operating systems. It discusses the use of WLT for new collaborative spaces of learning. The paper further undertakes a comparative descriptive analysis between a space recently discussed in the teaching and learning literature with a case study of one classroom based on the authorial team’s participation and observation

Use of Bridges as Day Roosts by Bats in Southern Illinois

From May through July 2001, and June through August 2002 we surveyed 232 bridges in 9 southern Illinois counties for the presence of roosting bats. Fifteen bridges (6.5%) had bats roosting at the time they were surveyed. We encountered big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) most frequently. Eastern pipestrelles (Pipestrellus subflavus), little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), and northern long-eared bats (M. septentrionalis) also were found roosting under bridges. The number of bats per bridge ranged from 1 to \u3e100. Bats occurred in four of the five types of bridge designs surveyed. Of the 15 bridges with bats, 11 were rechecked at a later date to determine continuity of use. Seven of the 11 (63.6%) were being used by bats when rechecked. From this, we derived an estimated usage rate of 23.6 bridges (15/0.636) during the study, or about 10% of the 232 bridges surveyed. We could not determine relationships between bat presence and habitat features around bridges

Sleep Education for Elders Program (SLEEP): Promising Pilot Results of a Virtual, Health Educator-Led, Community-Delivered Sleep Behavior Change Intervention

Purpose: Sleep problems pose serious public health concerns, and evidence suggests that the problem is worsening. Both sufficient sleep quantity and quality are needed for optimal health, particularly among older adults, but access to sleep care can be difficult. This study examined the efficacy of a six-week sleep behavior change program designed for older adults that was delivered virtually by health educators. Participants and Methods: This quasi-experimental pilot study (intervention n = 22; control n = 31) explored the effects of the Sleep Education for Elders Program (SLEEP) on sleep outcomes, which included: 1) sleep quality, measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); 2) sleep duration, extracted from the PSQI; 3) insomnia symptoms, measured by the Insomnia Severity Index; 4) sleep hygiene behaviors, obtained from the Sleep Hygiene Index; and 5) excessive daytime sleepiness, measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Results: After SLEEP, the intervention group experienced significantly improved sleep quality (p \u3c 0.001), a reduction in maladaptive sleep hygiene behaviors (p = 0.007), and reduced daytime sleepiness (p \u3c 0.027) compared to the control group. Effect sizes for all five sleep measures were medium or large. In the intervention group, all changes were judged to be clinically meaningful (≥ 0.5 SD) except for improvements in daytime sleepiness. Conclusion: These data support the efficacy of a group-based, virtual behavior change intervention in improving sleep outcomes among older adults

Inclusion of equity in economic analyses of public health policies: systematic review and future directions

Objectives: To assess current approaches to inclusion of equity in economic analysis of public health interventions and to recommend best approaches and future directions.Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies that have used socioeconomic position (SEP) in cost‐effectiveness analyses. Studies were identified using MedLine, EconLit and HEED and were evaluated based on their SEP specific inputs and methods of quantification of the health and financial inequalities.Results: Twenty‐nine relevant studies were identified. The majority of studies comparing two or more interventions left interpretation of the size of the health and financial inequality differences to the reader. Newer approaches include: i) use of health inequality measures to quantify health inequalities; ii) inclusion of financial impacts, such as out‐of‐pocket expenditures; and iii) use of equity weights. The challenge with these approaches is presenting results that policy makers can easily interpret.Conclusions: Using CEA techniques to generate new information about the health equity implications of alternative policy options has not been widely used, but should be considered to inform future decision making.Implications for public health: Inclusion of equity in economic analysis would facilitate a more nuanced comparison of interventions in relation to efficiency, equity and financial impact.<br /

Towards a Learner-Centered Explainable AI: Lessons from the learning sciences

In this short paper, we argue for a refocusing of XAI around human learning goals. Drawing upon approaches and theories from the learning sciences, we propose a framework for the learner-centered design and evaluation of XAI systems. We illustrate our framework through an ongoing case study in the context of AI-augmented social work.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure