What research has been/ is being undertaken in adult literacy and numeracy and by whom and why: internationally and locally?

In September 2013, the Australian Council for Adult Literacy held a forum in Sydney on the topic of Promoting Research in Adult Literacy and Numeracy. The keynote speakers were asked to offer material to generate discussion later in the day. The following is the thought-provoking contribution from Professor Lesley Farrell, one of the founding editors of Open Letter, the precursor to Literacy and Numeracy Studies

Knowledge mobilization: The new research imperative (Introduction)

Hovir can educational research have more impact~ How do we know the depth and scope of the impact it has~ \Vhat processes of knowledge exchange are most effective for increasing the uses of research results? How can researchproduced knmvlcdge be better 'mobilized' among users such as practising educators, policy-makers and the public communities? These sorts of questions, despite their many embedded definitional, philosophical and pragmatic problems, arc commanding urgent attention in educational discourses and research policies no\\r circulating in the UK and Europe, Canada and the USA and Australia and other parts of the world. This attention has been translated into powerful material exercises that shape \vhat is considered to be worthv·,lhile research and hmv research is funded, recognized and assessed. Granting agencies request knmvledge mobilization or knovdedge exchange plans and otTer special funds for these purposes. Researchers and universities arc explicidy directed, in research design and accountability, to emphasize knowledge exchange or mobilization - announced by one funding council as a core priority (SSHRC 2008, 2010)

Educating a global workforce?

In the public rhetoric, at least, education is the answer to most, if not all, the questions raised by the global knowledge-based economy. In this chapter we begin an examination of what education promises the global workforce, and what the global workforce, and the knowledgebased economy, might reasonably ask of education. Different perspectives on the knowledgebased economy imply different constructions of ‘knowledge’. Workers are characterised within these frameworks as ‘knowledge workers’ (an elite), or, perhaps, ‘knowledgeable workers’ (the non-elite majority) and questions arise around what they are required to learn, to know, and to be able to do. The global knowledge-based economy produces profound challenges to workrelated education at every level. While these challenges manifest themselves in uniquely local ways at specific local sites, they are produced, and must be addressed, in contexts that are uncompromisingly global. If work-related education is to contribute to positive outcomes for people and for local communities we (workers, corporations, educators, researchers, policy makers, politicians and international organisations) must find new ways to pay attention to the ways in which a workforce in the knowledge-based economy can be understood to be ‘global’ as well as ‘local’, and what workers need to be able to know and be able to do to move across and within these spatial and temporal domains

Welfare Time Limits: An Update on State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families

One of the most controversial features of the 1990s welfare reforms was the imposition of time limits on benefit receipt. This comprehensive review, written by The Lewin Group and MDRC, includes analyses of administrative data reported by states to the federal government, visits to several states, and a literature review

Munch and Move: evaluation of a preschool healthy eating and movement skill program

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early childhood services have been identified as a key setting for promoting healthy eating and physical activity as a means of preventing overweight and obesity. However, there is limited evidence on effective nutrition and physical activity programs in this setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate <it>Munch and Move</it>, a low-intensity, state-wide, professional development program designed to support early childhood professionals to promote healthy eating and physical activity among children in their care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The evaluation involved 15 intervention and 14 control preschools (n = 430; mean age 4.4 years) in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was based on a randomised-control design with pre and post evaluation of children's lunchbox contents, fundamental movement skills (FMS), preschool policies and practices and staff attitudes, knowledge and confidence related to physical activity, healthy eating and recreational screen time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At follow up, FMS scores for locomotor, object control and total FMS score significantly improved by 3.4, 2.1 and 5.5 points more (respectively) in the intervention group compared with the control group (P < 0.001) and the number of FMS sessions per week increased by 1.5 (P = 0.05). The lunchbox audit showed that children in the intervention group significantly reduced sweetened drinks by 0.13 serves (i.e., 46 ml) (P = 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings suggest that a low intensity preschool healthy weight intervention program can improve certain weight related behaviours. The findings also suggest that change to food policies are difficult to initiate mid-year and potentially a longer implementation period may be required to determine the efficacy of food policies to influence the contents of preschoolers lunchboxes.</p

Identification of research priorities for Inflammatory Bowel Disease nursing in Europe: a Nurses-European Crohn’s & Colitis Organisation Delphi survey

Background: Robust research evidence should inform clinical practice of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist nurses, but such research is currently very limited. With no current agreement on research priorities for IBD nursing, this survey aimed to establish topics to guide future IBD nursing research across Europe. Method: An online modified Delphi survey with nurse and allied health professional members of the Nurses European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (n=303) was conducted. In round one, participants proposed topics for research. In round two, research topics were rated on a 1-9 scale and subsequently synthesised to create composite research questions. In round, three participants selected their top five research questions, rating these on a 1-5 scale. Results: Eighty-eight, 90, and 58 non-medical professionals, predominantly nurses, responded to rounds one, two and three respectively, representing 13 European countries. In round one, 173 potential research topics were suggested. In rounds two and three, responders voted for and prioritised 125 and 44 questions respectively. Round three votes were weighted (rank of 1 = score of 5), reflecting rank order. The top five research priorities were: interventions to improve self-management of IBD; interventions for symptoms of frequency, urgency and incontinence; the role of the IBD nurse in improving patient outcomes and quality of life; interventions to improve IBD fatigue; and care pathways to optimise clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. Conclusion: The prioritised list of topics gives clear direction for future IBD nursing research. Conducting this research has potential to improve clinical practice and patient-reported outcomes

Coronary CT Angiography and 5-Year Risk of Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Although coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) improves diagnostic certainty in the assessment of patients with stable chest pain, its effect on 5-year clinical outcomes is unknown. METHODS: In an open-label, multicenter, parallel-group trial, we randomly assigned 4146 patients with stable chest pain who had been referred to a cardiology clinic for evaluation to standard care plus CTA (2073 patients) or to standard care alone (2073 patients). Investigations, treatments, and clinical outcomes were assessed over 3 to 7 years of follow-up. The primary end point was death from coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction at 5 years. RESULTS: The median duration of follow-up was 4.8 years, which yielded 20,254 patient-years of follow-up. The 5-year rate of the primary end point was lower in the CTA group than in the standard-care group (2.3% [48 patients] vs. 3.9% [81 patients]; hazard ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 0.84; P=0.004). Although the rates of invasive coronary angiography and coronary revascularization were higher in the CTA group than in the standard-care group in the first few months of follow-up, overall rates were similar at 5 years: invasive coronary angiography was performed in 491 patients in the CTA group and in 502 patients in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.13), and coronary revascularization was performed in 279 patients in the CTA group and in 267 in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.27). However, more preventive therapies were initiated in patients in the CTA group (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.65), as were more antianginal therapies (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.54). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of cardiovascular or noncardiovascular deaths or deaths from any cause. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, the use of CTA in addition to standard care in patients with stable chest pain resulted in a significantly lower rate of death from coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction at 5 years than standard care alone, without resulting in a significantly higher rate of coronary angiography or coronary revascularization. (Funded by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office and others; SCOT-HEART ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01149590 .)

Public Health and the Built Environment: Historical, Empirical, and Theoretical Foundations for an Expanded Role

In 2000, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention\u27s National Center for Environmental Health issued a report that explored some of the ways in which sprawl impacts public health. The report has generated great interest, and state health officials are beginning to discuss the relationship between land use and public health. The CDC report has also produced a backlash. For example, the Southern California Building Industry Association labeled the report a ludicrous sham and argued that the CDC should stick to fighting physical diseases, not defending political ones. In this environment, it is understandable if the CDC looks to such critiques as simply the latest partisan recruit to a political debate. But critics of the CDC\u27s efforts in this area may substantially overstate their case in the other direction. There is now and has long been a demonstrated connection between health, including physical disease, and the built environment. Moreover, government has intervened in the past in response to this connection and it continues to do so. While neither past practice nor current evidence make government intervention inevitable, this paper argues that such intervention is appropriate and supported by theory as well as history and empirical evidence