Playing it real in a virtual context: developing sustainable connections to university

For teachers from within the early childhood education and care sector, working with children and families in the current societal context has become increasingly problematic (Gardner, 1999, 2003; Prout, 2003a, 2003b). From one standpoint, research has indicated that much of the difficulty associated with working in this field is symptomatic of the uncertainty, discontinuity and insecurity characteristic of the post-modern condition (Dahlgren & Chiriac, 2009; Hulqvist & Dahlberg, 2001; Jenks, 1996a, 1996b; Lyotard, 1984; Prout, 2003a, 2003b). As authors of this paper, whilst we agree with this particular standpoint, it can be argued that the aforementioned perspective can be seen as an over-simplification of the problems in the ECEC field. While the characteristics of the post-modern condition may be considered to be at the heart of some of these problems, the complexities of current policy reform, the demands of neo-liberal approaches to the provision of care and education (Ball, 2003; Beck, 1999; Hulqvist, 1998; Popkewitz, 2000; Rose, 1999, 2000), as well as a lack of understanding of current contexts for children and their families compound the present state of play across the sector (Moss, 2003; Prout, 2003a). Thus, new demands are evident for teachers in the ECEC field in relation to both personal and professional skill development. Therefore preparation for understanding the impact these contexts have on their identity development is critical to evaluating pre-service educator’s university experiences in contract with the reality of the rural practice context. On the grounds that learners view and interpret new information and experiences through their existing network of knowledge, experience and beliefs (Dahlgren & Chiriac, 2009; Darling-Hammond, 1997; Helm, 2006), the project’s design acknowledges and anticipates that the beginner teachers' experiences will be shaped, in part, by what they 'bring' to those experiences, including their initial choices to enter the profession, and their prior conceptions and expectations about teaching and initial teacher preparation (Helm, 2006). In this case study, juxtaposition between preconceptions and expectations of pre-service teacher education and early experiences as beginning teacher in a rural Australian context are explored and the key research questions guiding data interrogation include: o What are the connections between your initial expectations about becoming a teacher and commencing your university studies and the reality of teaching in a rural context? o How has this influenced or shaped your professional identity and learning? o How has the rural context impacted upon the manifestation of the curriculum, impacting your professional decisions and development? o How do you use the knowledge, skills and abilities developed at University in your professional context? o What have you learned about yourself as an individual as well as you as a professional? What will you do differently now as an outcome of your professional learning thus far? A model of critical reflection is used to interrogate the data from interviews and facebook postings over a 2 year period. Key themes emerged and these relate to the concept of teacher identity, the role of relationships, a sense of agency, the notion of relevance, and the central presence of emotion. In this paper these themes are presented as core features of the experience of 'becoming a teacher'

Risen

This is a film review of Risen (2016), directed by Kevin Reynolds

Risen

This is a film review of Risen (2016), directed by Kevin Reynolds

In practice: narrative care & decision-making among pediatric and adolescent health providers

This thesis explores the experiences of several pediatric health care providers in the Boston area. It identifies and examines the stories told by providers to discuss their profession, their decision-making processes, and the methods that they use to "know" themselves and their patients through the lens of current topics of interest in pediatrics, including the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Pediatricians, pediatric nurse practitioners, adolescent health providers, and pediatric focused gynecologists were recruited from several private, community-based, and academic medical center practices in the Boston area. This study used several qualitative data collection methods, focusing primarily on the use of semi-structured interviews while including participant and non-participant observations in two distinct clinical settings

Exploring patterns of child-to-parent violence and abuse from caregivers’ perspectives: parental experiences, correlates and support-seeking behaviour

Background: Child-to-parent violence and abuse (CPVA) is recognised as a form of domestic violence (DV). However, little is known about its prevalence, associations with other types of DV, or how caregivers cope with this behaviour. Aims: The aims of this thesis were to: 1) explore caregivers’ lived experiences and coping responses to CPVA; 2) develop a conceptual model to explain patterns of caregiver coping responses; 3) investigate the occurrence and association between lifetime incidence of CPVA and other types of DV within a UK community sample; and 4) understand family and situational characteristics which influence levels of CPVA and support accessed. Method: In order to investigate aims 1) and 2), a qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis were conducted. Studies were quality appraised using the CASP checklist, and data were extracted and inductively coded. Confidence in review findings was assessed using the GRADE-CERQual approach. Aims 3) and 4) were explored via a cross-sectional anonymous online survey of UK caregivers with a child or young person (CYP) aged six to 24 years old. Participants completed an adapted version of the Child-to-Mother Violence Scale (Edenborough, 2007) and the Composite Abuse Scale (CAS; Hegarty, 2007), a measure of previous intimate partner violence (IPV) victimisation. Before the survey was carried out, the CAS was critiqued in relation to its psychometric properties, and was employed in the current study due to its broad coverage of IPV subtypes that align with UK cross-governmental definitions of DV. Results: 1) The review identified a range of psychological and behavioural coping responses. 2) Coping responses appeared to be mediated by caregivers’ appraisals of CPVA (e.g. how they made sense of the abuse), how it impacted them emotionally and relationally (e.g. level of fear; impact on the family system), and views about the responsiveness of formal and informal support networks. 3) 412 UK caregivers (94% female) completed the online survey; 65% reported at least one lifetime incidence of CPVA, and 21% reported ongoing abuse. Strongest associations were found between history of emotional (rather than physical) IPV victimisation and lifetime experience of CPVA, whilst CYPs previously witnessing or experiencing violence did not predict levels of CPVA. 4) Female participants experiencing at least one occasional lifetime incidence of CPVA generally reported on male CYPs (60%), who were aged 7 to 9 years old when the CPVA started, and 10 to 12 years old when it was worst. CYPs being threatening to other family members (mainly siblings), and longer duration of CPVA were associated with higher levels of CPVA, whilst higher levels of CPVA and antecedents positively predicted level of support accessed. Contrary to the systematic review’s hypotheses, caregivers feeling afraid, normalising the CYP’s behaviours, and endorsing barriers to support seeking were not associated with level of support accessed. Conclusions: The systematic review is the first known synthesis of qualitative evidence concerning CPVA, and identifies testable hypotheses concerning caregiver coping responses. The thesis provides preliminary evidence on the rate of CPVA in a UK community sample, its levels of co-occurrence with IPV and sibling directed aggression, and gaps in service access and provision

Hydrological outlook UK - December 2019

The Hydrological Outlook provides an insight into future hydrological conditions across the UK. Specifically, it describes likely trajectories for river flows and groundwater levels on a monthly basis, with a particular focus on the next three months. Well established monitoring programmes provide the current status of both river flows and groundwater levels at many sites across the UK, and data from these programmes provide the starting point for the Outlook. A number of techniques are used to project forwards from the current state and results from these are used to produce a summary that includes a highlights map

Hydrological outlook UK - January 2020

The Hydrological Outlook provides an insight into future hydrological conditions across the UK. Specifically, it describes likely trajectories for river flows and groundwater levels on a monthly basis, with a particular focus on the next three months. Well established monitoring programmes provide the current status of both river flows and groundwater levels at many sites across the UK, and data from these programmes provide the starting point for the Outlook. A number of techniques are used to project forwards from the current state and results from these are used to produce a summary that includes a highlights map

Hydrological outlook UK - April 2020

The Hydrological Outlook provides an insight into future hydrological conditions across the UK. Specifically, it describes likely trajectories for river flows and groundwater levels on a monthly basis, with a particular focus on the next three months. Well established monitoring programmes provide the current status of both river flows and groundwater levels at many sites across the UK, and data from these programmes provide the starting point for the Outlook. A number of techniques are used to project forwards from the current state and results from these are used to produce a summary that includes a highlights map

Hydrological outlook UK - August 2020

The Hydrological Outlook provides an insight into future hydrological conditions across the UK. Specifically, it describes likely trajectories for river flows and groundwater levels on a monthly basis, with a particular focus on the next three months. Well established monitoring programmes provide the current status of both river flows and groundwater levels at many sites across the UK, and data from these programmes provide the starting point for the Outlook. A number of techniques are used to project forwards from the current state and results from these are used to produce a summary that includes a highlights map