Do we need to decolonise bereavement studies?

At this re-launch of the journal Bereavement, we explore the question, ‘Do we need to decolonise bereavement studies?’ We do not offer definitive answers, but rather seek to open up conversations. We briefly explore some of the main debates and explanations of what ‘decolonising’ means. In its broader understandings, this entails questions about the nature of the knowledge that underpins claims to ‘expertise’, since knowledge inevitably reflects the socio-historic position and biography of those who produce it. This raises uncomfortable issues about the ‘universality’ of that knowledge, and how to understand what is shared between human beings, including how to understand experiences of pain and suffering. In addressing the nature of, ‘bereavement studies’, we first consider complexities of language and translation, before observing the heavy domination of the ‘psy’ disciplines in affluent minority worlds, oriented towards individualised, medicalised and interventionist perspectives. We indicate work that seeks to challenge these limitations, including the decolonising of psychiatry itself. We argue the need for such decolonising work to go beyond cross-cultural work originating in affluent minority worlds, beyond interdisciplinarity, and beyond crucial work on equality, diversity and inclusivity. Bereavement, as a field of study and a set of practices, needs to take account of the legacies of complex colonial histories of exploitation and harm that continue to shape the world in general, and in particular, the aftermath of death in the continuing lives of the living. We conclude with some implications for ‘bereavement’ practice, from a UK perspective.

AUTOBIOGRAFÍA / AUTOFICCIÓN EN EL ÁMBITO HISPÁNICO. FRONTERAS Y ESTUDIOS RECIENTES

En la teoría literaria sobre escritura autobiográfica y autoficcional ha predominado cierta confusión en el empleo de las etiquetas y solamente en los últimos años parece haberse generalizado una distinción definitiva entre ambos discursos narrativos. Este artículo tiene como objetivo establecer un recorrido de la evolución experimentada por la dicotomía autobiografía / autoficción. Para ello parto de los orígenes de lo autoficcional, analizo la evolución de este debate y finalmente me centro en las últimas publicaciones de relevancia. La intención es dar a conocer nuevas ideas, todavía poco discutidas en el ámbito hispánico, que desarrollan y amplían los planteamientos de autores asentados en este campo de estudio. Abstract: In the literary theory on autobiographical writing and autofiction, there has been a certain degree of confusion in the use of labels; only recently, a clear distinction has been drawn between them both. This article aims to establish a path of evolution for the dichotomy autobiography / autofiction. I will start from the origins of autofiction, will later analyse the evolution of the theoretical debate, and will finally focus on the latest relevant publications. Therefore, the article will make known new ideas, still little discussed in the Hispanic sphere, which develop and extend the approaches of authors based in this field of study.

Sport Management: Who We Are and Where We Are Going

Due to the popularity of sport, the need to have sport management programs that properly train practitioners is justified (Pedersen & Thibault, 2014). However, with 505 sport management bachelors programs worldwide (“Degrees in Sports,” n.d.) housed in various academic units, there is little consistency within the field of study. This paper strives to explore the field of sport management and to better understand sport management faculty members’ perceptions of the discipline. Grounded in Foucault’s (1971) theory of discourse, total of 154 sport management faculty members worldwide participated in the study. The data revealed there is a lack of consistency within the field regarding faculty members’ perceptions of sport management. This study offers a vital, first step in an empirical examination of a critical phenomenon in the sport management academy.

A Bayesian Approach to Investigating Factors Influencing Polytechnic College Students’ Academic Achievement

TVET plays a significant role in human resource development and, as a result, in a society’s progress and prosperity. The study is aiming at identifying the key factors influencing students’ academic success at polytechnic colleges. The study’s target population was regular Bahir Dar Polytechnic College students in the 2019/2020 academic year. Stratified random sampling was employed to conduct a cross-sectional survey of 536 participants. The author employed SPSS version 25 and WinBUGS 1.4 for quantitative data analysis. Bayesian logistic regression was used to model the factors that significantly influence TVET students’ academic achievement. Gender, age, family monthly income, study hours, stimulant use during the study, English language proficiency, EGSECE score, previous perceptions of TVET, teacher satisfaction, and field of study placement satisfaction were identified as factors that significantly influenced TVET students’ academic achievements. Being female, having a low family income, studying for a shorter period, using stimulants while studying, having a low English language proficiency, having a low EGSECE result, having a negative perception of TVET, and having low satisfaction with field of study were all linked to lower academic achievement in this study. According to the findings, students should spend more time in learning and consume fewer stimulants during their studies. The Ministry of Education should modify the TVET curriculum to aid students in improving their English language skills. Teachers in TVET should also receive ongoing capacity-building training. Finally, rather than imposing norms and limits (in terms of student achievement), TVET colleges should respect students’ free choice of training sector (department).

Researching and Conceptualizing an Effective Literature Review

Literature reviews are an integral part of the world of academia. They provide an avenue for the existing body of knowledge to be modified, summarized, outlined, and evaluated for the development of future research. While there are an overwhelming number of resources and scholarship on most topics, literature reviews prove to be difficult to construct. Literature reviews should provide new perspectives on existing bodies of knowledge, and they should also critically analyze the current literature in the field of study or bring to light conflicting perspectives or gaps in the literature. This chapter seeks to provide a systematic approach to understanding, conducting, and structuring literature reviews. Topics will include the purpose of literature reviews and key misconceptions, conducting research while evaluating quality and purpose of sources, writing the review with attention to purpose, method, audience, and rhetoric, and most common classifications of reviews and the methodology behind each.

Menilik Realitas Kebutuhan Pengguna Lulusan Teknologi Pendidikan Pada Bidang Jasa E-Learning di Indonesia

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed conventional learning towards the use of e-Learning. Educational technology is a field of study that labels graduates with the main profile as developers of learning technology, one of which has competence in the sector of e-Learning. As a result, this study aims to look at the realities of the demands of educational technology graduates in the field of e-Learning services in Indonesia, both in terms of relevant institutions and based on the alumni job experience. The author conducts descriptive research using qualitative methods, including interviews with two samples of e-Learning service institutions in Indonesia (PT Menara Indonesia and PT Zeniora Edukasi Teknologi), as well as the distribution of open qualitative questionnaires to three alumni of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia who are currently working in e-Learning service institutions. Work documents that support the research are also used to conduct documentation studies. The data was analyzed using various methods, including reduction and organization, as well as triangulation and re-checking with investigators. Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that educational technology graduates are needed in e-Learning service institutions, both to receive graduates who fulfill the institution's criteria and the linearity of positions gained by educational technology alumni.

Nature of Academic Programs, Epistemological Beliefs and Their Impact on Pakistani University Students’ Academic Performance

The students’ academic behaviours and academic performance differ with their epistemological beliefs. Different social-cultural and educational contexts inculcate differences in students’ epistemological beliefs. However, the impact of the nature of the academic programs on students’ epistemological beliefs is most obvious. The students of different disciplines can have different epistemological beliefs. These different epistemological beliefs differ in their impact on students’ academic performance and academic behaviour. Hence, the current study evaluated the interrelationships of various educational programs and epistemological beliefs and their importance in students’ academic performance. The volunteer university students provided data about their academic programs, epistemological beliefs, and academic performance. Researchers used the Generalized Structured Component Analysis approach to calculate the suitability of specified measurement and structural models. The impact of subjects of the soft field of study such as Behavioural Sciences, English Literature was negative on naive epistemological beliefs in knowledge structure and omniscient authority compared to subjects of the hard field of studies such as Mathematical, Physical Sciences, and Biological Sciences. The Business Sciences from the soft applied field of study had the least noticeable negative impact on naive epistemological beliefs compared to other subjects of pure soft and pure hard field of studies. Only, the belief in quick learning had a significant negative impact on students’ academic performance.

Independence Test and Plots in Correspondence Analysis to Explore Tracer Study Data

The results of the exploration of tracer study data can be used as information about the career of graduates and the relevance of work to the field of study as well as the competencies obtained before graduation. The question items discussed were a description of the time and process of looking for a job, the length of time to get the first job, the relationship between length of study, gender, field of work, total income, alumni's perception of the closeness of the field of study to work, the suitability of the level of education on the job, and average level of competence. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between these variables in the 2020 tracer study data from graduates of all faculties at Sriwijaya University. Respondents studied were 2,669 people. The method used is descriptive statistics, biplot analysis, independence test and plots by simple correspondence analysis. Respondents' perceptions of the suitability of the level of education in employment are related to gender and also with respondents' perceptions of the closeness of the field of study to the field of work. Meanwhile, respondents' perceptions of the closeness of the field of study with work are related to the field of work. The average length of study, the average number of job applications, the number of companies or agencies that responded to applications, and invited interviews for female respondents were lower than male respondents.