Learning Health Systems Can Promote and Sustain High-Value Occupational Therapy

In the current policy context, the occupational therapy profession must act to promote and sustain high-value care. Stakeholders have delineated efforts, such as defining and measuring high-quality care processes or promoting the adoption of evidence into practice, that can enhance the value of occupational therapy services. There is a growing recognition, however, that low-value care is the product of deficiencies within health care systems and is therefore most amenable to system-level solutions. To date, the specific nature of system-level changes capable of identifying and rectifying low-value occupational therapy has yet to be elucidated. In this “The Issue Is. . .” column, we introduce occupational therapy to the Learning Health System concept and its essential functions. Moreover, we discuss action steps for occupational therapy stakeholders to lay the foundation for Learning Health Systems in their own professional contexts. What This Article Adds: This article is the first to outline concrete action steps needed to transform occupational therapy practice contexts into Learning Health Systems. Such a transformation would represent a system-level change capable of fostering the delivery of high-value occupational therapy services to clients in a variety of practice settings.

Relationship Between Academic Library Workers’ Outlooks on Life, Personality, and Goal-Setting Behavior and Achievement

A Review of: Lo, L.S. & Anderson, A.M. (2020). Personal goal setting behavior and professional outlooks of academic library employees. Journal of New Librarianship, 5, 204-236. https://doi.org/10.33011/newlibs/9/21 Abstract Objective – To identify a correlation between academic library employees who set New Year’s resolutions and goal-setting behavior in professional contexts, and to explore practices, personal attitudes, and outlooks that influence goal-setting and goal-achievement Design – Non-experimental multiple choice questionnaire Setting – Online Subjects – 308 adult participants (over 21 years old) who work in academic library settings including staff, librarians, and administration Methods – The authors designed an online, non-experimental multiple choice questionnaire through Qualtrics. The authors distributed study invitations to multiple professional library listservs, though it is unclear which listservs were included and what geographic location was covered. The survey was available for roughly a month from February 1-26, 2016. The survey screened participant demographics to omit those under 21 years of age and all identifying information was removed in order to protect participant privacy. All participation was voluntary and participants who were interested in contributing to a follow-up research study were asked to share their contact emails. Main Results – Most participants (n=182, 59%) set no New Year's resolutions in 2015 and half (n=155, 50%) set no resolutions in 2016. When asked to explain, 23% noted that they hadn't considered setting resolutions in 2016, 9% did not prioritize setting goals, and 5% felt that they could not achieve their goals. Additionally, over 50% articulated other reasons including not prioritizing goal-setting for New Year’s, noting that setting goals around the academic year was timelier, and that some participants already had enough goals to achieve. In 2016, half of participants (n=153, 50%) set New Year’s resolutions. By far the most common resolution was physical fitness and healthy eating (n=64, 42%). About 19% set occupational goals including skill building, and 15% set emotional goals including cultivating optimism and mindfulness. When asked about goal-setting practices, 36% of the 2016 resolution setters described writing or typing out their goals, 59% shared their goals with others, and nearly 90% enacted changes in their daily routines in order to achieve their goals. 26 participants used all of the goal setting practices above. This group prioritized their top goals and felt confident about reaching those goals. Four participants did not practice goal-setting techniques, and also felt less confident about achieving their goals. 49% of 2016 resolution setters had somewhat optimistic outlooks, and 24% had very optimistic life outlooks. Of those with pessimistic life outlooks, nearly all believed it would be difficult to accomplish goals. Respondents who claimed to be very ambitious were likely to set occupational goals as their top goal. 81% of those in dean and director positions reported being very ambitious and 85% also reported being optimistic. All deans and directors felt confident about accomplishing their goals. For middle managers, 75% felt ambitious and 72% felt optimistic. Professional librarians were 66% ambitious and 72% optimistic. Conclusions – This study's findings align closely with United States national averages about the percentage of Americans who set New Year’s resolutions and achieve their goals. Data suggests some relationship between academic library workers’ outlooks on life and confidence in achieving their goals, as well as a correlation between goal setting strategies and achieving goals. The authors express optimism that 20% of participants who set New Year's resolutions chose to list occupational goals as their top goals, especially considering that resolution-setting comprises an incredibly broad array of options. The authors suggest that data can be used by academic library administrators to increase worker job performance, improve worker wellness, establish mentorship programs, and train workers to set attainable goals.

Applied translation studies and transdisciplinary action research: Understanding, learning and transforming translation in professional contexts

Proceeding from accepted shared definitions of applied linguistics that stress its practical, real-world orientation and instrumentality, this article seeks to move the focus from the interdisciplinarity that has been identified as the nexus of translation studies in the past to how its applied branches should systematically engage with an emerging transdisciplinary research paradigm. It argues that the shift can and will be a key factor, challenge and opportunity in the onward development of applied translation studies as it seeks to adequately address the situated realities of professional translation. The article reveals how transdisciplinarity, operationalised as action research, offers a viable framework for investigating, understanding and learning about what translators really do in working contexts and settings, with a view to identifying issues, improving practices, processes and performance, and ultimately transforming the profession for the good of those it employs and serves. In doing so, it considers approaches from cognitive translatology, based largely on a 4EA cognitive paradigm, and translatorial linguistic ethnography, where researchers are gradually but progressively going out into the field to explore and describe the complex socio-cognitive, socio-technical activity of translation in situ. After presenting a use case from a large-scale research project on translation ergonomics at the authors home institution, the article puts forward a model for transdisciplinary action research in professional settings to guide the necessary transition from interdisciplinarity to transdisciplinarity. Such a model would allow professional processes and practices to be investigated, and the findings productively and transformatively applied, in the situated socio-cognitive and socio-technical contexts of translators workplaces - within, for, with and by the organisations that employ them.

Creating healthful cultures through Critical Creativity

During Covid lockdown in 2021, I was invited to offer a masterclass to masters students at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh: ‘In the leadership module we have a masterclass, groupwork, study time and a plenary that ties together. We even have a book club!!! The aim is to be generic, not nursing/health focused. The learners make space to consider application in their own areas/specialisms. ‘We were wondering if you would like to/could do a masterclass within the strand of healthfulness. We really value your storytelling and know you are really passionate about healthfulness from an ecological perspective. We would love it if you could draw on your experiences of politics, environment... The more creative the better. ‘We would want learners to consider their role in creating healthful cultures and ways that they might go about it.’ How could I resist, given my decades-long passion for transformational practice development and inquiry within a critical creativity landscape in health and social care? In my retirement, I have continued to work successfully in this way in a variety of contexts, including political activism. I responded: ‘I would love to show how healthful cultures can be created, with stories from my person-centred community engagement work in creating a neighbourhood plan [for 21st century local housing development] and campaigning for positive personal and community political responses to the climate and ecological emergency. Stories that show up something of how conditions can be created to enable the ecology of human flourishing to be embodied in action. Also, how I am seeing the stirrings of transformative change in local politics that have previously been very traditional in the way they work with people.’ This article is based on that webinar, because students not only enjoyed it, but we heard that some were also able to transfer the learning to their different professional contexts. Therefore, for this paper, I repurposed and elaborated the material for a wider audience. Health and social care services are increasingly offered in new ways in the community and I imagine more health and social care professionals will be setting up innovative ways of working. I hope, therefore, that sharing my experience of creating cultures where everyone flourishes by doing things differently, as well as critically and creatively with the whole self, will be helpful. I will share four stories of how I do that in a variety of contexts and show you, through images and metaphors, how I have gone about that, first in health and social care but primarily for now in political and campaigning contexts. Through the stories, I will show you what it takes as a person to create healthful cultures. Woven through the article is an introduction to critical creativity and its three mandalas. They are there for you to look at with soft eyes/letting the words wash over you – without digging into meaning at this point. My hope is that you begin to get a sense of where the mandalas fit into the stories and, if you so choose, into your own stories and practice. The parts of the mandalas are italicised in the text as they are mentioned.

Blended Action Learning: Supporting Leadership Learning in the New Zealand ECE Sector

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the use of information communication technology (ICT) to support leadership development in the New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) sector. There is currently a lack of policy and provision supporting leadership development in this sector. Previous research has identified the value of leadership development programmes that encourage reflective practice, peer collaboration, and a focus on problemsolving in reallife situations. ICT has the potential to support leadership learning using action learning, a process that involves groups of learners working on issues or problems that they face in their professional contexts with the support of a facilitator. Although action learning groups most often meet facetoface, ICT is increasingly being used to support or in some cases replace traditional meetings. This research study, which took the form of interpretive case research, involved the establishment of two blended action learning groups facilitated by the researcher. The participants in this study both met facetoface in facilitated workshops and interacted online while back at their respective workplaces for ongoing reflection, discussion and the sharing of knowledge and resources. The open source software Moodle was the enabling technology used in this study and the ICTs employed included email, online reflective journals, forum discussions and chat sessions. A model of leadership learning using ICT was developed through the analysis of data from this study. This model illustrates the leadership journeys taken by participants who increased their awareness of leadership through a process of recognising, reflecting, realising and responding. This led to increased confidence in their leadership practice and in some cases resulted in a greater distribution of leadership. Four key factors contributing to the leadership learning process were identified to be the blended action learning process, the blended action learning groups, the ICT tools used and the role of the blended action learning facilitator who acted as both an enabler of learning and a trusted inquisitor. This study contributes to our understanding of the process of leadership development using ICT, in particular the role of the blended action learning facilitator and the process of leadership learning.</p>

Blended Action Learning: Supporting Leadership Learning in the New Zealand ECE Sector

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the use of information communication technology (ICT) to support leadership development in the New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) sector. There is currently a lack of policy and provision supporting leadership development in this sector. Previous research has identified the value of leadership development programmes that encourage reflective practice, peer collaboration, and a focus on problemsolving in reallife situations. ICT has the potential to support leadership learning using action learning, a process that involves groups of learners working on issues or problems that they face in their professional contexts with the support of a facilitator. Although action learning groups most often meet facetoface, ICT is increasingly being used to support or in some cases replace traditional meetings. This research study, which took the form of interpretive case research, involved the establishment of two blended action learning groups facilitated by the researcher. The participants in this study both met facetoface in facilitated workshops and interacted online while back at their respective workplaces for ongoing reflection, discussion and the sharing of knowledge and resources. The open source software Moodle was the enabling technology used in this study and the ICTs employed included email, online reflective journals, forum discussions and chat sessions. A model of leadership learning using ICT was developed through the analysis of data from this study. This model illustrates the leadership journeys taken by participants who increased their awareness of leadership through a process of recognising, reflecting, realising and responding. This led to increased confidence in their leadership practice and in some cases resulted in a greater distribution of leadership. Four key factors contributing to the leadership learning process were identified to be the blended action learning process, the blended action learning groups, the ICT tools used and the role of the blended action learning facilitator who acted as both an enabler of learning and a trusted inquisitor. This study contributes to our understanding of the process of leadership development using ICT, in particular the role of the blended action learning facilitator and the process of leadership learning.</p>

Challenges and Opportunities of Asynchronicity: Task-Based Approach After COVID-19

The fast transition to fully online studies due to the pandemic made the universities around the world question many of their accepted notions on teaching foreign languages in general and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) methodology in particular. Putting stress on the synchronous remote teaching and learning has proven to yield a reductionist perspective missing asynchronicity, the dimension which makes reconsider the whole educational process. With its shift from the sole focus on learning terminology to training skills in authentic professional contexts, the task-based approach has long excelled in meeting the diverse needs of students. Thus, the research question is how well task-based teaching (TBT) solves the problems raised with asynchronous learning in a university ESP course. The research of available literature on TBT yielded the framework for constructing an extended task applicable in the advanced medical English. The case study with 120 first-year students of medicine organised around an informational interview with health professionals demonstrated easy adaptability of the task to the asynchronous nature of the educational process. Personal observations by the course instructor, summaries of student-conducted interviews, and student written feedback proved the responsiveness of the method to the learners’ needs and the potential of the approach in terms of motivation. The emphasis on self-directed learning, however, threatens the systematicity of the acquired language skills, as a more controlled teaching environment would not allow “skipping” any learning step. Additionally, TBT does not solve the problem of the voluminous teaching load.

Teaching Languages for Specific Purposes: Perceptions, Methodological Perspectives, Practical Issues and Challenges

Language skills are becoming increasingly important in organisations and businesses who want to be competitive on an international level. Mastery in foreign languages is considered not just an excellent tool to bridge gaps between people coming from different countries and to create strong sentimental and professional relationships, but above all an instrument that enables workers to considerably improve their career prospects. Knowing how to use a language in specific circumstances and purposes gives people a very strong bargaining power, especially in the labour world. Whereas up to twenty or thirty years ago, speaking a foreign language was a very important prerequisite for just a few, like managers or diplomats, today it has become of fundamental importance in all professional circles. In fact, in today’s European society, languages and intercultural play a fundamental role in getting to know different people and in obtaining professional and economic development. This explains why today there exists a need to diversify the language training market with courses in foreign languages for specific purposes, be it for tourism, for call centers, for business and so on, focusing on acquiring the necessary terminological, interdisciplinary and intercultural skills needed for specific jobs. Such courses imply addressing the immediate and very specific needs of the learners involved, having as their driving force, both in the preparation stage as well as in the development stage, the needs analysis of the learners. In terms of implementation and methodology, such courses have to be totally learner-focused, practically oriented and, above all, applied to professional contexts, providing a method of learning, teaching and assessing basic skills or abilities in the language, not simply according to the particular needs of the students but also in line with the specific requirements of the vocational domain. This obviously presents a number of challenges which need to be discussed and analysed from both the educators’ and the students’ point of view, given that such courses need to address the immediate and very specific needs of the learners involved, which in turn should serve as the basis for informed curriculum practices, such as syllabus design, materials development and instructional design. It also necessitates a threefold framework design, consisting of an individual theoretical component of learning, an individual practical component as well as the provision for group work and practice. All this has serious ramifications on teacher training and formation courses, and requires methodical collaboration and cooperation from all stakeholders involved, be it the educational institutions offering the course, the employer or any authority requesting the course as well as the learners themselves.

Firewater and Corpse-Reviver

Chapter 9 contains some very brief observations on what happened to the drinks, ideas, narratives, and rituals discussed in this book over the later second millennium CE. Although limited to certain narrow sectarian and professional contexts, many of these ancient intellectual resources still formed a repertoire of materials with which to think about drink and drugs in very changed historical circumstances. The chapter first examines what happened to traditional methods of surā brewing, and how distillation was incorporated, practically and conceptually. Then the chapter briefly considers how tobacco was described and classified within the world of Sanskrit texts. Although this period witnessed new technologies and substances, the Sanskritic tradition continued to adapt to these new situations, often by having recourse to ancient ideas and motifs.

Mental Health Outcomes in Northern Italian Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Demands and Resources in Predicting Depression

The COVID-19 epidemic caught governments and health authorities off guard and found them unprepared to face its impact on the world population. Italy was the second country after China to face the outbreak of COVID-19 in the first few months of 2020 and the northern part of the country was hit first and most heavily. Following the JD-R theory, an online survey was administered to investigate which specific risk and protective factors predicted depression in a heterogeneous sample of workers. The analyses (analysis of variance, correlations, multiple linear regressions) were run in the total sample and in the sample split by possibility of remote working. The sample consists of 301 workers in northern Italy, 65.1% being women, and a mean age of 42 years. Depression levels were higher in women and in those who were not able to work remotely. In the total sample, emotional exhaustion at work, sleep–wake cycle problems, and longing for touch were significant predictors of depression. The sample split by the possibility of remote working also showed interesting differences. The results show the importance of monitoring the mental health of workers from professional contexts that are currently less widely studied than the healthcare sector, with particular interest in the possibility of remote working.