Maximising clinical trial participation - how important is the social context?

Individuals participate in clinical research for a variety of reasons, dependant not only on the trial phase and their own clinical status but also their sense of optimism, altruism, clinician influence, or financial gain. Practical factors influencing participation may include geographical access, motivation, availability, and language spoken. Widely-used health psychology models (e.g the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Health Belief Model) demonstrate that, in addition to these factors, the primary reason for non-participation in clinical research is social perception of risk. These models detail how beliefs and attitudes toward clinical research develop within, and are influenced by, an individual's social context. Perceived social benefits and barriers toward participation are considered alongside perceived susceptibility and severity of side-effects from participation, or symptoms of disease. A major factor in such models is the subjective norm i.e. individuals' beliefs that important others expect or wish him/her to perform this behaviour, and the motivation to act in accordance with their expectations or wishes. This includes, but is not limited to, the role of the media, peers and family members, clarification of risk associated with trial participation and discussion of comparative risk, and risk equivalence between trials and same treatment outside trials.
The workshop will involve a 30 minute presentation from the discussion leaders and a 30 minute group-work session to explore how an understanding of the social context of participation in clinical research can maximise appropriate clinical trial participation.

Coproduction in practice : participatory action research to develop a model of community aged care

Coproduction has become synonymous with innovative approaches to public service delivery in European Union countries as well as in Australia. Coproduction has the potential to bring together individuals, communities, and organisations in a process to collaboratively develop new models and services which improve public services. Yet, Australian policy makers and practitioners who would like to deploy coproduction within the context of older adult social care can only draw on a handful of papers and reports that could guide implementation. This paper fills this gap by reporting on the implementation of a multi-stakeholder coproduction approach to the development of a consumer directed care model for older people with complex health issues. The paper describes and critically highlights methodological challenges encountered during the 12 month-long participatory action research phase of a larger project involving older people with complex care needs, their carers, and government and non-government stakeholders. The paper outlines key considerations regarding (1) the involvement of older people with complex needs, (2) collaboration with industry partners, (3) engagement of government representatives, and (4) reflects on implementing participatory research projects within a context of outsourcing and interlinked supply chains. While not all challenges encountered could be resolved, the coproduction approach was successful in bringing together a wide range of stakeholders with competing agendas in an iterative process geared to resolve a plethora of concerns raised by older people, carers and services providers. This paper provides an example for others seeking to use coproduction and participatory methods to provide person-centred care services for older people.

Social responsibility and credit availability

There has been a widespread increase in the use of consumer credit and therefore consumer indebtedness. Some of this increase has been within that segment of the population least able to afford debt of any kind – welfare recipients. This qualitative study demonstrates some interesting attitudes to debt, as well as differences in peoples’ perceptions of acceptable debt and their debt-management strategies. This study suggests that action is required by those responsible for the marketing of credit to this vulnerable group and government policymakers to provide a socially responsible approach to manage this societal concern.

Designing for learning : online social networks as a classroom environment

This paper deploys notions of emergence, connections, and designs for learning to conceptualize high school students’ interactions when using online social media as a learning environment. It makes links to chaos and complexity theories and to fractal patterns as it reports on a part of the first author’s action research study, conducted while she was a teacher working in an Australian public high school and completing her PhD. The study investigates the use of a Ning online social network as a learning environment shared by seven classes, and it examines students’ reactions and online activity while using a range of social media and Web 2.0 tools.

The authors use Graham Nuthall’s (2007) “lens on learning” to explore the social processes and culture of this shared online classroom. The paper uses his extensive body of research and analyses of classroom learning processes to conceptualize and analyze data throughout the action research cycle. It discusses the pedagogical implications that arise from the use of social media and, in so doing, challenges traditional models of teaching and learning.

Health promotion and climate change : exploring the core competencies required for action

Climate change poses serious threats to human health and well-being. It exacerbates existing health inequities, impacts on the social determinants of health and disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. In the Australian region these include remote Aboriginal communities, Pacific Island countries and people with low incomes. Given health promotion’s remit to protect and promote health, it should be well placed to respond to emerging climate-related health challenges. Yet, to date, there has been little evidence to demonstrate this. This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative study conducted in Victoria, Australia to highlight that; while there is clearly a role for health promotion in climate change mitigation and adaptation at the national and international levels, there is also a need for the engagement of health promoters at the community level. This raises several key issues for health promotion practice. To be better prepared to respond to climate change, health promotion practitioners first need to re-engage with the central tenets of the Ottawa Charter, namely the interconnectedness of humans and the natural environment and, secondly, the need to adopt ideas and frameworks from the sustainability field. The findings also open up a discussion for paradigmatic shifts in health promotion thinking and acting in the context of climate change.

Popular consent and foreign policy choices : war against the Philippines and covert action in Chile

It is usually assumed that US policymakers need to generate popular consent in order to undertake regime change against another state. This article explores the ways in which contextual factors such as the joint democracy effect, popular values and public moods influenced efforts by elites in the United States to generate popular consent for regime change in the Philippines and Chile. Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the United States undertook covert action in Chile due to public recognition of the target state's democratic credentials and a public mood opposed to further military ventures. In contrast, the absence of a strong joint democracy effect, a national mood infused with romantic nationalism qua militarism and social Darwinism facilitated efforts by US elites to generate consent for the invasion and occupation of the Philippines. Subsequently, this article contributes to understandings of the domestic-level factors that influence foreign policy decisions.

Knowledge-building : designing for learning using social and participatory media

This report presents the results of a classroom action research that looked at how one teacher redesigned her curriculum while integrating social media, Web 2.0 and face-toface teaching in an Australian public high school. It explores the qualities that social and participatory media bring to the classroom while focussing on students as active and valued participants in the learning process. Building knowledge using the uniqueness of social media enabled students to become active and valued resources for both the teacher and their peers. Designing for learning is a key challenge facing education today; this case offers ideas for learning designers and contributes to a research base that can support educators from all sectors.

Digital games : literacy in action

Digital Games: Literacy in action is the result of a wide-ranging investigation into the educational possibilities involved in young people's games. From their creation in the classroom to analysing games and the world of games as text, academics and teachers are now taking seriously the serious play of young people.

The contributors use the interaction between the theoretical frameworks of games as text and games as action to explore a wide of range of issues relevant to the teaching of English and literacy. These include understanding games as media texts, the place of digital culture in young people's lives, the narrative and visual design components of games, exploring concepts of role play and identity in games, the potential for games to engage disengaged students, and issues of gender and social interaction in game playing.

Social media in the classroom : a simple yet complex hybrid environment for students

This article reports on part of the author’s PhD action research study. It examines the complexity of features that social media and Web 2.0 offer when combined with face-to-face teaching and learning. Action research was used to help redesign the learning programs of thirteen Middle Years classes over an eighteen month period. These learning programs took advantage of the unique communicative methods offered by social media and provided spaces such as blogs, groups and discussion forums. Students developed their own identity when working online, made online friends, left comments for peers and uploaded content which included publishing, peer reviewing and self assessment. The research highlighted the simplicity in the creation and exchange of user-generated content and interaction while identifying a complex depth behind such interaction. Designing learning programs using social media enabled the students to be active and valued participants in the learning process and a ‘hybrid’ learning environment

Public relations, activism, and social change: speaking up

Why are some voices louder in public debates than others? And why can’t all voices be equally heard? This book draws significant new meaning to the inter-relationships of public relations and social change through a number of activist case studies, and rebuilds knowledge around alternative communicative practices that are ethical, sustainable, and effective. Demetrious offers a powerful critical description of the dominant model of public relations used in the twentieth century, showing that ‘PR’ was arrogant, unethical and politically offensive in ways that have severely weakened democratic process and its public standing and professional credibility. The book argues that change within the field of public relations is imminent and urgent—for us all. As the effects of climate change intensify, and are magnified by high carbon dioxide emitting industries, vigorous public debate is vital in the exploration of new ideas and action and if alternative futures are to be imagined. In these conditions, articulate and persistent publics will appear in the form of grassroots activists, asking contentious questions about risks and tabling them for public discussion in bold, inventive, and effective ways. Yet the entrenched power relations in and through public relations in contemporary industrialized society provide no certainty these voices will be heard. Following this path, Demetrious theorises an alternative set of social relations to those used in the twentieth century: public communication. Constructed from communicative practices of grassroots activists and synthesis of diverse theoretical positions, public communication is a principled approach that avoids the deep contradictions and flawed coherences of essentialist public relations and instead represents an important ethical reorientation in the communicative fields. Lastly, she brings original new perspectives to understand current and emergent developments in activism and public relations brought about through the proliferation of Internet and digital cultures.

Predicting breakfast consumption: a comparison of the theory of planned behaviour and the health action process approach

Purpose: 

The 'accidental activist' : learning, embodiment and action

The 21st century has seen renewed interest in activism, community development and social change globally (Kenny 2006). This paper outlines the educational significance of the learning practices of activists as they engage within and against the state. In an era of adult education which emphasises lifelong learning and learning in the workplace, this article explores the holistic practices of activists as they learn from one another in a social context or "on the job". Adult activists act with agency, their learning is purposive; it is resolute and they are there and act for a reason. This learning is not only cognitive but also embodied; it is learning often associated with the emotions of passion, anger, desire and a commitment to social change. Drawing on current research in Australia, attention is given to an important but at times forgotten epistemology of adult learning.

Remix the social: remix the learning

This paper reports on how the findings from an eighteen month secondary school action research study, in which social media was integrated into face-to-face classroom practice, was used to inform a fourth year undergraduate teacher-education unit at Deakin University in Australia. The school action research study was conducted in an Australian public secondary school. Students were aged between 13 and 16 years of age and a total of thirteen classes were involved. In each of the three semesters of data collection, one online social network was shared with up to seven classes and each class had approximately 25 students. Blogs, Groups, Chats, Discussion Forums, Web 2.0 tools and a wide range of student-generated content were shared online, within a class and between classes. Students were encouraged to interact and to share their thoughts and ideas about planning as well as using their out-of-school skills and knowledge. Each topic, within each class, was one action research cycle, using Armstrong and Moore’s (2004) framework. By following Graham Nuthall’s lens on learning, the researcher was able to focus on teaching as being about sensitivity and adaptation: adjusting to the here-and-now circumstances of particular students (Nuthall 2007). Elements of self organisation with spontaneous and strange attractors were identified throughout the study and these made links to Doll’s (1993) post-modern perspective of chaotic behaviour and the complexity of Hayles’ (1990) ‘disorderly order’.