Education and Training in Occupational Health Psychology: The Case for E-Learning

For the discipline of occupational health psychology (OHP) to continue to evolve and to serve workers effectively it is imperative that education and training provision is available that enables students to acquire knowledge and skills, free of geographical and temporal constraints. This chapter begins with a brief introduction to the historical development of education and training in OHP in Europe. The review culminates with the assertion that higher education institutions are now required to act innovatively in regard to the expansion of provision. One such initiative involves the introduction of e-learning. A case study concerning the implementation of a Masters degree in OHP by e-learning is presented. On the outcomes of the case study, recommendations are offered for the design and implementation of such courses. The chapter concludes by raising some further questions that need to be addressed for education and training provision in OHP to continue to expand.

In Search of Social Justice: Current Developments in Higher Education and the Labour Market in Bulgaria

The discussions about social justice date from ancient times, but despite the enduring interest in the topic and the progress made, we are still witnessing injustices throughout the world. Thus, the search for social justice, under some form, is an inseparable part of our lives. In general, social justice may be considered as a critical idea that challenges us to reform our institutions and practices in the name of greater fairness (Miller 1999, p. x). In political and policy debates, social justice is often related to fair access (Brown, 2013) but at the same time its meanings seem to vary when we consider different definitions, perspectives and social theories (Zajda, Majhanovich, & Rust, 2006). When seen in the context of higher education, social justice appears in relevant literature as a buzzword (Patton, Shahjahan, Riyad, & Osei-Kofi, 2010). Within the recent studies of higher education and public debates related to the development of higher education, more emphasis is placed on the link between higher education and the economic growth and how higher education could be more responsive to the labour market demands, and little emphasis has been put on social justice. Given this, the present study attempts to at least partially fill the gap with regard to this apparently very topical issue, especially in the context of the unprecedented worldwide expansion of higher education in the last century (Schofer & Meyer, 2005), an expansion that is expected to continue in the next decades. More specifically, the expansion of higher education intensified in the second part of the 20th century, especially after World War II. It was seen as a result of the intertwined dynamics related to demographic, economic and political pressures (Goastellec, 2008a). This trend undoubtedly contributed to the increase of the size of the student body. To illustrate this trend, we may point out that in the period between 2000 and 2007, the number of tertiary students in the world increased from 98,303,539 to 150,656,459 (UNESCO, 2009, p. 205). This growth occurred in all regions of the world, including Central and Eastern Europe, North America and Western Europe, and contributed to raising the number of tertiary graduates. Thus, in the period between 2000 and 2008, the total number of tertiary graduates in the European Union (EU) 27 increased by a total of 35 percent (or 4.5 percent per year). However, this growth was very uneven, ranging from 21.1 percent in Romania to 0.7 percent in Hungary (European Commission working staff document, 2011). The increase of the number of students and graduates was seen as enhancing the social justice in higher education, since it is assumed that expansion “extends a valued good to a broader spectrum of the population” (Arum, Gamoran, & Shavit, 2007, p. 29). However, concerns for a deep contradiction for 21st-century higher education also emerged with regard to its expansion.

Cultivating Collaborative Relationships: A Case Study of Teacher Collaboration and Professional Development

Students often receive instruction from specialists, professionals other than their general educators, such as special educators, reading specialists, and ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine how general educators and specialists develop collaborative relationships over time within the context of receiving professional development. While collaboration is considered essential to increasing student achievement, improving teachers’ practice, and creating comprehensive school reform, collaborative partnerships take time to develop and require multiple sources of support. Additionally, both practitioners and researchers often conflate collaboration with structural reforms such as co-teaching. This study used a retrospective single case study with a grounded theory approach to analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with thirteen teachers and an administrator after three workshops were conducted throughout the school year. The theory, Cultivating Interprofessional Collaboration, describes how interprofessional relationships grow as teachers engage in a cycle of learning, constructing partnership, and reflecting. As relationships deepen some partners experience a seamless dimension to their work. A variety of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external factors work in concert to promote this growth, which is strengthened through professional development. In this theory, professional development provides a common ground for strengthening relationships, knowledge about the collaborative process, and a reflective space to create new collaborative practices. Effective collaborative practice can lead to aligned instruction and teachers’ own professional growth. This study has implications for school interventions, professional development, and future research on collaboration in schools.

Communities of practice as professional and organizational development strategy in local public health organizations in Québec, Canada : an evaluation model

Communities of practice (CoPs) are among the professional development strategies most widely used in such fields as management and education. Though the approach has elicited keen interest, knowledge pertaining to its conceptual underpinnings is still limited, thus hindering proper assessment of CoPs' effects and the processes generating the latter. To address this shortcoming, this paper presents a conceptual model that was developed to evaluate an initiative based on a CoP strategy: Health Promotion Laboratories are a professional development intervention that was implemented in local public health organizations in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The model is based on latest theories on work-group effectiveness and organizational learning and can be usefully adopted by evaluators who are increasingly called upon to illuminate decision-making about CoPs. Ultimately, validation of this conceptual model will help advance knowledge and practice pertaining to CoPs as well as professional and organizational development strategies in public health.

Relevance of anatomy to medical education and clinical practice: perspectives of medical students, clinicians, and educators

Introduction: Against a backdrop of ever-changing diagnostic and treatment modalities, stakeholder perceptions (medical students, clinicians, anatomy educators) are crucial for the design of an anatomy curriculum which fulfils the criteria required for safe medical practice. This study compared perceptions of students, practising clinicians, and anatomy educators with respect to the relevance of anatomy education to medicine. Methods: A quantitative survey was administered to undergraduate entry (n = 352) and graduate entry students (n = 219) at two Irish medical schools, recently graduated Irish clinicians (n = 146), and anatomy educators based in Irish and British medical schools (n = 30). Areas addressed included the association of anatomy with medical education and clinical practice, mode of instruction, and curriculum duration. Results: Graduate-entry students were less likely to associate anatomy with the development of professionalism, teamwork skills, or improved awareness of ethics in medicine. Clinicians highlighted the challenge of tailoring anatomy education to increase student readiness to function effectively in a clinical role. Anatomy educators indicated dissatisfaction with the time available for anatomy within medical curricula, and were equivocal about whether curriculum content should be responsive to societal feedback. Conclusions: The group differences identified in the current study highlight areas and requirements which medical education curriculum developers should be sensitive to when designing anatomy courses.

Education for Sustainable Development in Norwegian Geography curricula

In Norway, environmental education (EE) has been part of schools’ curricula since the 1970s. The concept of education for sustainable development (ESD) was introduced after Agenda 21 was introduced at the UN conference on environment and development held in Rio in 1992. The article shows there has been little change in the geography curricula since the concept ESD was introduced, and no important differences are found between curricula for mandatory schooling (classes 1–10) and curricula for upper secondary schools. ESD is mentioned in the geography curricula but without explanation and implementation. Core goals in the general national core curricula may indicate a change to ESD, but they have not been followed in the development of geography curricula in Norway.

Preliminary report, Student Achievement and Vision Education (SAVE) proviso 55.5

During the 117th General Assembly of South Carolina, the Commission for Minority Affairs introduced the Student Achievement and Vision Education (SAVE) Proviso. The Proviso was so named to emphasize the importance of addressing student achievement by closing the gap that exists between majority and minority student performance and visioning students toward educational success through the implementation of the Education and Economic Development Act. This report documents the progress to date on the study; the impact of budget cuts on the CMA and complying agencies; the CMA's ability to complete the comprehensive study document using most current information; and the need for further study beyond February 2009.

Early Childhood Education For Sustainable Development in Portugal

This chapter reports on the Portuguese trial of the Environmental Rating Scale for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood (ERS-SDEC) scale which was carried out in the context of the initial training of pre-school teachers at the University of Évora and during their practicum in local pre-schools. The particular context of this trial in initial teacher education provides a particular focus on the professional development of the students, and the cooperating teachers provided by their engagement in a collaborative action-research project that was focused upon Education for Sustainable Development. After providing some Portuguese contextual elements related with ESD, we will report on the trial of the scale in Évora and its results in terms of improving the quality of classroom practices and students and teachers professional development provided by their participation in the project. Finally we will share some reflections on the project, the format and use of the scale and on some critical issues that we learned to be critical in terms of ESD in Early Childhood.

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH FOR OH. Experiences of international networks for collaborative education and research using the One Health approach.

The Authors describe first-hand experiences carried out within the framework of selected International projects aimed at developing collaborative research and education using the One Health (OH) approach. Special emphasis is given to SAPUVETNET, a series of projects co-financed under the EU-ALFA program, and aimed to support an International network on Veterinary Public Health (VPH) formed by Veterinary Faculties from Latin-America (LA) and Europe (EU). SAPUVETNET has envisaged a series of objectives/activities aimed at promoting and enhancing VPH research/training and intersectoral collaboration across LA and EU using the OH approach, as well as participating in research and/or education projects/networks under the OH umbrella, namely EURNEGVEC-European Network for Neglected Vectors & Vector-Borne Infections, CYSTINET-European Network on Taeniosis/Cysticercosis, and NEOH-Network for Evaluation of One Health; the latter includes expertise in multiple disciplines (e.g. ecology, economics, human and animal health, epidemiology, social and environmental sciences, etc.) and has the primary purpose of enabling quantitative evaluation of OH initiatives by developing a standardized evaluation protocol. The Authors give also an account of the ongoing creation of OHIN-OH International Network, founded as a spin-off result of SAPUVETNET. Finally, some examples of cooperation development projects characterised by an OH approach are also briefly mentioned.

Collective actions for environmental monitoring and conservation: citizen science, informal environmental education, and participatory approach

This PhD was driven by an interest for inclusive and participatory approaches. The methodology that bridges science and society is known as 'citizen science' and is experiencing a huge upsurge worldwide, in the scientific and humanities fields. In this thesis, I have focused on three topics: i) assessing the reliability of data collected by volunteers; ii) evaluating the impact of environmental education activities in tourist facilities; and iii) monitoring marine biodiversity through citizen science. In addition to these topics, during my research stay abroad, I developed a questionnaire to investigate people's perceptions of natural areas to promote the implementation of co-management. The results showed that volunteers are not only able to collect sufficiently reliable data, but that during their participation in this type of project, they can also increase their knowledge of marine biology and ecology and their awareness of the impact of human behaviour on the environment. The short-term analysis has shown that volunteers are able to retain what they have learned. In the long term, knowledge is usually forgotten, but awareness is retained. Increased awareness could lead to a change in behaviour and in this case a more environmentally friendly attitude. This aspect could be of interest for the development of environmental education projects in tourism facilities to reduce the impact of tourism on the environment while adding a valuable service to the tourism offer. We also found that nature experiences in childhood are important to connect to nature in adulthood. The results also suggest that membership or volunteering in an environmental education association could be a predictor of people's interest in more participatory approaches to nature management. In most cases, the COVID -19 pandemic had not changed participants' perceptions of the natural environment.

Corpos na escola : (des)compassos entre a educação física e a religião = Bodies in school: (un)measures between physical education and religion

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Cation size effects-modified phase and PTCR development in Er3+ and Ca2+ co-doped BaTiO3 ceramics during sintering

Development of the positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) in Er3+ and Ca2+ co-doped ferroelectric BaTiO3 was studied in this work, with Er3+ being used to act as a donor doping. Irrespective of all the materials showing high densities after sintering at 1200 to 1300 ºC, these revealed insulator at the lowest sintering temperature, changing to semiconducting and PTCR-type materials only when the sintering temperature was further increased. Observations from X-ray diffraction help correlating this effect with phase development in this formulated (Ba,Ca,Er)TiO3 system, considering the formation of initially two separated major (Ba,Ca)TiO3- and minor (Ca,Er)TiO3-based compounds, as a consequence of cation size-induced stress energy effects. Thus, appearance and enhancement here of the semiconducting and PTCR responses towards higher sintering temperatures particularly involve the incorporation of Er3+ into the major phase, rendering finally possible the generation and "percolative-like" migration of electrons throughout the whole material.

Neurobehavioral, reflexological and physical development of Wistar rat offspring exposed to ayahuasca during pregnancy and lactation

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage prepared by the decoction of plants native to the Amazon Basin region. The beverage has been used throughout the world by members of some syncretic religious movements. Despite the recent legalization of ayahuasca in Brazil for religious purposes, there is little pre-clinical and clinical information attesting to its safety, particularly in relation to the use during pregnancy. The aim of the current work was to determine the effects of perinatal exposure to ayahuasca (from the 6th day of pregnancy to the 10th day of lactation) on physical, reflexology and neurobehavioral parameters of the Wistar rat offspring. The offspring showed no statistically significant changes in the physical and reflexology parameters evaluated. However, in adult rats, perinatally exposed to ayahuasca, an increase in frequency of entries in open arms in elevated plus-maze test, a decrease in total time of interaction in social interaction test, a decrease in time of latency for the animal to start swimming and a decrease of the minimum convulsant dose induced by pentylenetetrazol were observed. In conclusion, our results showed that the use of ayahuasca by mothers during pregnancy and lactation reduced the general anxiety and social motivation of the rat offspring. Besides, it promoted a higher sensitivity for initiation and spread of seizure activity.

Embryonic, Larval, and Juvenile Development of the Sea Biscuit Clypeaster subdepressus (Echinodermata: Clypeasteroida)

Sea biscuits and sand dollars diverged from other irregular echinoids approximately 55 million years ago and rapidly dispersed to oceans worldwide. A series of morphological changes were associated with the occupation of sand beds such as flattening of the body, shortening of primary spines, multiplication of podia, and retention of the lantern of Aristotle into adulthood. To investigate the developmental basis of such morphological changes we documented the ontogeny of Clypeaster subdepressus. We obtained gametes from adult specimens by KCl injection and raised the embryos at 26 degrees C. Ciliated blastulae hatched 7.5 h after sperm entry. During gastrulation the archenteron elongated continuously while ectodermal red-pigmented cells migrated synchronously to the apical plate. Pluteus larvae began to feed in 3 d and were similar to 20 d old at metamorphosis; starved larvae died 17 d after fertilization. Postlarval juveniles had neither mouth nor anus nor plates on the aboral side, except for the remnants of larval spicules, but their bilateral symmetry became evident after the resorption of larval tissues. Ossicles of the lantern were present and organized in 5 groups. Each group had 1 tooth, 2 demipyramids, and 2 epiphyses with a rotula in between. Early appendages consisted of 15 spines, 15 podia (2 types), and 5 sphaeridia. Podial types were distributed in accordance to Loven's rule and the first podium of each ambulacrum was not encircled by the skeleton. Seven days after metamorphosis juveniles began to feed by rasping sand grains with the lantern. Juveniles survived in laboratory cultures for similar to 9 months and died with <500 mu m wide, a single open sphaeridium per ambulacrum, aboral anus, and no differentiated food grooves or petaloids. Tracking the morphogenesis of early juveniles is a necessary step to elucidate the developmental mechanisms of echinoid growth and important groundwork to clarify homologies between irregular urchins.

Non-Cardiac Surgery in Developing Countries: Epidemiological Aspects and Economical Opportunities - The Case of Brazil

Background: Worldwide distribution of surgical interventions is unequal. Developed countries account for the majority of surgeries and information about non-cardiac operations in developing countries is scarce. The purpose of our study was to describe the epidemiological data of non-cardiac surgeries performed in Brazil in the last years. Methods and Findings: This is a retrospective cohort study that investigated the time window from 1995 to 2007. We collected information from DATASUS, a national public health system database. The following variables were studied: number of surgeries, in-hospital expenses, blood transfusion related costs, length of stay and case fatality rates. The results were presented as sum, average and percentage. The trend analysis was performed by linear regression model. There were 32,659,513 non-cardiac surgeries performed in Brazil in thirteen years. An increment of 20.42% was observed in the number of surgeries in this period and nowadays nearly 3 million operations are performed annually. The cost of these procedures has increased tremendously in the last years. The increment of surgical cost was almost 200%. The total expenses related to surgical hospitalizations were more than $10 billion in all these years. The yearly cost of surgical procedures to public health system was more than $1.27 billion for all surgical hospitalizations, and in average, U$445.24 per surgical procedure. The total cost of blood transfusion was near $98 million in all years and annually approximately $10 million were spent in perioperative transfusion. The surgical mortality had an increment of 31.11% in the period. Actually, in 2007, the surgical mortality in Brazil was 1.77%. All the variables had a significant increment along the studied period: r square (r(2)) = 0.447 for the number of surgeries (P = 0.012), r(2) = 0.439 for in-hospital expenses (P = 0.014) and r(2) = 0.907 for surgical mortality (P = 0.0055). Conclusion: The volume of surgical procedures has increased substantially in Brazil through the past years. The expenditure related to these procedures and its mortality has also increased as the number of operations. Better planning of public health resource and strategies of investment are needed to supply the crescent demand of surgery in Brazil.