A cluster randomised controlled trial evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis of the Roots of Empathy schools-based programme for improving social and emotional wellbeing outcomes among 8-9 year olds in Northern Ireland

A substantial body of evidence suggest that well designed school based prevention programmes can be effective in improving a variety of social, health and academic outcomes for children and young people. This poster presents the methodology for evaluating the Roots of Empathy (ROE) programme. ROE is a universal programme delivered on a whole-class basis for one academic year. It consists of 27 lessons that run over a school year and is based around a monthly classroom visit by an infant and parent, typically recruited from the local community, whom the class 'adopts' at the start of the school year. The evaluation aims to evaluate the immediate and longer term impact of ROE on social and emotional wellbeing outcomes among 8-9 year old pupils, as well as evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the programme.

Empathy in UK pharmacy students: assessing differences by gender, level in the degree programme, part-time employment and medical status

Background: Empathy is an important aspect of patient–healthcare professional interactions.Aims: To investigate whether gender, level in the degree programme, employment and health status affected empathy scores of undergraduate pharmacy students.Method: All undergraduate pharmacy students (n=529) at Queen’s University Belfast were invited via email to completean online validated empathy questionnaire. Empathy scores were calculated and non-parametric tests used to determine associations between factors.Results: Response rate was 60.1% (318/529) and the mean empathy score was 106.19. Scores can range from 20 to 140,with higher scores representing a greater degree of empathy. There was no significant difference between genders (p=0.211). There was a significant difference in scores across the four levels of the programme (p<0.001); scores were lowest at Level 1 and greatest at Level 4 (final year). There were no significant differences in scores for respondents who had a part-time job, a chronic condition, or took regular medication in comparison to those who did not (p=0.028,p=0.880, p=0.456, respectively).Conclusion: A reasonable level of empathy was found relative to other studies; this could be further enhanced at lower levels of the degree pathway.

Impact of the Roots of Empathy Programme on Social-Emotional Learning: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Roots of Empathy (ROE) is a universal, school-based social and emotional learning programme aimed at increasing prosocial behaviour and reducing difficult behaviour. This paper reports the findings of a cluster randomized controlled trial of the effects of ROE on 8-9 year old children. 74 schools and 1,181 children took part. The findings provide evidence that ROE is effective in increasing prosocial behaviour (g=+.20, p=.043) and some potential evidence that it may reduce difficult behaviour (g=-.15, p=.070). While ROE was found to lead to improvements in positive behaviour, these were not associated with improvements in empathy or other social and emotional learning outcomes.

Process Evaluation of the Roots of Empathy Program

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative process evaluation of the Roots of Empathy (ROE) programme. ROE is a universal, classroom-based intervention, which aims to enhance social and emotional learning of primary (elementary) school children. Effective delivery of such complex social interventions in real-world settings requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of factors that interact to influence implementation and fidelity. A case study methodology was employed with six schools, to explore the views of key actors and stakeholders involved in the delivery and receipt of the programme. Overall, ROE was delivered with high fidelity and the programme was viewed positively across the schools. However, one issue was the varied level of interest and awareness of the programme from parents.

Emotional Responses to Disfigured Faces: The Influences of Perceived Anonymity, Empathy, and Disgust Sensitivity

Two experiments investigated self-reported emotional reactions to photographs of people with attractive, unattractive or structurally disfigured faces. In Experiment 1 participants viewing disfigured faces reported raised levels of sorrow and curiosity but not raised levels of negative emotions. In Experiment 2 there was more negative emotion and less positive emotion reported under conditions of relatively high anonymity, compared to low anonymity, specific to disfigured faces, suggesting that self-reports are influenced by social desirability. Trait empathy was associated with sorrow and negative emotions when viewing disfigured faces. Disgust sensitivity was associated with negative emotions and inversely associated with positive emotions.

Colour Sensation and Empathy: Arthur Schopenhauer's Negative Philosophy and Colour Theory as the Basis of an Elemental Colour Architecture

Arthur Schopenhauer proposed a theory of colour as a consequence of his first hand knowledge of J.W. Goethe’s experiments with color phenomena. This colour theory can be used to explore an interesting proposition Schopenhauer made about architecture. For Schopenhauer, architecture is about feelings, not about functions or forms, its purpose as an art is to reveal the principles of primitive forces, specifically gravity and rigidity. For Schopenhauer, architecture expresses these forces in the poised equilibrium of massive structures built out of stone. Schopenhauer was inclined to believed that architecture had already achieved its most perfect expression in Greek temple architecture. However; he did offer one possibility for architectural research: this was the suggestion that architecture was also concerned with the expression of light. It seems never to have occurred to Schopenhauer to use his colour theory to speculate about light in architecture. This paper explores some of the implications of Schopenhauer’s theory of colour for his aesthetics of architecture?