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.

Education in occupational health psychology: Where have we been, where are we now and where are we going?

At the first full conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (Lund, 1999), the decision was ratified to organise activities around three fora. These together represented the pillars on which the European Academy had been founded that same year: education, research and professional practice. Each forum was convened by a chair person and a small group of full members; it was agreed that a forum meeting would take place at each full conference and working groups would be established to move developments forward between conferences. The forum system has proven an effective means by which to channel the energies of individual members, and the institutions that they represent, towards advancements in all three areas of activity in occupational health psychology (OHP) in Europe. During the meeting of the education forum at the third full European Academy conference (Barcelona, 2001), the proposal was made for the establishment of a working party that would be tasked with the production of a strategy document on The Promotion of Education in Occupational Health Psychology in Europe. The proposal was ratified at the subsequent annual business meeting held during the same conference. The draft outline of the strategy document was published for consultation in the European Academy’s e-newsletter (Vol. 3.1, 2002) and the final document presented to the meeting of the education forum at the fourth full conference (Vienna, 2002). The strategy document constituted a seminal piece of literature in so far as it provided a foundation and structure capable of guiding pan-European developments in education in OHP – developments that would ensure the sustained growth of the discipline and assure it of a long-standing embedded place in both the scholarly and professional domains. To these ends, the strategy document presented six objectives as important for the sustained expansion and the promotion of education in the discipline in Europe. Namely, the development of: [1] A core syllabus for education in occupational health psychology [2] A mechanism for identifying, recognising and listing undergraduate and postgraduate modules and courses (programmes) in occupational health psychology [3] Structures to support the extension of the current provision of education in occupational health psychology [4] Ways of enhancing convergence of the current provision of education in occupational health psychology [5] Ways of encouraging regional cooperation between education providers across the regions of Europe [6] Ways of ensuring consistency with North American developments in education and promoting world wide co-operation in education Five years has elapsed since the presentation of these laudable objectives to the meeting of the education forum in Vienna in December 2002. In that time OHP has undergone considerable growth, particularly in Europe and North America. Expansion has been reflected in the evolution of existing, and emergence of new, representative bodies for the discipline on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. As such, it might be considered timely to pause to reflect on what has been achieved in respect of each of the objectives set out in the strategy document. The current chapter examines progress on the six objectives and considers what remains to be done. This exercise is entered into not merely in order to congratulate achievements in some areas and lament slow progress in others. Rather, on the one hand it serves to highlight areas where real progress has been made with a view to the presentation of these areas as ripe for further capitalisation. On the other hand it serves to direct the attention of stakeholders (all those with a vested interest in OHP) to those key parts of the jigsaw puzzle that is the development of a self-sustaining pan-European education framework which remain to be satisfactorily addressed.

Mapping the uncharted territory of folk drama

Students of mumming and guising plays – the seasonal verse dramas performed for over 200 years throughout much of England, Scotland, and northern Ireland – have suffered from having too much information to work with. The first part of this poster presentation outlines and illustrates the situation. There are thousands of places where the plays are known to have been performed, and hundreds of texts have been collected. Furthermore, the plays show some tantalising similarities while simultaneously exhibiting the wide range of variation one would expect from orally transmitted dialogue. Until recently, scholars openly admitted to not knowing where to start with such a flood of material, to the extent that some dismissed the texts altogether as unimportant and irrelevant, focussing instead on the "actions". Fortunately, the introduction of computers has managed to break the impasse and is aiding the intellectual process. Part two shows a case study for one of the tools on the Master Mummers website - the Folk Play Scripts Explorer – which is based on a large database of digitised texts and a typology for individual lines. This allows researchers to search for lines, explore textual variants, and map their geographical distribution. This is yielding some interesting surprises. Seemingly trivial variations often turn out to have discrete distribution patterns, while it transpires that certain "ubiquitous" lines have restricted geographical ranges. Thus, the Scripts Explorer is providing novel insights into how the plays evolved and spread.

The Definition of Curriculum Areas in Occupational Health Psychology

Across the international educational landscape, numerous higher education institutions (HEIs) offer postgraduate programmes in occupational health psychology (OHP). These seek to empower the next generation of OHP practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary to advance the understanding and prevention of workplace illness and injury, improve working life and promote healthy work through the application of psychological principles and practices. Among the OHP curricula operated within these programmes there exists considerable variability in the topics addressed. This is due, inter alia, to the youthfulness of the discipline and the fact that the development of educational provision has been managed at the level of the HEI where it has remained undirected by external forces such as the discipline’s representative bodies. Such variability makes it difficult to discern the key characteristics of a curriculum which is important for programme accreditation purposes, the professional development and regulation of practitioners and, ultimately, the long-term sustainability of the discipline. This chapter has as its focus the imperative for and development of consensus surrounding OHP curriculum areas. It begins by examining the factors that are currently driving curriculum developments and explores some of the barriers to such. It then reviews the limited body of previous research that has attempted to discern key OHP curriculum areas. This provides a foundation upon which to describe a study conducted by the current authors that involved the elicitation of subject matter expert opinion from an international sample of academics involved in OHP-related teaching and research on the question of which topic areas might be considered important for inclusion within an OHP curriculum. The chapter closes by drawing conclusions on steps that could be taken by the discipline’s representative bodies towards the consolidation and accreditation of a core curriculum.

1st international conference on LGBT psychology and related fields

During the last decades there has been an increase in the theoretical and empirical body of knowledge in LGBT Psychologyandrelatedfields. However, thisnew bodyof knowledgeis still somewhatdispersedandnot widespread, which makes the process of affirming LGBT topics very difficult in the current international scientific scenario.

The forensic psychology role: victim's information and attendance office (GIAV/DIAP Lisbon)

Poster presented at the First International Congress of CIIEM: From Basic Sciences to Clinical Research. Egas Moniz, Monte de Caparica, 27 e 28 de Novembro 2015

Folk schools: Um estudo de caso

O presente trabalho tem como âmbito de estudo o campo da educação não formal. Trata-se de uma investigação qualitativa descritiva, com o objectivo geral de descrever todos os aspectos da actividade de uma folk school, um espaço de educação não formal, situada no sul da Dinamarca, sob as perspectivas de professores e alunos. Participaram neste estudo três entidades que fazem parte deste modelo de educação não formal, tendo sido realizadas entrevistas ao Director, a três professores e a sete alunos. Para a recolha de dados foi utilizado um guião de entrevista semi-estruturada. Os dados recolhidos pelas entrevistas foram organizados em categorias e foi realizada a análise de conteúdo. Como resultado deste estudo temos a descrição do funcionamento da escola analisada, bem como testemunhos da forma como este tipo de educação desenvolve o espírito de comunidade e cidadania, potenciando, também, o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional. /ABSTRACT: This work develops in the study field of non-formal education. It is a descriptive, qualitative research, with the overall aim of describing all aspects of the activity of a folk school, located in southern Denmark, an institution of non­formal education, seen through the perspectives of both teachers and students. Three entities that are involved in this type of non-formal education have participated in present study, so the director, three teachers and seven students were interviewed. ln order to collect data we applied semi-structured interviews. The data thus obtained in the interviews was organized into categories and, afterwards, their content was analyzed. From this study results the description of the activity done in the school studied, as well as the testimony of how this kind of education develops a spirit of community and citizenship, also enhancing the personal and professional development and improvement.

Correctional psychology and the desistance paradigm: commentary for the special issue of Criminal justice and behavior

Let me begin this commentary by suggesting that many of the ideas contained in this special issue will be important to the future of correctional psychology. Although each of the authors offer different perspectives on the role that the criminal justice system has to play in the process of desistance from crime, they all identify the importance of a valueoriented analysis to effective offender rehabilitation. Their focus is on promoting desistance at all points of the justice process; from how the legal system can promote therapeutic outcomes through to the provision of post-release support services and the need for community engagement. By approaching the tasks of both rehabilitation and reintegration from a values perspective, they have been able to identify a range of novel and innovative approaches that have the potential to make a real difference. Even more encouragingly, these draw on resources that may already be available to correctional psychologists and yet are often underutilized. In addition, the confidence, and indeed the optimism, expressed in these articles provides a refreshing counter to suggestions that contemporary correctional practice has become pre-occupied with the need to “manage” offenders and for professionals to focus on fulfilling their administrative obligations (see Hardy, 2014).

Linking positive psychology to offender supervision outcomes: The mediating role of psychological flexibility, general self-efficacy, optimism, and hope

This study examines the relationships between indicators of offender supervision outcomes and dimensions of positive psychological states (PPS). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the first-order positive psychology constructs converge to form a higher order construct of PPS which was inversely associated with supervision outcomes. Furthermore, the mediating effect of PPS on the relationship between criminogenic risk factors and all offender supervision outcome variables was statistically significant, suggesting that offenders with heightened PPS are likely to have fewer criminogenic risk factors and are less likely to be reported for technical violation, charged, reconvicted, and imprisoned. The implications of these findings for correctional theory, practice, and policy conclude the article.

An analysis of clinical handover miscommunication using a language and social psychology approach

Clinical handover is a key communication event in patient care and a major contributing factor in adverse events in hospitals. Current research on handover emphasizes communication skills training. We investigate the intergroup context and systemic factors of the hospital environment that also affect handover. We explore the responses of 707 health professionals about handover practice. We invoke Coupland and colleagues’ integrative model of “miscommunication” to interpret these. Results support the model. Responses reflect a lack of communication competency, intergroup group relations, and the hidden ideology of the health care system. Health professionals in hospitals are often unaware of the socio-structural element in health care and so cannot bring about cultural change. We suggest that clinicians work with communication and interdisciplinary scholars to bring about system improvement.

Between education and psychology: school staff perspectives

When discussing contributions from psychology in/to educational practices like school-based mental health promotion, it is peculiar that psychologists (of an educational or clinical kind) or education-oriented sociologists, both not often based in schools or classrooms, dominate the topic. It has been acknowledged that school staff have been over looked and underutilised in contributing to the discussion, particularly as this pertains to sharing perspectives on how they experience their role in relationship to education policy and practice. The study presented here looked to address this situation by seeking the perspectives of school staff on a range of concerns situated at the nexus between education and psychology. Contrary to the type of displaced assessment intimated above, this group of school staff generally accepts they perform a crucial task in supporting students, their main concern being to incisively question how they might negotiate existing role-related pressures to better current school-based practice.

Sensory Research : Non-caloric sweeteners and consumer psychology

There remains much controversy over the role of non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) in the food supply. Are they helpful or do they promote overconsumption? There is a lack of evidence demonstrating a meaningful causal relationship between consuming NCS products and changes in calorie intake. Does this mean that the decoupling of energy from sweetness actually has no long-term benefit 0 11 consumers' energy regulation?

Deleuze and psychology: philosophical provocations to psychological practices

An increasing number of scholars, students and practitioners of psychology are becoming intrigued by the ideas of Gilles Deleuze and of Felix Guattari. This book aims to be a critical introduction to these ideas, which have so much to offer psychology in terms of new directions as well as critique.Deleuze was one of the most prominent philosophers of the 20th century and a figure whose ideas are increasingly influential throughout the humanities and social sciences. His work, particularly his collaborations with psychoanalyst Guattari, focused on the articulation of a philosophy of difference. Rejecting mainstream continental philosophy just as much as the orthodox analytical metaphysics of the English-speaking world, Deleuze proposed a positive and passionate alternative, bursting at the seams with new concepts and new transformations.This book overviews the philosophical contribution of Deleuze including the project he developed with Guattari. It goes on to explore the application of these ideas in three major dimensions of psychology: its unit of analysis, its method and its applications to the clinic.