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Active Engagement (active + engagement)
Selected AbstractsFrom Limited to Active Engagement: Mexico's Emigration Policies from a Foreign Policy Perspective (2000,2006)INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2009Alexandra Délano Mexico's emigration policies , including the state's engagement with the diaspora, the discourse in relation to emigrants, the responses to U.S. migration policies and legislation, and the priority given to the issue in the national and bilateral agendas , have undergone a process of transformation since the late 1980s and particularly after 2000. From a history of generally limited engagement in terms of responding to U.S. policies and a traditional interpretation of consular protection activities, Mexico has gradually developed more active policies in relation to the diaspora and began a process of redefining its position on emigration. In addition to the processes of political change in Mexico and the growing impact of migrants' transnational activities, changes in Mexico's emigration policies are also a result of transformations in foreign policy principles and strategies, mainly as a result of the evolution of U.S.-Mexico relations since the late 1980s and particularly since NAFTA. These findings demonstrate the significance of international factors , namely host state , sending state relations and foreign policy interests, discourse, and traditions , in the design and implementation of migration policies and the need to develop multi-level analyses to explain states' objectives, interests, and capacities in the management of migration. [source] SPECTACLES OF SEXUALITY: Televisionary Activism in NicaraguaCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2008CYMENE HOWE ABSTRACT This article develops the concept of "televisionary" activism,a mediated form of social justice messaging that attempts to transform culture. Focusing on a locally produced and very popular television show in Nicaragua, I consider how social justice knowledge is produced through television characters' scripting and performance. The ideological underpinnings aspire to a dialogic engagement with the audience, as producers aim to both generate public discourse and benefit from audiences' suggestions and active engagement. Several levels of media advocacy interventions are considered including the production, scripting, and translation of transnational material into local registers. Televisionary activism offers challenges to several conservative social values in Nicaragua by placing topics such as abortion, domestic violence, sexual abuse, homosexuality, and lesbianism very explicitly into the public sphere. At the same time, sexual subjects on the small screen must be framed in particular ways, as, for instance, with the homosexual subjects who are carefully coiffed in normalized human dramas. Finally, many of these televisionary tactics draw from and engage with transnational tropes of identity politics, and "gay" and "lesbian" subjectivity in particular, confounding the relationship between real and idealized sexual subjects in Nicaragua. That is, these televisionary tactics "market" transnational identity politics but derive legitimacy through their very "localness." [source] Toward a Theory of Aesthetic Learning ExperiencesCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 5 2009P. BRUCE UHRMACHER ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to reveal ways to provide the opportunity for students to have aesthetically engaged learning experiences. Using John Dewey's ideas from Art as Experience as a framework, the author uses aesthetic theory to show how such ends can be reached. In addition, he suggests six themes that teachers can draw upon to help students attain engaged learning experiences. The themes, which are elaborated upon fully in this article, include connections, active engagement, sensory experience, perceptivity, risk taking, and imagination. In addition to providing engaged learning, the upshot of providing aesthetic learning experiences is likely to include student satisfaction, an increase in perceptual knowledge, episodic memory retention, meaning making, and creativity and innovation. [source] Apples, Pears and Porridge: The Origins and Impact of the Search for ,Coherence' between Humanitarian and Political Responses to Chronic Political EmergenciesDISASTERS, Issue 4 2001Joanna Macrae During the 1990s a consensus emerged within the international humanitarian system that there was a need to enhance the ,coherence' between humanitarian and political responses to complex political emergencies. Closer integration between aid and political responses was seen to be necessary in order to address the root causes of conflict-induced crises, and to ensure that aid did not exacerbate political tensions. This paper explores the theory and practice of coherence over the past decade. It argues that, by sleight of hand, the coherence agenda has been reinterpreted such that humanitarian action has become the primary form of political action, rather than merely a substitute for it. The coherence agenda has been driven by geopolitical events, domestic policy considerations in donor countries and the more parochial concerns of aid policy, and is reflected in a number of substantive changes in the humanitarian architecture. Many of the tenets of this ,new humanitarianism' have been embraced by the majority of relief agencies, and thus legitimised it. The paper concludes that political humanitarianism, as opposed to active engagement by political and military actors, is flawed ethically and technically. It will provide neither an effective palliative for the ill effects of war, nor address its causes. [source] Growing up Charismatic: Morality and Spirituality among Children in a Religious CommunityETHOS, Issue 4 2009Thomas J. Csordas The first question has to do with the problem of how charisma can be successfully transferred to the second generation of a prophetic community. The second question has to do with how children come to be, and to act as, moral and spiritual beings. These questions converge in a particular way in the ethnographic setting of The Word of God Community: it is founded on a charismatic spirituality closely intertwined with a moral imperative, such that its viability depends on reproduction of that morality and spirituality among children of the founding generation. Data come from interviews with 38 children across three age groups (5,7, 10,12, and 15,17 years), conducted over a four-week period subsequent to a community schism, which left members in a state of reflection, self-examination, and openness. We focus on children's responses to a series of culturally specific vignettes designed to present various dilemmas of moral reasoning. In this highly charged context moral and spiritual life are based on an active engagement characterized by dynamic and contested processes, and it is through these processes that individuals make meaning out of and reconstruct the moral code of their culture. [childhood and adolescence, religion, Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Pentecostalism, morality, spirituality, intentional communities] [source] Civic Engagement Among Low-Income and Low-Wealth Families: In Their WordsFAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 2 2006Amanda Moore McBride Abstract: Using in-depth interviews, we explored civic engagement that included volunteering through religious organizations, neighboring, involvement in children's activities, and contributing. The sample consisted of 84 low-income, low-wealth families. Findings indicate that although people of limited resources may be engaged, they face substantial challenges to active engagement. Data are suggestive of a modified life cycle theory, a resource or "stakeholding" theory, and institutional theories regarding challenges to engagement. In the context of the study's limitations, implications are discussed for measurement, research, and interventions. [source] A systematic review and meta-synthesis: evaluating the effectiveness of nurse, midwife/allied health professional consultantsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 10 2007Ann Humphreys PhD, Cert Ed Aim., This paper presents the findings of a systematic review and meta-synthesis, which was undertaken to identify and assess studies that evaluated the nurse/midwife/allied health professional consultant role. Background., As part of the modernization agenda in the National Health Service the United Kingdom government proposed ,Consultant' posts for nurses/midwives and allied health professionals as an opportunity for experienced practitioners to extend their roles. Four key functions were identified as being significant to this role development: expert practice, leadership, education and research. Explicit within the proposal was a requirement of these new roles to be evaluated. Method., Inclusion criteria focussed on studies where an aspect of the role had been evaluated or where the consultant carried out the research. A total of 1931 citations was filtered to reveal 107 studies that possibly met the inclusion criteria. Of these 107, 14 studies were critically appraised and subjected to thematic analysis. Study methodology varied but of the 14 studies, 10 involved some form of measurement. The others adopted a literature review or descriptive approach. Conclusions., The extent to which consultants were involved in all aspects of the ,four pillars' was assessed in only a small number of studies. However, a number of studies implicitly implied active engagement in expert practice and leadership by focussing on specific service developments. Relevance to clinical practice., To date, a number of studies evaluating service developments, education, expert practice and leadership have been carried out. However although a number of studies have assessed perceived impact of the consultant role, no measure of actual benefit has been published to date. Studies that evaluate the cost benefit/outcomes of these roles in relation to both activity and quality of service are required. [source] Positive youth development, willful adolescents, and mentoringJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2006Reed Larson This article describes positive youth development as a process in which young people's capacity for being motivated by challenge energizes their active engagement in development. The first part of the article discusses the conditions under which this motivation is activated and considers obstacles to its activation in daily life. The second part discusses ways in which caring adults, including mentors, can support this process of positive development. Several frameworks that provide models of how adults can provide needed structure and guidance while supporting youth's development as agents of their own growth are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] A possible CD1a Langerhans cell,mast cell interaction in chronic hyperplastic candidosisJOURNAL OF ORAL PATHOLOGY & MEDICINE, Issue 6 2007Ahmed Ali Aims:, T lymphocyte,antigen-presenting cell (APC) interaction plays a central role in T lymphocyte activation and APC maturation. We therefore studied the CD1a-positive Langerhans cells with respect to receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)-positive cells in chronic hyperplastic candidosis (CHC). Materials and methods:, Tissue sections of CHC were compared with leukoplakia and healthy oral mucosa using RANKL and CD1a monoclonal antibodies in an avidin,biotin peroxidase complex protocol. Two different antigen-retrieval protocols, pepsin preincubation and Tris,EDTA heat treatment, were used. Results:, CD1a-positive Langerhans cells were in healthy and leukoplakia epithelium found in the middle layer, but in CHC in all layers of the epithelium, at the basement membrane and as mononuclear round cells in the lamina propria. Use of pepsin digestion enabled studies of mast cells and their activation in the form of degranulation of RANKL. Conclusions:, The numerical, morphological and topographical versatility of the CD1a-positive Langerhans cells in CHC can be clarified by dendritic cell (DC) recruitment into the epithelium. RANK-positive and RANKL-sensitive DCs have ample opportunity to interact with local T lymphocytes. Use of an optimized antigen-retrieval protocol enabled demonstration of an active engagement (degranulation) of mast cells, which represent a rapidly available source of soluble RANKL. [source] Teaching with the enemy: Critical adult education in the academyNEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION, Issue 102 2004Ralf St.Clair The author identifies issues facing critical adult educators in academic settings and argues for instructors' and students' active engagement with critique. [source] An Analysis of the Concept of Patient ParticipationNURSING FORUM, Issue 1 2008BSc Health Service Adm., MSc Nursing, Monika J. M. Sahlsten PhD The concept of patient participation has an array of interpretations and lacks clarity. The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of patient participation within the context of nursing practice. The method described by Walker and Avant (1995) is used. The critical attributes of the concept are identified. Formation of model, borderline, and contrary cases exemplifies key characteristics. Antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents presented allow for further refinement of the key attributes defining the concept. Patient participation in nursing practice can be defined as an established relationship between nurse and patient, a surrendering of some power or control by the nurse, shared information and knowledge, and active engagement together in intellectual and/or physical activities. [source] Instructional Design and Powerful LearningPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2001Gordon Rowland ABSTRACT Skillfully executed, instructional design can result in effective and efficient means to meet learning goals. However, more powerful learning experiences seem to go beyond effectiveness, efficiency, appeal, and even predetermined goals. This study sought to identify the key features of instructional design, to determine the nature of powerful learning experiences, and to explore how the two might relate. A survey of experts and a series of interviews with adult learners revealed overlap in some areas, for example, in the perceived importance of active engagement in authentic situations, and clear differences in others, most significantly the importance placed by learners on continual face-to-face personal interaction with a mentor/expert teacher. Speculations are offered on what similar results from additional studies might imply with regard to design actions and choices, and questions for further research are posed. [source] Structured extracurricular activities among adolescents: Findings and implications for school psychologistsPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 1 2004Rich Gilman One factor that contributes to adolescent positive mental health is active engagement. Engagement is defined as any activity that is initiated to attain an outcome. In general, two forms of activities exist that correspond with engagement: solitary, non-structured, and non-cooperative pursuits, often without adult supervision (e.g., playing video games, watching television) and highly structured, collaborative activities that are under the guidance of a competent set of adults (i.e., structured extracurricular activities, or SEAs). Although large amounts of time spent in unstructured activities is related to negative psychosocial outcomes, participation in SEAs has been related to a variety of positive outcomes for students. This paper reviews current research regarding adolescent participation in SEAs and its effects on academic and personal-social variables (i.e., self-concept, life satisfaction), as well as potential preventive effects for youths considered to be "at-risk" for negative developmental outcomes. The paper also examines research investigating the potential benefits and shortcomings of different types of SEAs. Finally, suggestions for future research and school-based preventive intervention are presented. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 31,41, 2004. [source] Predictors of quality of life in old age: A cross-validation study,RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 2 2007Gail Low Abstract A replication study was undertaken to validate a model of quality of life (QOL) generated in an earlier study on a random sample of 202 older adults. Pathways found to be significant were retested using QOL data from a convenience sample of 420 older adults. Using path analysis, we found that financial resources, health, and meaning in life directly and positively influenced QOL. Health, emotional support, and the physical environment indirectly affected QOL through purpose in life. All but one pathway were replicated, explaining 50.5% of the variance in QOL. Further explorations of the influence of spirituality, emotionally close ties, and opportunities for active engagement on QOL in older age are warranted. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 30: 141,150, 2007 [source] The predicting brain: Unconscious repetition, conscious reflection and therapeutic changeTHE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 4 2007Regina Pally Neuroscience indicates that ,repetition' is fundamental to brain function. The brain non-consciously predicts what is most likely to happen and sets in motion perceptions, emotions, behaviors and interpersonal responses best adapted to what is expected-before events occur. Predictions enable individuals to be ready ,ahead of time' so reactions occur rapidly and smoothly when events occur. The brain uses past learning as the guide for what to expect in the future. Because of prediction, present experience and responses are shaped by the past. Predictions from early life can be deeply encoded and enduring. Predictions based on the past allow for more efficient brain function in the present, but can lead to mistakes. When what is predicted does not occur, consciousness can be engaged to monitor and correct the situation. But if a perception or emotion seems reasonable for the situation, a person might not notice an error, and a maladaptive ,repetition' may remain unchanged. The author discusses how predictions contribute to psychological defenses and transference repetition, and how conscious self-reflection facilitates therapeutic change. The neuroscience of prediction indicates why, in certain cases, active engagement by the analyst may be necessary. The author makes the argument for use of a ,neuroscience interpretation'. [source] Infant Intersubjectivity: Research, Theory, and Clinical ApplicationsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 1 2001Colwyn Trevarthen We review research evidence on the emergence and development of active " self-and-other " awareness in infancy, and examine the importance of its motives and emotions to mental health practice with children. This relates to how communication begins and develops in infancy, how it influences the individual subject's movement, perception, and learning, and how the infant's biologically grounded self-regulation of internal state and self-conscious purposefulness is sustained through active engagement with sympathetic others. Mutual selfother- consciousness is found to play the lead role in developing a child's cooperative intelligence for cultural learning and language. A variety of preconceptions have animated rival research traditions investigating infant communication and cognition. We distinguish the concept of " intersubjectivity ", and outline the history of its use in developmental research. The transforming body and brain of ahumanindividual grows in active engagement with an environment of human factors-organic at first, then psychological or inter-mental. Adaptive, human-responsive processes are generated first by interneuronal activity within the developing brain as formation of the human embryo is regulated in a support-system of maternal tissues. Neural structures are further elaborated with the benefit of intra-uterine stimuli in the foetus, then supported in the rapidly growing forebrain and cerebellum of the young child by experience of the intuitive responses of parents and other human companions. We focus particularly on intrinsic patterns and processes in pre-natal and post-natal brain maturation that anticipate psychosocial support in infancy. The operation of an intrinsic motive formation (IMF) that developed in the core of the brain before birth is evident in the tightly integrated intermodal sensory-motor coordination of a newborn infant's orienting to stimuli and preferential learning of human signals, by the temporal coherence and intrinsic rhythms of infant behaviour, especially in communication, and neonates' extraordinary capacities for reactive and evocative imitation. The correct functioning of this integrated neural motivating system is found to be essential to the development of both the infant's purposeful consciousness and his or her ability to cooperate with other persons' actions and interests, and to learn from them. The relevance of infants' inherent intersubjectivity to major child mental health issues is highlighted by examining selected areas of clinical concern. We review recent findings on postnatal depression, prematurity, autism, ADHD, specific language impairments, and central auditory processing deficits, and comment on the effcacy of interventions that aim to support intrinsic motives for intersubjective communication when these are not developing normally. [source] I,Virtues of Art and Human Well -BeingARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME, Issue 1 2008Peter Goldie What is the point of art, and why does it matter to us human beings? The answer that I will give in this paper, following on from an earlier paper on the same subject, is that art matters because our being actively engaged with art, either in its production or in its appreciation, is part of what it is to live well. The focus in the paper will be on the dispositions,the virtues of art production and of art appreciation,that are necessary for this kind of active engagement with art. To begin with, I will argue that these dispositions really are virtues and not mere skills. Then I will show how the virtues of art, and their exercise in artistic activity, interweave with the other kinds of virtue which are exercised in ethical and contemplative activity. And finally, I will argue that artistic activity affords, in a special way, a certain kind of emotional sharing that binds us together with other human beings. [source] Evaluation of a mental health treatment court with assertive community treatment,BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 4 2003Merith Cosden Ph.D. Without active engagement, many adults with serious mental illnesses remain untreated in the community and commit criminal offenses, resulting in their placement in the jails rather than mental health facilities. A mental health treatment court (MHTC) with an assertive community treatment (ACT) model of case management was developed through the cooperative efforts of the criminal justice and mental health systems. Participants were 235 adults with a serious mental illness who were booked into the county jail, and who volunteered for the study. An experimental design was used, with participants randomly assigned to MHTC or treatment as usual (TAU), consisting of adversarial criminal processing and less intensive mental health treatment. Results were reported for 6 and 12 month follow-up periods. Clients in both conditions improved in life satisfaction, distress, and independent living, while participants in the MHTC also showed reductions in substance abuse and new criminal activity. Outcomes are interpreted within the context of changes brought about in the community subsequent to implementation of the MHTC. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A KOREAN PERSPECTIVE ON DEVELOPING A GLOBAL POLICY FOR ADVANCE DIRECTIVESBIOETHICS, Issue 3 2010SOYOON KIM ABSTRACT Despite the wide and daunting array of cross-cultural obstacles that the formulation of a global policy on advance directives will clearly pose, the need is equally evident. Specifically, the expansion of medical services driven by medical tourism, just to name one important example, makes this issue urgently relevant. While ensuring consistency across national borders, a global policy will have the additional and perhaps even more important effect of increasing the use of advance directives in clinical settings and enhancing their effectiveness within each country, regardless of where that country's state of the law currently stands. One cross-cultural issue that may represent a major obstacle in formulating, let alone applying, a global policy is whether patient autonomy as the underlying principle for the use of advance directives is a universal norm or a construct of western traditions that must be reconciled with alternative value systems that may place lesser significance on individual choice. A global policy, at a minimum, must emphasize respect for patient autonomy, provision of medical information, limits to the obligations for physicians, and portability. And though the development of a global policy will be no easy task, active engagement in close collaboration with the World Health Organization can make it possible. [source] Deliberate Practice and Acquisition of Expert Performance: A General OverviewACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2008K. Anders Ericsson PhD Traditionally, professional expertise has been judged by length of experience, reputation, and perceived mastery of knowledge and skill. Unfortunately, recent research demonstrates only a weak relationship between these indicators of expertise and actual, observed performance. In fact, observed performance does not necessarily correlate with greater professional experience. Expert performance can, however, be traced to active engagement in deliberate practice (DP), where training (often designed and arranged by their teachers and coaches) is focused on improving particular tasks. DP also involves the provision of immediate feedback, time for problem-solving and evaluation, and opportunities for repeated performance to refine behavior. In this article, we draw upon the principles of DP established in other domains, such as chess, music, typing, and sports to provide insight into developing expert performance in medicine. [source] Assessor or assessee: How student learning improves by giving and receiving peer feedbackBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Lan Li This study investigated the relationship between the quality of peer assessment and the quality of student projects in a technology application course for teacher education students. Forty-three undergraduate student participants completed the assigned projects. During the peer assessment process, students first anonymously rated and commented on two randomly assigned peers' projects, and they were then asked to improve their projects based on the feedback they received. Two independent raters blindly evaluated student initial and final projects. Data analysis indicated that when controlling for the quality of the initial projects, there was a significant relationship between the quality of peer feedback students provided for others and the quality of the students' own final projects. However, no significant relationship was found between the quality of peer feedback students received and the quality of their own final projects. This finding supported a prior research claim that active engagement in reviewing peers' projects may facilitate student learning. [source] Aligning learning, teaching and assessment using the web: an evaluation of pedagogic approachesBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2002Richard Hall Biggs has argued that teaching is most effective when it supports those activities appropriate to understanding the curriculum objectives. This paper uses Biggs' argument to analyse how a UK higher education initiative, the Chic project, has promoted learning and teaching innovation that supports collaborative, inclusive learning by integrating on-line and face-to-face delivery. Methods by which assessments, teaching processes and learning objectives can be aligned are discussed. The author identifies two project approaches to the utilisation of on-line materials within curriculum design. Staff and student questionnaires and interviews are evaluated in order to assess whether these processes promote a reflexive approach to learning. Such reflexivity depends upon stimulating the learner's emotional involvement and active engagement in undertaking achievable tasks. The paper argues that an integrated approach to on-line learning and teaching can be used to promote students' critical use, understanding and application of materials. Moreover, it is argued that this can be liberating for staff and students as long as there is a shared vision and experience upon which to act. Promoting motivation within a supportive and meaningful context is fundamental. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||