Communicating Resilience: A Discursive Leadership Perspective

'Ending the HIV epidemic': where are African American women in the plan?

<b><i>Discursive Leadership: In Conversation with Leadership Psychology</i></b>, by Gail T. Fairhurst. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2007Discursive Leadership: In Conversation with Leadership Psychology, by FairhurstGail T. . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2007.

Stress has been counted as a major problem for many teachers; something led some of them to have ineffective job performance within teaching profession. This study designed to examine the association between socio-demographic factors and the six protective factors that foster resilience among Tanzania primary schools teachers. And it was guided by a research question which stated that how have socio-demographic factors associated with six protective factors that foster resilience among Tanzania primary schools teachers? A total numbers of participants who filled and completed questionnaires were six hundred sixty two. The questionnaire had 36 items measuring six protective factors strongly associated with resiliency within teachers. And it was a Likert Scale ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The six protective factors are such as purpose &amp; expectations (PE), nurture &amp; support (NS), positive connections (PC), meaningful participation (MP), life guiding skills (LGS), and clear &amp; consistent boundaries (CCB). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied since we wanted to confirm the usability of scale items to Tanzania primary schools teachers. Basic descriptive statistics such as frequency, percent mean and standard deviation were calculated and used to describe the sample and the characteristics of the respondents. And since resilience of every domain was continuous variables multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine association of resilience of every domain. The results of this study show that to a large extent these six protective factors have a great contribution in promoting resilience to primary schools teachers in Tanzania. The factors have been different in developing the level of resilience for the respective teachers according to the environment in which the teachers work in, something leads to different responses for each socio-demographic factors used in this study.

Gail T. Fairhurst: Discursive Leadership: In Conversation with Leadership Psychology

1: Two Traditions 2: Sequence and Temporal Form 3: Membership Categorization 4: Disciplinary Power 5: Self-Identities, Interpretive Repertoires 6: Narrative Logics 7: Material Mediations 8: Praxis and More Conversation Appendices

Variations in communicative participation of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) cannot be wholly explained by their language difficulties alone and may be influenced by contextual factors. Contextual factors may support or hinder communicative participation in children, which makes their identification clinically relevant. To investigate which contextual (environmental and personal) factors in early childhood are protective, risk or neutral factors for communicative participation among school-aged children with DLD, and to identify possible gaps in knowledge about this subject. A scoping review was conducted based on a systematic search of studies published from January 2007 to March 2022 in Pubmed, Embase (without MEDLINE), CINAHL and PsycINFO. In total, 8802 studies were reviewed using predefined eligibility criteria, of which 32 studies were included for data extraction and critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (2021) tools. The methodological quality of included studies was adequate to strong. Personal protective factors identified are being a preschool girl, reaching school age and being prosocial, while personal risk factors are becoming a teenager or adolescent, having low socio-cognitive skills and experiencing comorbid mobility impairment or behavioural problems. Gender after the preschool years and non-verbal abilities were not found to be of influence, and the role of socio-emotional skills is inconclusive. Receiving therapy is an environmental protective factor, while the association between socio-economical family characteristics with communicative participation is inconclusive. Limited research has been conducted on which risk and protective factors present in early childhood are associated with later communicative participation of children with DLD. The influence of co-occurring health conditions, social background variables, individual psychological assets, interpersonal relationships and attitudes of other people represent knowledge gaps. In addition, knowledge about the comparative effectiveness of different types of interventions and service delivery models, and the impact of administrative control, organizational mechanisms and standards established by governments on children's communicative participation is lacking. More longitudinal research is needed focusing on the identification of relevant personal and environmental factors and the interactions between them in relation to communicative participation outcomes. What is already known on this subject Children with DLD experience varying degrees of communicative participation restrictions. Insight into contextual factors that influence communicative participation can help to identify children at risk and inform family and child-centred therapy. Systematic research on contextual factors that facilitate or hinder communicative participation in children with DLD is currently lacking. What this paper adds to existing knowledge Knowledge of protective factors can guide the development of interventions for children and young people with DLD that boost resilience and facilitate communicative participation, while insight into the risk factors can help professionals identify the most vulnerable children and develop interventions that can lift or neutralize barriers present in the life of these children. Specific groups potentially at risk are young boys, children with co-morbid mobility impairment, children with conduct problems, and children reaching adolescence. In contrast, potentially protective factors are reaching school age and being prosocial. In addition, the development of socio-cognitive skills may be beneficial for the communicative participation of children with DLD. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? To support communicative participation, it is important that professionals who work with children with DLD understand which groups are at risk for communicative participation restrictions, and which factors can foster resilience. In the absence of evidence-based instruments for the systematic assessment of personal and environmental factors, consulting parents and children on the contextual factors that they perceive as important remains critical.

Depression is the leading cause of disability and represents a significant challenge to stable employment and professional success. Importantly, employment may also operate as a protective factor against more chronic courses of depression as it can function as a form of behavioral activation and scaffold recovery by facilitating community integration. The current study examined work-related characteristics as protective or risk factors for subsequent long-term depression trajectories. Relations between employment characteristics and lifetime course of depression were examined among 424 adults in the community who entered treatment for depression. The sample was followed for 23 years with assessments at 1, 4, 10, and 23 years post baseline. At baseline, participants were asked about employment history and status along with work-related events and aspects of their work environments. Depression was measured at each assessment, and three different life course trajectories of depression were identified. Employment at baseline was associated with lower levels of depression at baseline and less severe life courses of depression. Among employed participants, higher occupational prestige, a more supportive work environment (greater involvement, cohesion, and perceived support), and lower work stress (less pressure and more control, role clarity, and autonomy) may protect against more severe, intractable depression over time and may have bolstered functioning. Findings have potential to be harnessed for clinical translation to better inform vocational rehabilitation counseling and human resources programs. Specifically, clinician assessment of work setting can guide patient decision making about how to reduce vulnerability to depression and foster resilience via employment.

The importance of the post-disaster context in fostering human resilience

Understanding the causes of why individuals desist from or are resilient to delinquency and drug use has become a salient social concern. Much research has centered on the effects that protective factors possess in fostering resiliency but that research has not fully explored how the effects of protective factors might vary across gender. Using a sample of 711 individuals from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child-Mother data set, the authors investigate how individual protective factors vary across gender on two measures of resiliency that document the lack of involvement in serious delinquency and drug use. They also examine whether the accumulation of protective factors varies across gender in fostering resiliency. The findings suggest that although males and females rely on different individual protective factors to foster resiliency, the accumulation of protective factors appears to be equally important for males and females in promoting resiliency. The authors discuss theoretical and policy implications.

Resilience was correlated with psychological outcomes and quality of life in lung cancer patients. But the resilience process and its protective factors remained uncertain. To investigate and analyze resilience process and its protective factors in long-term survivors after lung cancer surgery. This qualitative study included 19 patients who had survived at least 5 years after lung cancer surgery. Colaizzi's method of phenomenology was used for data analysis. Analysis of this study was divided into the resilience process and protective factors. The resilience process was summarized into three stages, including initial stress, adaptation to disease, and personal growth. Five themes were regarded contributing to their own resilience in this process, including excellent psychological qualities, good social support, regular lifestyle and exercise, participating in social activities, and Chinese medicine. This study showed the dynamic process of resilience and its protective factors in long-term survivors after lung cancer surgery. Future studies could identify average length of time of each stage and how patients transfer between stages during resilience process. Besides, interventions could be carried out to educate patients diagnosed with cancer about normal stages of change in body and resilience through time and strategies on adaptation and adjustment of lung cancer.

This narrative study based on semistructured interviews seeks to further our understanding of students’ experiences of resilience factors and processes and of educators’ roles in engendering resilient environments. First, I provide a brief overview of current educational literature on resilience. Second, I draw on data from interviews with nine participants about their academic success in which they discuss personal resilience factors as well as resilience processes enacted in familial, friendship, and school environments. Last, I propose suggestions for further discussion and identify key issues for education administrators to be aware of in the creation and maintenance of school environments that foster resilience.

This narrative study based on semistructured interviews seeks to further our understanding of students’ experiences of resilience factors and processes and of educators’ roles in engendering resilient environments. First, I provide a brief overview of current educational literature on resilience. Second, I draw on data from interviews with nine participants about their academic success in which they discuss personal resilience factors as well as resilience processes enacted in familial, friendship, and school environments. Last, I propose suggestions for further discussion and identify key issues for education administrators to be aware of in the creation and maintenance of school environments that foster resilience.

For years, reformed educational programs, creative strategies, and sensitive deliberations have collectively tried to ensure that the emotional, physical, and intellectual needs of American Deaf youth are met; however, the literature shows that gaps in resources and supports remain daunting. Using a transformative research framework, examples of research with American Deaf youth are used to illustrate how the culture of Deaf communities is interwoven with Deaf youths’ resilience processes. A transformative framework provides an opportunity for thinking about and responding to the heterogeneity of the Deaf community, with particular focus on the multiple dimensions that limit opportunities, and strategies that youth and their communities use to address those limits. The chapter includes a critical assessment of the influence of hearing status, race, and other cultural factors in the positive adjustment of Deaf youth, especially those of colour. Theoretical and practical approaches that foster resilience and positive outcomes among American Deaf youth of colour are discussed.

Despite the prevalence of hypertension among young adults and its disruptive impact on daily life, limited research has examined how individuals draw on anticipatory resilience − discursive resources developed over time − to communicatively address hypertension-related challenges. Guided by the communication theory of resilience (CTR), this study investigated disclosure and social support as relational sources of anticipatory resilience. Data from 438 Chinese adults aged 18–44 years old with hypertension indicated that disclosure was positively associated with communicative resilience enactment via self-efficacy for managing chronic illness, which, in turn, predicted adherenence to medical recommendations and mental health. Social support was also significantly linked to participants’ engagement in resilience processes. The findings offer theoretical insights into the mechanisms through which different sources of anticipatory resilience influence resilience enactment, as well as practical implications for designing communicative strategies that foster resilience and promote adherence to medication and lifestyle recommendations among young adults with hypertension.

The life course perspective (LCP), a valuable theoretical framework for investigating racial disparities in birth outcomes, examines the cumulative exposure of risk and protective factors throughout the life span. Although risk and protective exposures are equally vital to health, most studies have focused solely on the risk factor exposures faced by vulnerable populations. In clear contrast to the traditional public health approach, which emphasizes a deficit model, strengths-based approaches focus on protective factors and fostering resilience. These approaches view communities as valuable assets that have the capacity to fully engage themselves and their residents to achieve optimal health. Participatory action research methods are well suited to apply a strengths-based approach to understand health disparities. Our study aimed to explore maternal and child health protective factors from community residents' perspective. A group of researchers, including active members in the community with a long history of grassroots development work, conducted ten community-based participatory focus groups with community residents in Tampa, FL, using the LCP framework. A total of 78 residents participated in ten focus groups. Perceived protective factors during pregnancy included self-esteem, spirituality, pregnancy support, good nutrition, prenatal care, and community resources. Protective factors for non-pregnant women were self-esteem, spirituality, social support, health literacy, community support and community resources, and societal factors. For children and adolescents, relevant protective factors were self-esteem, positive role models, nutrition and physical activity, and community support. The identified factors are community assets or strengths that mitigate or eliminate maternal and child health risks in families and communities residing in low-income neighborhoods, which must be considered in developing effective maternal and child health interventions.