Academic Capacity Research Articles

MOTHERS’ EXPERIENCES OF PARENTING A CHILD WITH DYSLEXIA AT A DYSLEXIA CENTRE IN MALAYSIA

The number of children with dyslexia is estimated to be continuously increased in Malaysia. Dyslexia affects the academic learning capacity of children, thus affecting the academic achievement as well. Issues related to dyslexia have led to a more complex role and experience of mothers in taking care of their children with dyslexia as compared to mothers with normal children. This study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences of the mothers involved which included the challenges faced, and coping skills and their hopes in raising children with dyslexia. As a result, three themes have emerged: “life‘s bitterness“ that was related to the lack of time, living expenses, negative feelings, educational issues and distressful role as a mother; “Never mind, I take it that way…” that was related to the extra effort; and “I wish…” that was related to a need for improvement. In conclusion, mothers should be equipped with multi-disciplinary skills such as occupational therapy and psychology, besides other related skills as the key to help children with dyslexia. Health professionals also need to have a better understanding of raising children with dyslexia so that a more effective role in addressing this learning disability can be provided.

Academic capacity building: holding up a mirror

Based on our involvement in numerous consortia and projects with colleagues from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as well as on our extensive fieldwork experience in the global South, we have a shared concern on the actual inclusion of LMIC colleagues and institutions in coproducing highly valuable and policy-relevant science. While capacity building is stated as a major goal in various international research projects, especially when involving partners from LMICs or when focusing on research activities in these countries, we think that research from established groups and universities particularly in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), receives more interest and respect on a disproportionate basis. With the present submission, we hope to feed the debate on the academic valorization of research performed by LMICs scholars. Though difficult to measure, this merits close scrutiny.

Improving access to effective care for people with chronic respiratory symptoms in low and middle income countries.

Chronic respiratory symptoms are amongst the most common complaints among low and middle-income country (LMICs) populations and they are expected to remain common over the 10 to 20 year horizon. The underlying diseases (predominantly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and tuberculosis) cause, and threaten to increasingly cause, substantial morbidity and mortality. Effective treatment is available for these conditions but LMICs health systems are not well set up to provide accessible clinical diagnostic pathways that lead to sustainable and affordable management plans especially for the chronic non communicable respiratory diseases. There is a need for clinical and academic capacity building together with well-conducted health systems research to underpin health service strengthening, policy and decision-making. There is an opportunity to integrate solutions for improving access to effective care for people with chronic respiratory symptoms with approaches to tackle other major population health issues that depend on well-functioning health services such as chronic communicable (e.g. HIV) and non-communicable (e.g. cardiovascular and metabolic) diseases.

El entrenamiento en juicios metamnemónicos y su implicación en el rendimiento académico

Este estudio se desarrolló durante el transcurso de la docencia de la asignatura de Psicología del Arte en el Grado de Bellas Artes (segundo curso de la Facultad de Bellas Artes de la Universidad de Vigo). El objetivo de este trabajo era averiguar la relación entre distintas variables de la metamemoria (Facilidad de Aprendizaje, Juicio de Aprendizaje y Juicio de Confianza) a medida que iba transcurriendo el curso, y la relación entre estas variables y el rendimiento académico y la capacidad de imagen en una muestra de 90 estudiantes. De los resultados cabe destacar que el entrenamiento en la valoración de los juicios metamnemónicos incrementó la correlación entre los juicios a medida que transcurría el curso, generando una tendencia en la respuesta que creemos es fruto de un aprendizaje. Además, se puso de manifiesto correlaciones altas y significativas entre los distintos juicios metamnemónicos y la evaluación final en la asignatura.

Speaking of Supervision: A dialogic approach to building higher degree research supervision capacity in the creative arts

In the emergent field of creative practice higher degrees by research, first generation supervisors have developed new models of supervision for an unprecedented form of research, which combines creative practice and a written thesis. In a national research project, entitled ‘Effective supervision of creative practice higher research degrees’, we set out to capture and share early supervisors’ insights, strategies and approaches to supporting their creative practice PhD students. From the insights we gained during the early interview process, we expanded our research methods in line with a distributed leadership model and developed a dialogic framework. This led us to unanticipated conclusions and unexpected recommendations. In this study, we primarily draw on philosopher and literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogics to explain how giving precedence to the voices of supervisors not only facilitated the articulation of dispersed tacit knowledge, but also led to other discoveries. These include the nature of supervisors’ resistance to prescribed models, policies and central academic development programmes; the importance of polyvocality and responsive dialogue in enabling continued innovation in the field; the benefits to supervisors of reflecting, discussing and sharing practices with colleagues; and the value of distributed leadership and dialogue to academic development and supervision capacity building in research education.

A fourth law of robotics? Copyright and the law and ethics of machine co-production

Jon Bing was not only a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and law and the legal regulation of technology. He was also an accomplished author of fiction, with an oeuvre spanning from short stories and novels to theatre plays and even an opera. As reality catches up with the imagination of science fiction writers who have anticipated a world shared by humans and non-human intelligences of their creation, some of the copyright issues he has discussed in his academic capacity take on new resonance. How will we regulate copyright when robots are producers and consumers of art? This paper tries to give a sketch of the problem and hints at possible answers that are to a degree inspired by Bing's academic and creative writing.

International primary care snapshots: Armenia and South Africa.

Primary health care (PHC) has come a long way since Armenia gained independence in 1991. The former Soviet health service had to face the problems of transition to a market economy. A reform programme was launched in 1997 to move from the polyclinic system to family medicine (FM) with the programme aiming to create a strong and skilled PHC sector and a Basic Benefits Package for all citizens. Family medicine academic capacities were created in Yerevan State Medical University and the National Institute of Health. From 2000–2010 around 1500 polyclinic PHC doctors were retrained through 1-year conversion courses to become family physicians (FPs) in a race to build the workforce. The curriculum and training modules were created through the support of international experts and training courses in Western university clinics. Novel clinical teaching methods were introduced and clinical preceptors were trained countrywide to be involved in the retraining process, creating a cohort of modern-thinking professionals. The shift to FM has been uneven. In the cities, the old polyclinic system persists, perhaps because of the abundance and power of specialists and administrative staff. As in Soviet times, PHC in urban polyclinics is provided by therapeutists for adults and paediatricians for children working alongside specialists such as general surgeons, gynaecologists, and ENT specialists. The scope of the PHC practitioners work however, is severely constrained by the polyclinic specialists. In the villages progress towards FM has been more successful. FPs work in new-style ambulatories alongside specially-trained PHC nurses and midwives, providing comprehensive primary care to the population. Most FPs work in state-provided centres. Income consists of a basic allowance (scaled according to experience and qualifications), capitation and various bonuses such as hitting targets. Capitation is designed to encourage medium-sized lists typically between 1500–2000. Pay is low, about £200 per month. A British GP …

Community-Based Review of Research Across Diverse Community Contexts: Key Characteristics, Critical Issues, and Future Directions.

A growing number of community-based organizations and community-academic partnerships are implementing processes to determine whether and how health research is conducted in their communities. These community-based research review processes (CRPs) can provide individual and community-level ethics protections, enhance the cultural relevance of study designs and competence of researchers, build community and academic research capacity, and shape research agendas that benefit diverse communities. To better understand how they are organized and function, representatives of 9 CRPs from across the United States convened in 2012 for a working meeting. In this article, we articulated and analyzed the models presented, offered guidance to communities that seek to establish a CRP, and made recommendations for future research, practice, and policy.

Academic workload: the silent barrier to the implementation of technology-enhanced learning strategies in higher education

The effect of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) strategies in higher education has arguably been transformative despite the not-insignificant barriers existing in this context. Throughout the discourse very little attention has been paid to those primarily responsible for this implementation—academic teaching staff. This paper aims to highlight the impact of academic workload allocations, an often silent barrier to the uptake of TEL strategies in higher education. We will discuss the effects of academic identity and culture, preferential time allocation to associative activities, academic technological capacity, university policies and workload and funding models on the uptake, and implementation on TEL in higher education. Our aim is to highlight the risks to staff, students and institutions should these concerns not be addressed and to propose a model for utilisation by all staff responsible for implementing flexible workload models supportive of further implementation of TEL strategies across the sector.

The impact of a faculty development programme for health professions educators in sub-Saharan Africa: an archival study.

BackgroundIn 2008 the sub-Saharan FAIMER Regional Institute launched a faculty development programme aimed at enhancing the academic and research capacity of health professions educators working in sub-Saharan Africa. This two-year programme, a combination of residential and distance learning activities, focuses on developing the leadership, project management and programme evaluation skills of participants as well as teaching the key principles of health professions education-curriculum design, teaching and learning and assessment. Participants also gain first-hand research experience by designing and conducting an education innovation project in their home institutions. This study was conducted to determine the perceptions of participants regarding the personal and professional impact of the SAFRI programme.MethodsA retrospective document review, which included data about fellows who completed the programme between 2008 and 2011, was performed. Data included fellows’ descriptions of their expectations, reflections on achievements and information shared on an online discussion forum. Data were analysed using Kirkpatrick’s evaluation framework.ResultsParticipants (n=61) came from 10 African countries and included a wide range of health professions educators. Five key themes about the impact of the SAFRI programme were identified: (1) belonging to a community of practice, (2) personal development, (3) professional development, (4) capacity development, and (5) tools/strategies for project management and/or advancement.ConclusionThe SAFRI programme has a positive developmental impact on both participants and their respective institutions.

Scrutinizing Strict Scrutiny

Standards of review dominate personal liberties practice, and we must take them seriously if we heed calls to take (constitutional) lawyering seriously. Standards are poorly articulated and undertheorized. They must be properly fashioned by exploring and reconciling the logic and purpose of each of their components. We do this with strict scrutiny both to energize an important standard of review and model a proper approach. Our analysis is primarily within the context of higher education affirmative action cases because they typify the ambiguity of strict scrutiny; one such case – Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin -- could return to the Court next term.We derive a preferred articulation of strict scrutiny with six achievable but rights-protective requirements. Strict scrutiny is especially energized by separating its “ends question” about compellingness from its “means question” about interest advancement. Then state interests are compelling only if of a special nature, analogous to requiring fundamental rights to have special attributes irrespective of any intrusion.The preferred version of strict scrutiny is applied to Fisher, which involves a university program that considers race as one diversity factor combined with a top ten percent law. Our contrarian conclusion is that the law is unconstitutional, but that the Court should save the university program by severing it from the law. It is contrarian because most authorities - whether invoking an anti-subjugation, anti-classification, or antibalkanization perspective -- accept supposedly racially neutral top ten percent laws. We invoke a nuanced conception of antibalkanization applicable in Fisher’s unique circumstances. Our conclusion is also based on a rich conception of academic freedom with two complementary aspects that place it at the foundation of freedom of speech. These aspects combine to protect universities from external impositions such as the Texas law, allowing them to accommodate diversity and demonstrated academic capacity.

Ivor Jennings's Constitutional Legacy beyond the Occidental‐Oriental Divide

Sir W. Ivor Jennings (1903–1965) was one of Britain's most prominent constitutional law scholars of the twentieth century. He is mostly famed for his work in the 1930s on English Public Law. In 1941, Jennings, however, moved to Sri Lanka, progressively becoming involved in both an academic and professional capacity with constitutional processes across the decolonizing world in the early stages of the Cold War. This article provides an alternative account of Jennings's constitutional legacy to those of existing scholars by combining orthodox accounts of the ‘Occidental Jennings’ with an analysis of the neglected ‘Oriental’ experiences of this influential intellectual. It examines the ambiguous relationship between constitutionalism and democracy in Jennings's constitutional work overseas, and the impact of his postcolonial work on his views on constitutionalism.

Crossing International Boundaries through Doctoral Partnerships: Learnings from a Chinese-Australian Forum

International forums for doctoral students offer a fertile context for developing strategic partnerships between higher education institutions, as well as for building the intercultural capacity of early career academics. However, there is limited research investigating the benefits of international doctoral forum partnerships. This paper presents learnings from a recent international doctoral forum held in Beijing, China and attended by doctoral students and academics from Beijing Normal University (China) and Queensland University of Technology (Australia). Drawing on qualitative case study method and a model of boundary crossing mechanisms, we identify the beneficial outcomes of the forum. We describe how the forum arose from a strong ongoing partnership between the Education Faculties of Beijing Normal University and Queensland University of Technology. We then identify how, at the institutional and individual level, international doctoral forum participants can be challenged and benefit in four areas: collaboration, intercultural capacity, academic enhancement and program development. Implications for engaging successfully in international doctoral forum partnerships are also discussed.

Decolonising Pacific research, building Pacific research communities and developing Pacific research tools: The case of the talanoa and the faafaletui in Samoa

AbstractIn building Samoan academic researcher capacity in Samoa, we argue that there is a need to first establish the kind of researcher community advocated by Linda Tuhiwai Smith, and to do so through developing research tools, such as the talanoa and faafaletui, in partnership with researcher capacity‐building initiatives such as the applied postgraduate social and health research methods course (coded PUBX731‐HSA505) run by the Centre for International Health, University of Otago, in partnership with the National University of Samoa. This paper offers a commentary on the talanoa and faafaletui as Pacific research methodologies, and asks what its value might be for researchers in Samoa. It reflects on the learning experiences of staff and students of the applied social and health research methods course in relation to the talanoa and faafaletui as Pacific research methodologies or methods. It concludes that developing Pacific research and researcher capacity in Pacific Island countries, such as Samoa, must include opening up spaces within these communities to critically engage what is Pacific or Samoan or indigenous about these research tools, methods or methodologies, and how they might differ in form or substance from other methods or methodologies.

Overcoming the challenges of conducting physical activity and built environment research in Latin America: IPEN Latin America

ObjectiveThere is evidence linking the built environment (BE) with physical activity (PA), but few studies have been conducted in Latin America (LA). State-of-the-art methods and protocols have been designed in and applied in high-income countries (HIC). In this paper, we identify key challenges and potential solutions to conducting high-quality PA and BE research in LA. MethodsThe experience of implementing the IPEN data collection protocol (IPEN: International Physical Activity Environment Network) in Curitiba, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia; and Cuernavaca, Mexico (2010–2011); is described to identify challenges for conducting PA and BE research in LA. ResultsFive challenges were identified: lack of academic capacity (implemented solutions (IS): building a strong international collaborative network); limited data availability, access and quality (IS: partnering with influential local institutions, and crafting creative solutions to use the best-available data); socio-political, socio-cultural and socio-economic context (IS: in-person recruitment and data collection, alternative incentives); safety (IS: strict rules for data collection procedures, and specific measures to increase trust); and appropriateness of instruments and measures (IS: survey adaptation, use of standardized additional survey components, and employing a context-based approach to understanding the relationship between PA and the BE). Advantages of conducting PA and BE research in LA were also identified. ConclusionsConducting high-quality PA and BE research in LA is challenging but feasible. Networks of institutions and researchers from both HIC and LMIC play a key role. The lessons learned from the IPEN LA study may be applicable to other LMIC.

Too little and too much trust: performance measurement in Australian higher education

A striking feature of contemporary Australian higher education governance is the strong emphasis on centralized, template style, metric-based, and consequential forms of performance measurement. Such emphasis is indicative of a low degree of political trust among the central authorities in Australia in the intrinsic capacity of universities and academics to do their work efficiently and effectively. At the same time, it is indicative of a deep-seated political trust in highly centralized and top–down forms of performance measurement, and their capacity to effectively control and coordinate the work of universities and academics. In this article, we argue with regard to performance measurement that these patterns of trust and mistrust embody contradictory assumptions regarding the agency and motivations of universities and academics and prevent adequately coming to terms with the unintended effects that the current performance measurement regime has on universities and the academics working in them.

Parental perception of the importance of friendship and other outcome priorities in children with autism spectrum disorder

Parental perceptions of the importance of friendship development in comparison to other outcome priorities are examined in this research. Parents of children with high functioning autism between the age of 5–10 years (N = 74) were asked to rate and rank the importance of the following six outcome priorities: friendship, social skills, physical and motor development, intellectual and academic skills, creativity, and emotional capacity. It was predicted that friendship would be highly prioritised by parents, considering the friendship difficulties often experienced by children with autism. Parents reported friendship to be third most highly rated outcome following social skills and emotional skills, although all three were closely rated. When parents were asked to force-rank priorities, friendship was ranked considerably lower than social and emotional development. Level of autistic symptomatology of the child did not seem to influence parent rating or ranking of friendship importance to any great extent. The implications of these findings for future educational service delivery are discussed.

A strategy for developing future academic leaders for South Africa in a resource-constrained environment.

A key challenge in addressing the shortage of health care workers in resource-constrained environments is ensuring that there is optimal academic capacity for their training. South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal has placed academic and research capacity building at the heart of its program with the Medical Education Partnership Initiative in a program called ENhancing Training and REsearch capacity and Expertise (ENTREE). The program aims to increase the quantity, quality, and retention of health care graduates. It is premised on the basis that research capacity development will lead to an increase in teachers who will be essential to improving the quality and quantity of health care workers needed to meet South Africa's health challenges. This is being achieved through four components of the program: (1) infusion of the undergraduate program with research modules; (2) attraction of academically talented students in the middle of their undergraduate program into a parallel track that has research capacity as its major thrust; (3) attraction of qualified health care personnel into a supported PhD program; and (4) providing strong research ethics training and mentorship. A significant proportion of the program is being executed in rural training sites, to increase the probability that trainees will return to the sites as mentors.

The Environment for Development Initiative: lessons learned in research, academic capacity building and policy intervention to manage resources for sustainable growth

AbstractThis article reviews the history of the Environment for Development (EfD) initiative, its activities in capacity building and policy-oriented research, and case studies at its centres in Chile, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania. EfD promotes research-based policies to manage natural resources as engines of development. Since 1991, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has provided funding for students from developing countries to earn a PhD at the Environmental Economics Unit (EEU) of the University of Gothenburg. Returning home, these economists face institutional and academic gaps that limit the adoption of research-based policies. In response, the first EfD centre was founded in 2004, and six more followed. Research focuses on agriculture, climate, fisheries, parks, wildlife, forestry, energy and policy design. This has yielded 200 peer-reviewed articles. Successful policy outcomes depend on relationships with policy makers, community involvement in livelihood strategies, strengthened institutional support, interdisciplinary approaches, and dissemination of research results.

Partnership, Knowledge Translation, and Substance Abuse Prevention With a First Nations Community

Partnership, Knowledge Translation, and Substance Abuse Prevention With a First Nations Community Lola Baydala, Fay Fletcher, Stephanie Worrell, Tania Kajner, Sherry Letendre, Liz Letendre, and Carmen Rasmussen What Is the Purpose of This Study? • To understand the benefits of culturally adapting and implementing a 3-year, school-based, drug and alcohol prevention program for First Nation children and youth. What Is the Problem? • Substance abuse is a significant area of concern within Aboriginal communities across Canada. However, effective school-based substance abuse prevention programs are not typically available to the majority of First Nations schools. • Prevention programs that are available often fail to integrate the cultural beliefs and values of individuals outside of the dominant culture. • More research is required on the benefits of culturally appropriate drug and alcohol prevention programs that incorporate the beliefs, values, language, and visual images of the community. What Are the Findings? • Qualitative measures revealed a positive effect of the culturally adapted program on youth. • Elders and community members observed positive changes in student’s cultural knowledge and cited observed behavioral changes as evidence of the adapted program’s success. • The culturally adapted program is seen as surpassing the original in terms of embodying the values of the community. • Positive community developments occurred as a result of the program adaptation process, which followed a community-based participatory research approach. • Results of the quantitative measures were mixed, in part as a result of inconsistent and unpredictable student school attendance. Who Should Care Most? • Educators, school officials, and health care providers working in First Nations communities. • Policymakers in the areas of health and education. • Community members and leaders. • Substance abuse, public health, and youth program providers. [End Page 139] Recommendations for Action • Highly effective, evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs for school-aged children can be successfully adapted to incorporate the cultural beliefs, values, language, and visual images of the community where the program is delivered. • Community Elders are the keepers of the Nation’s oral traditions and knowledge and their input and guidance is an important and necessary part of program adaptation, implementation, and evaluation. • Culture, language, history, and spirituality are the foundations of Aboriginal identity and are essential components of program adaptation. • Cultural adaptations should go beyond surface level cultural markers to include Aboriginal worldviews and ways of knowing, as well as recognition of historical impacts on health and education. • A community-based participatory research approach is a catalyst for community development and an important component of program sustainability. • Attention to both community capacity building and academic capacity building is important to ensure a successful project. [End Page 140] Lola Baydala University of Alberta Fay Fletcher University of Alberta Stephanie Worrell University of Alberta Tania Kajner University of Alberta Sherry Letendre University of Alberta Liz Letendre Alexis Heritage Program, Alexis Nakota Institute Carmen Rasmussen University of Alberta Copyright © 2014 The Johns Hopkins University Press