Consequences Of Participation Research Articles

Wobec cywilizacji hipotetycznej. Spaemann, (po)nowoczesność, postsekularyzm

Robert Spaemann is one of the leading contemporary philosophers whose thought is focused on Christian ethics. Despite his bonds with the Catholic Church he does not use philosophy to “prove” a doctrine but proposes individual ideas avoiding reductions. His reflections on people’s naturalness and historicity, teleology, paradoxicality of science do not lead to simple solutions but are the consequence of participation in the society of contingency. The authoress of this sketch considers if Spaemann’s thought could be inspiring for non-Catholics, as well as ponders over its connections with postsecularism, working out the modernity in respect of religiosity. This article shows what appears from his interpretations to the critical members of (post)modern society and where today is a place for heading for “the immortal rumor”. The authoress explains how Spaemann argues for the potential of anthropomorphic view and human ability to go beyond himself – which does not lead into nothingness.

Dissociating conscious expectancies from automatic-link formation in an electrodermal conditioning paradigm.

The key point of a paradigm initially proposed by Perruchet (Pavlov J Biol Sci 20:163-170, 1985) to dissociate conscious expectancies from automatic-link formation in classical conditioning settings is the use of a partial reinforcement schedule, in which the unconditioned stimulus (US) follows the conditioned stimulus (CS) only half of the time on average. Given (pseudo) randomization, the whole sequence comprises runs of CS alone and runs of CS-US pairs of various lengths. When the preceding run goes from a long sequence of CS alone to a long sequence of CS-US pairs (via shorter sequences), associative strength should grow up, whereas conscious expectancy should decrease. Earlier studies have shown that, in most cases, conditioned performance parallels associative strength. As an exception, however, a few reports suggest that conditioned electrodermal responses (EDRs) would follow predicted changes in US expectancies. This paper presents an experiment that replicates this outcome. However, when the performances from a control group were taken as a baseline to control for response habituation, corrected conditioned EDRs were shown to follow associative strength. This suggests that the atypical pattern of conditioned EDRs in the Perruchet paradigm would be due to the fact that EDRs are more sensitive to habituation than responses involved in other associative learning settings. These results further challenge the recent "propositional" view of conditioning, which stipulates that conditioned responses in humans are the consequence of participants' conscious inferences about the relationships between the CS and the US, which would lead the CS to generate conscious expectancy for the US.

Disruptive design in pre-service teacher education: uptake, participation, and resistance

This paper begins the exploration of disruption as an analytical construct that allows for the investigation of how individual learning and changes in local practice mutually influence the other within a purposefully designed learning context. We seek to describe the types of learning experiences that emerged using disruptive pedagogies and tools within a series of methods courses in an undergraduate elementary teacher education program. The intent of the designed context was to disrupt the traditional practices of teacher education courses by creating a participatory environment where students participated in the creation of course content through their engagement with social media and each other. We define disruption as an innovation that requires students to challenge or change their epistemologies and participation in their learning. This paper addresses a designed disruption that was created in the context of an elementary methods course. The results demonstrated diverse consequences for participants, their activity, and our understanding of their learning. These findings provide a starting point for examining the implications of disruptive practices within pre-service teacher education programs.

Law student attitudes towards pro bono and voluntary work: The experience at Northumbria University

<p>This study considers whether participation in pro bono legal work during a programme of academic study at Northumbria University increases the likelihood of future participation in pro bono activity amongst law students.</p><p>This was a quantitative study in which an online survey, measuring altruistic attitudes, was sent to students enrolled on the M Law Exempting degree programme at Northumbria University. The author analysed the data by comparing the attitudes of those students who had engaged in pro bono activity during the fourth year of the programme against those students who had yet to engage in pro bono activity, being those students in Years 1, 2 and 3 of the programme.</p><p>The data suggests that whilst the students value engagement in pro bono activity, this is principally due to the personal benefits which they gain. In particular, respondents reported improvement in legal skills and enhanced employability as a consequence of participation in pro bono work. The data indicates that there is an increased awareness of social and economic issues whilst engaged in pro bono work but this does not translate into a desire to continue pro bono work after graduation.</p>It was therefore concluded that participation in pro bono work during the course of academic study does not increase the likelihood of future participation in pro bono activity following graduation.

Dissociating conscious expectancies from automatic link formation in associative learning: A review on the so-called Perruchet effect.

A long-running debate in the literature on conditioning in humans focuses on the question of whether conditioned responses are the product of automatic link formation processes governed by the standard laws of simple associative learning, or the consequence of participants' inferences about the relationships between the 2 related events, E1 and E2, which would lead E1 to generate a conscious expectancy of E2. A paradigm aimed at dissociating the predictions of the 2 accounts was proposed by Perruchet (1985). In this paradigm, E2 randomly follows E1 only half of the time on average, a probability that is known to participants. When the preceding run goes from a long sequence of E1 alone to a long sequence of E1-E2 pairs, associative strength should increase, whereas conscious expectancy for E2 should decrease in keeping with the gambler's fallacy. This article reviews the studies making use of the paradigm in the classical conditioning domain, and the extension of the same logic to a few other experimental situations. Overall, overt behavior has been found to change in line with associative strength, and in opposition to conscious expectancy, attesting to an empirical dissociation of automatic and control processes within a single preparation. The paradigm, however, is endowed with a number of tricky methodological issues, which are examined each in turn. Although some of these issues call for further research, a tentative conclusion is that the effect provides evidence for automatic link formation processes, the existence of which has been recently denied in the "propositional" account of learning.

Effects on communication from intensive treatment with semantic feature analysis in aphasia

Background: Anomia, a persistent and frequent symptom of aphasia after stroke, obstructs the transfer of information in conversation, which can have serious consequences for participation in everyday social interaction with significant others and in society.Aims: This study aimed to replicate the findings of Coelho and his colleagues, as well as Boyle, and Wambaugh and Ferguson regarding the use of semantic feature analysis (SFA) for individuals with aphasia after stroke. Its main purpose was to explore whether intervention could (1) increase the ability to participate in conversation and (2) lead to positive changes in functional communication as perceived by the participants themselves and their significant others.Methods & Procedures: In this multiple-baseline across-subjects-design study, three participants with chronic aphasia were treated with intensive training using SFA. Treatment outcome was assessed with repeated measures of confrontation naming of actions and objects and with quantitative ratings of the quality of speech as well as communicative participation in conversation. The ratings were made by independent assessors blinded as to what phase of the study the data were obtained from. In addition, a questionnaire measuring perceived functional communication as reported by the participants and their significant others was administered before and after the training as well as at a follow-up session 10–12 weeks after the training was completed.Outcome & Results: Only minor treatment outcomes were apparent in this study. Visual inspection of the results showed a slight increase in the ability to participate in conversation for two of the three participants as well as a fall in the number of complex paraphasias for one of them and an increase in self-corrections for two. There was no improvement in the participants’ confrontation-naming ability. Two of the three participants rated their own functional communication skills higher at follow-up than before training while the third participant reported no change. As regards the ratings by significant others at follow-up versus before training, there was one slight decrease, one slight increase, and one considerable increase.Conclusions: Treatment with SFA might improve communicative skills and increase participation in everyday conversation despite not having a measurable effect on confrontation-naming ability in a formal assessment situation. Further research is needed to identify the individuals with aphasia who can benefit from treatment with SFA and to determine the nature of its impact on communicative participation.

Social Reform Organizations and Subsequent Careers of Participants: A Follow-Up Study of Early Participants in the OEO Legal Services Program

This paper considers the extent to which participation as a salaried professional in a reform oriented organization affects the participant's subsequent career. This issue is studied in the context of one such organization, the OEO sponsored Legal Services Program, which was probably the largest and best known organization oriented to the redistribution of professional services in the late 1960s. Because of the paucity of literature on the consequences of participation in reform organizations, a related literature, that of the consequences of participation in the student movement of the sixties, is drawn upon for insight, yet also critically examined. Comparison of the subsequent careers of 228 lawyers in Legal.Services in 1967 to those of 981 other lawyers who were practicing law in 1967 indicates that participation in the program has an important effect on both the distribution of professional services and the rendering of reform oriented pro bono (free or reduced fee) work. In contrast to previous studies, the explanation offered here differentiates between various components of socialization. In addition, the importance of job market factors is stressed. A further difference from previous work is the consideration, albeit brief, of the effects of variation in experience of the organization.

Common Economic Space between EU and Russia?

The possibilities and prospects of building a Common Economic Space (CES) between Russia and the EU in accordance to the "Road map", signed by the parties in 2005, are analyzed in this article. It outlines the economic essence of the different measures being undertaken within the EU and the benefits for countries and companies with high level of competitiveness on the EU markets, being gained from participation in the EU integration processes. The main elements of the European Economic Area (EEA), which has been created by the agreement between EU and EFTA in 1993, are examined as well as the rights and obligations of the parties involved. The author considers the peculiarities and consequences of participation of Central and Eastern European countries in the EU that prompted the European Union to initiate the "neighborhood policy" and Eastern partnership project for the Eastern Europe countries, which are not members of the EU. The author analyses the main purposes of the "neighbourhood policy", as they are outlined by the EU Directorate General for external affairs, as well as the possible consequences of their implementation for the states, included by the EU in its "circle of friends". On this background the possibilities and perspectives for the creation ofaCES between the EU and Russia with particular regard to the peculiarities of integration processes within the post-Soviet space are considered. The author concludes that the creation of a CES between the EU and Russia is hardly feasible on the grounds, envisaged by the EU.

Facilitating innovation in networks composed of non-mandated relations

IntroductionThe concept of networking has gained significant attention from those involved in the comprehension of innovation processes. The ability of inter- firm networks to innovate may be considered an outcome of the energy actors intentionally inject into the process (Thorsrud, 1972). It is well-established knowledge that organisational development can be regarded as political processes in which actors' ability and willingness to exercise power plays a significant role (Clegg, 2002; Coopy, 1995; Coopey & Burgoyne, 2000; Elg & Johansson, 1997; Lukes, 2005). In the same way as the most powerful actor influences the outcomes of organisational development, innovation in networks can be understood as a consequence of interaction among mutual and conflicting interests (Elg & Johansson, 1997; Fox, 2000; Hâkansson & Johanson, 1988). Bringing in a perspective on political dynamics in inter-firm networks allows one to critique of the contemporary literature on networks, for such literature has a tendency to overlook how interdependencies become organised and established, due to willingness and ability of individuals to influence the process (e.g. Elg & Johansson, 1997; Foucault, 1980; Fox, 2000; Swan & Scarbrough, 2005; Vince, 2001). The question of how to utilise the participant's interests to speed up the process of innovation in inter-networks is fundamental to developing industrial clusters and firms' that prevail in the era of hyper-competition (Grabher, 1993).Power has traditionally been perceived in structural terms, i.e., as the constant influence party A holds over party B. If we, on the other hand, learn from the Machiavellian approach, power may be regarded as something that is distributed and exists as a consequence of actors' changing abilities and motivations to mobilise others for shared ends. Leaning from this perspective, power is not a constant force, but rather something that circulates due to the fact that different individuals' possess different intentions and abilities to explicate the interests of others who may not strive towards the same goals. Ideas stemming from Actor Network Theory have made substantial contributions to our understanding of how innovation processes in networks of nonmandated exchange relations materialise, due to the ability of strategic actors to set agendas and provide the underlying energy and reasoning required to obtain particular achievements (Callon, 1986). This perspective adheres well to the notion that power operates discursively, and that social transformation can be regarded as a consequence of the way in which words are used and arguments conveyed (Foucault, 1980). The study of how power operates discursively may be an appropriate approach for explaining the process that transforms networking into innovative, interdependent, and complementary roles. Although the structural characteristics of innovative networks have been thoroughly scrutinised, there is a relative lack of understanding of the methods and practices that transform non-mandated exchange relations into innovative and sustainable business networks.This paper, which builds on a seven years endeavour into facilitating an inter-firm network, argues that to speed up innovation processes among actors neither linked by value chain nor other task dependencies, requires facilitation that makes dialogical inquiries a part of the participant's everyday conversations. Building on Wittgenstein (1953 [1997]), language simulates reality and our ability to present meaningful pictures of this reality depends on how words are used in accordance with the rules embedded in a particular language game. Wittgenstein never provided any definition of languagegames. What he does, however, is emphasise the relational aspects of language-games and the situational dependence of language. Accordingly, meaning is difficult to develop solely by conceptualising a particular phenomenon, but develops on the background of a specific context where the vocabulary is taken into use (Wittgenstein, 1953 [1997]). …

Teaching Equality? “John Schools,” Gender, and Institutional Reform

Employing feminist institutionalism as an analytic framework, this article considers the First Offender Prostitution Program in San Francisco. The program allows men arrested for their first prostitution offense to pay a fine and to attend a day of classes about the consequences of participation in prostitution, in lieu of prosecution. Other jurisdictions in the United States and internationally have replicated First Offender, and supporters (particularly feminists) praise it for promoting gender equality. However, the findings in this article suggest that First Offender both replicates and contests competing and often contradictory gender ideologies and patterns of power. Specifically, the program’s enrollment practices and most of its content imply that men who purchase sexual services are rational sexual agents, while women who sell these services are (mainly) victims. Presentations by former sex workers complicate the program’s lessons about gender by demonstrating women’s capacity to exercise agency in sex work. The program thus illustrates the contested and contradictory ideological dynamics of gender-sensitive institutional reforms.

America's Child Soldiers: Toward a Research Agenda for Studying Gang-Involved Youth in the United States

This article examines ways in which international research on child soldiers might serve to inform research on gang-involved youth in the United States. In particular, we discuss the importance of understanding trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress reactions as both risks for and consequences of participation in both forms of armed groups. In addition, we point to the value of expanding our view of trauma to include dimensions that have yielded important insights in the study of child soldiers, including developmental trauma disorder, perpetration-induced trauma, and the unique sequelae of sexual victimization for girls. The roles of ethnic pride and ideology, moral agency, and the processes that promote desistance and reintegration of former child soldiers and gang members are discussed. Finally, we suggest that future research on children in armed groups should give consideration not only to psychological constructs like resilience and post-traumatic growth, but to social forces that can promote prosocial behavior.

AB1457-HPR “I feel sad when they don’t understand that it hurts so much.”

BackgroundDespite early interventions, pain intensity is still moderate to high in the majority in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), leading to activity limitations and participation restrictions. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability...

AB1363 Consequences of inflammatory arthritis for productivity loss at work and sick leave: A systematic review

BackgroundFrom onset of IA onwards, the consequences for participation are substantial for the individual patient. Reduced work participation frequently occurs early in the course of the disease.Research in the field...

Higher Education Engagement in Leadership Development

This paper explores the lived experience of leadership learning and development in a single case study of an entrepreneur participating in a major leadership development programme for owner–managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on autobiographical research, it provides a rich contextual account of the nature and underlying influences of leadership learning throughout the life-course and as a consequence of participation in the programme. Whilst the paper should interest scholars, policy makers and those concerned with programme development, it may also resonate with entrepreneurs and help them make sense of their experience of leadership development.

H. George Frederickson and the Dialogue on Citizenship in Public Administration

We owe a debt to H. George Frederickson for advancing the scholarly and practitioner dialogue on the role of citizens and the value of citizenship in public administration. Frederickson's contributions began in the late 1960s and early 1970s on citizenship in urban governance, advanced through the development of New Public Administration values, and, more recently, extended through the formulation of ideas regarding the restoration of civism and the promotion of the public as citizen. This article describes the general philosophy of Frederickson's writings and suggests three challenges to this philosophy: (1) the harmful consequences of participation, (2) uncertain constitutional foundations, and (3) equally legitimate conceptions of the public beyond that of the citizen. The authors ask where the scholarly field should go next and suggest fruitful areas for continued theoretical and empirical research categorized by the notions of civis (citizen), civitas (citizenship), and civilitas (the art of government).

Can an athlete have too much ticker? Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in young athletes

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an uncommon but devastating potential consequence of participation in competitive sport. It is seen in adolescent and young adult athletes. The most common cause of this, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is a genetic disorder responsible for more than a third of cases and is manageable. Screening is undertaken for HCM, using differing strategies in Europe and North America. Screening and early diagnosis have reduced the mortality rate but has come at a significant economic cost. The evidence and relevant arguments for and against screening are presented together with management strategies as reflected by an illustrative case.

Fraudulent Role of nFTK(2007) in Pension Funds Evaluation

This paper shows that the new financial regulation introduced in 2007 in the Netherlands, the so-called nieuw Financieel Toetsings Kader (nFTK), has several basic flaws. The nFTK evaluation cannot be trusted. The results are misleading and must not be used for policy decisions. 'Funding problems' of pension funds are exaggerated, and mainly caused by the methodology itself – the nFTK 'funding ratios' may fall even at rising asset values and constant nominal liabilities. The solvency is systemically understated at economic downturns. An artificially imposed dependence of liabilities on interest rates results in false swings of funding ratios and baseless uncertainties around pension funds. Not tradable pension liabilities cannot be priced by riskless rates by definition: unknown liquidity and model risks make ‘risk-free evaluations’ inappropriate. We show the market liability defined by nFTK rules cannot be funded by definition and funding ratios will be insufficient by default, unless contributors pay premiums for pension funds taking risks, instead of being rewarded. We prove the nFTK market liability and funding ratios are irrelevant for the solvency if actuarial discount rates are used to calculate contributions. Hence the nFTK cannot test the solvency. The ability of pension funds to meet obligations depends only on current asset value and its growth. We argue the solvency control must be based on actual performance of pension funds. It is crucial that the discount rate determining the level of contributions do not exceed the actual rate of asset returns. A proxy to liability discount rates is an average rate of pension fund returns on the duration of liabilities. Inconsistent rules and improper risk-free pricing of liabilities lead to devastating consequences for participants of definite benefit pension funds. We show that the solvency of pension funds was underestimated in 2011 by at least 15%.

Enhancing facilitation skills through a practice development Masterclass: the other side of the rainbow

Objective: Professional impact and practice based outcomes of an inaugural Practice Development Facilitation Masterclass, for facilitators of Practice Development activity in Victoria, Australia, is presented. The Masterclass educational program format is designed to incorporate experiential learning strategies with individual transformation as an explicit goal. The program structure is underpinned by critical social science and delivered through a co-operative inquiry approach. Evidence of personal and professional transformation, identified as a consequence of participation in the Masterclass is reviewed, as we aim to share the ‘other side of the rainbow’, as a symbol of participant’s transformation during the Practice Development Facilitation Masterclass experience. Primary argument: Skilled facilitation is a key requirement in modern health care, as practitioners are expected to innovate within a changing and complex workplace environment. Conclusion: Using a Practice Development facilitation Masterclass program format as outlined, provides a structured experiential educational program that could enhance and enable many professional teams to understand and facilitate effective health care practice. Engaging in a co-operative inquiry process provides a supportive yet challenging learning culture for sustaining individual and team’s professional development.

Paying Attention to Moral Purpose in Leading Learning

The Leaders Transforming Learning and Learners (LTLL) project explores the ways in which moral purpose, authentic learning and educative leadership work together in schools to transform the lives of learners, making use of a conceptual framework that embraces these elements. This article takes up the issue of how schools view their moral purpose, what they see as evidence of their endeavours in this area, and how these perceptions change over time. A team from each of the 11 participating schools completed a reflection instrument on commencement, and towards the end of their formal engagement with the project. Two major sections of this instrument tap into aspects of moral purpose: values and ethics. The article summarizes and analyses school perceptions of six of the LTLL schools both before and after the LTLL intervention, and examines changes which took place as a consequence of participation in this important dimension of school life. Broadly speaking, over the course of the program perceptions of the extent to which moral purpose was being realized were more positive, and a wider range of types of evidence was utilized. Within this overall pattern, however, there were some variations in individual schools.

Editorial

Editorial