Constructive Engagement Research Articles

Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training for Enhancing Constructive Engagement of Patients with Schizophrenia: A Review

Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training for Enhancing Constructive Engagement of Patients with Schizophrenia: A Review

Engaging the Transgender Community to Improve Medical Education and Prioritize Healthcare Initiatives

ABSTRACTPhenomenon: Transgender patients experience discrimination, limited access to care, and inadequate provider knowledge in healthcare settings. Medical education to address transgender-specific disparities is lacking. Research that engages transgender community members may help address health disparities by empowering patients, increasing trust, and informing medical curricula to increase competence. Approach: A 2015 Community Forum on Transgender Health Care was hosted at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, which included healthcare professionals and transgender community members to facilitate dialogue among mixed-participant groups using a World Café model. Fifty-nine participants discussed the status of transgender healthcare and made recommendations for local improvements. A follow-up survey was administered to 100 individuals, including forum participants and their referrals. The forum discussion and survey responses were analyzed to determine common perceptions of transgender healthcare, priorities for improvement interventions, and themes to inform curriculum. Findings: The community forum discussion showed that local transgender care is overwhelmingly underdeveloped and unresponsive to the needs of the transgender community. The follow-up survey revealed that priorities to improve transgender care included a multidisciplinary clinic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients, an LGBT-friendly network of physicians, and more training for providers and support staff. This mutually constructive engagement experience influenced reform in undergraduate curricula and continuing education opportunities. Insights: Community engagement in healthcare disparities research can cultivate improbable discussions, yield innovative insight from marginalized populations, and build relationships with community members for future collaborations and interventions. Societal acceptance of transgender identities, which could be promoted through healthcare providers, could stimulate significant progress in transgender healthcare. Supplemental educational interventions for practicing physicians will improve the current conditions of transgender healthcare, but a comprehensive medical school curriculum specifically for transgender health that includes interactions between the transgender community and medical students could be particularly impactful.

IRAN IN SITUATION OF THE SANCTION REGIME TRANSFORMATION

After the after cancellation of the anti-Iranian sanctions by the international community on 15 July 2015 in Iran the new stage of development has begun.. In 2013, for the post of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) was elected Hassan Rouhani. Essence launched under the slogan “economy of resistance” of the new economic policy of the IRI is to make full use of internal reserves of growth to intensive development of the real sector of the economy, national production, focusing on knowledgeintensive sectors and industries for deep processing of hydrocarbons and other natural raw materials export orientation. Thus, the policy of “resistance economy” aimed at creating in Iran independent of foreign supplies industries. To the fore in Iran, leaves a large-scale project activity designed to implement the principle of “constructive engagement”. Implemented and planned in Iran’s strategic projects are meant for the Iranian leadership in the region and the world. As has shown the conducted research, paramount value in modern conditions is gained by factors of continuity and deepening of trust, increase in level of the relations with neighbors that can be provided with means of joint participation in implementation of status Euroasian technological, infrastructureand trade projects. Such interaction may include, for example, joint participation in projects of the Great Silk Road, the formation of a belt of security and of dialogue in greater Eurasia, cooperation in the framework of the SCO, the EEU and other international organizations. Iran certainly has kept commitment to logic of implementation of the Pax Umma Islamica project, originally – in Southwest Asia, under its leadership. All foreign policy activity of IRI in the foreseeable future, including forming of new system of regional stability in the Middle East and the international cooperation will be subordinated to achievement of this purpose, finally. Tehran, as one might expect, will return to the traditional Iranian policy of balancing, this time between China and the United States. Therefore, the possible inclusion of Iran in the alternative projects of the Great Silk Road (South Korea – Northern Europe – South Africa).

References

Verbum et Ecclesia is a theological research journal that challenges traditional discourses within and between the fields of biblical, religious, social and human sciences as well as the constructive engagement with the natural sciences. It is an instrument of engagement between theological disciplines, on the one hand, and theology and other disciplines, on the other.

The impact diverging public opinion on cannabis and tobacco regulation has on constructive engagement between advocates.

Commentary to: The diverging trajectories of cannabis and tobacco policies in the United States: reasons and possible implications

African States Failed Withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: From Withdrawal Notifications to Constructive Engagement

In 2016 three African states, namely South Africa, Burundi and The Gambia submitted written notifications of withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) to the Secretary-General of the United Nations pursuant to Article 127 of the Rome Statute. Although the African Union (au) welcomed and fully supported the three States’ withdrawal notifications and considered them as ‘pioneer implementers’ of the au’s ‘Withdrawal Strategy’, The Gambia and South Africa withdrew their notifications of withdrawal before they became effective. This article examines three issues arising out of the said withdrawal notifications. It begins by examining the reasons as to why the three states submitted withdrawal notifications from the Rome Statute. It then considers the impact of the three states’ withdrawal notifications. It concludes by identifying steps that might be taken to ensure constructive engagement between African States and the icc.

Mobile augmented reality for teaching structural analysis

Structural analysis is an introductory core course that is taught in every civil engineering program as well as in most architectural and construction engineering programs. Previous research unveils students' deficits in understanding the behavior of structural elements in a three-dimensional (3D) context due to the shortcomings of traditional lecturing approaches, which put too much emphasis on the analysis of individual structural members, thereby falling short in providing a solid, easy-to-follow, and holistic approach to analyzing complex structures with a large number of interconnected elements. In this paper, the authors introduce a new pedagogy for teaching structural analysis that incorporates mobile augmented reality (AR) and interactive 3D visualization technology. The goal of this study is to enhance the contents used in structural analysis textbooks and on worksheets by visualizing discrete structural members employing AR along with interactive 3D models in order to illustrate how the structures behave under different loading conditions. Students can interactively change the load and observe the reaction resulting from this change with the instant feedback provided by the AR interface. The feasibility of AR concepts and interaction metaphors, as well as the potential of using AR for teaching structural analysis are investigated, specifically by focusing on challenges regarding content integration and interaction. An AR application is designed and developed, and a pilot study is conducted in a junior level structural analysis class to assess the pedagogical impact and the design concepts employed by the AR tool. Control and test groups are deployed, and students’ performance is measured using pre- and post-tests. The results of the pilot study indicate that the utilized AR design concepts have potential to contribute to students’ learning by providing interactive and 3D visualization features, which support constructive engagement and retention of information in students.

Theology After the Scientific Revolution: The Significance of Nancey Murphy’s Contribution to Philosophy of Religion

ABSTRACTThis paper evaluates Nancey Murphy’s contribution to philosophy of religion paying special attention to epistemology and ethics. I argue that Murphy’s intellectual moves are motivated by a reflective and constructive engagement—around particular loci such as human knowledge, divine action, and the moral nature of the universe—with reductive materialism as a rival tradition of inquiry. At paper’s end, I suggest an amendment in Murphy’s contribution to ethics.

Leisure, engagement, and meaning-making among high-risk youth

The purpose of this article is to explore the role of constructive leisure-like pursuits in meaningful engagement with life among young people at high risk in a variety of challenges in life. This data was based on reflective insights from youth leaders (n = 9) and community agency partners (n = 8) who have been involved in the authors’ collaborative youth engagement research project for the past few years. Their insights show that constructive leisure-like activities in the research project helped promote the youths’ meaningful engagement with life. Specifically, such constructive meaningful engagement was facilitated by providing opportunities for gaining a sense of: (a) a joyful life, (b) a composed life, (c) a connected life, (d) a discovered life, and (e) an empowered life. The findings support the use of a youth-centered approach to promoting this meaning-making process especially through the strategic use of youth leadership to inspire and support high-risk youth.

Responding to ACEs With HOPE: Health Outcomes From Positive Experiences

This article introduces a framework called “HOPE: Health Outcomes From Positive Experiences.” The HOPE framework focuses on the need to actively promote positive childhood experiences that contribute to healthy development and well-being, as well as prevent or mitigate the effect of adverse childhood experiences and other negative environmental influences. Key positive childhood experiences fall within 4 broad categories: being in nurturing, supportive relationships; living, developing, playing, and learning in safe, stable, protective, and equitable environments; having opportunities for constructive social engagement and connectedness; and learning social and emotional competencies. The HOPE framework grows out of and complements prior holistic approaches to child health care.

From contradiction to contrast in a countryside conflict: Using Q Methodology to reveal a diplomatic space for doing TB differently

Environmental conflicts are often framed by an assumption that there are clear divisions between interested parties. As a result, there is a tendency to polarise debates, simplify arguments and miss opportunities for constructive engagement. While these conflicts are rarely amenable to resolution through direct dialogue, diplomacy may offer a means to generate possible political settlements. In this paper, we seek to identify the scope for such diplomacy in the seemingly entrenched conflict that surrounds the case of bovine tuberculosis and badger culling in England. First, we use Q methodological techniques to map prevailing views among concerned publics about this highly contentious and apparently intractable issue. Second, we combine this method with diplomatic theory in order to identify areas in which diplomatic modes of engagement may be constructive. Our results show that there are predictable conflictual elements within two positions organised around opposition to, and support for, the culling of badgers. These positions, which we label ‘ethical empiricist’ and ‘nostalgic autonomist’, respectively, are not always straightforwardly oppositional. Their points of contact, as well as intersections with a third, alternative, subject position, which we label ‘liberal pragmatist’, suggest starting-points for diplomacy.

Learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: Supporting students with learning disabilities.

This paper illuminates the challenges that students with learning disabilities (LDs) confront in science education, with a particular focus on cognitive processing issues that may inhibit their learning during their engagement with inquiry and problem-based learning tasks in science and other related fields, including technology, engineering, and mathematics. This study converges at the intersections of special, inclusive, and science education to identify, understand, and address the underlying reasons that impact the cognitions and academic achievement of students with a LD. A better understanding of the cognitive challenges faced by these students will inform the efforts to enact effective learning environments for students with LDs and provide potential new avenues for looking at LDs within this context.To understand the current landscape of science education, in the first section Contemporary Approaches to Science Education, we offer an overview of the epistemological principles and pedagogical practices guiding the inquiry-based approaches to science teaching and learning. In the second and third sections, we provide an overarching definition of a learning disability (What Is a Learning Disability?) and discuss Definitions and Identification of LDs while highlighting continuing controversies surrounding its definition and identification. In the fourth section, Barriers to Inclusion of Students with LDs in Science, we point out the challenges that science teachers face while teaching students with LDs in inclusive settings. In the fifth section, Cognitive Processing Issues and STEM Learning, we discuss how specific cognitive processing issues may affect the achievement of students with LD in science. Finally, in the sixth section, Insights and Recommendations, we present effective interventions to address cognitive processing issues and to promote the achievement of students with a LD in science, and, subsequently, offer insights and recommendations based on our entire analysis herein for promoting the inclusion of students with a LD in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Drawing on the insights from research on cognitive processing deficits in relation to problem-based learning approaches to science education, this work offers a new framework to science educators to understand and address the unique needs of students with LDs in STEM learning.Contemporary Approaches to STEM EducationAs science becomes increasingly intertwined with modern life, understanding the myriad of mechanisms by which we can engage with science becomes of paramount importance. Contemporary developments in science and technology have been significantly shaping our lives personally, socially, politically, and professionally. Thus, examining the role of science education in the 21st century is critically important in the wake of these developments (Carnevale, Smith, & Melton, 2011). Three salient themes emerge from the science education reform literature and policy documents: developing a scientifically literate citizenry (DeBoer, 2000), preparing students to pursue STEM disciplines at the college/university level, and developing a highly educated and trained workforce to take on various careers in STEM fields (Dobson & Burke, 2013).Scientific literacy focuses on understanding the impact of science on our personal, social, and political spheres; thus, it allows us to critically examine the impact of science and technology on our lives and our natural environment, to recognize issues involving science, to identify the problems posed by scientific and industrial activities, and to engage in debates on scientific issues (National Research Council, 2012). In other words, scientific literacy promotes informed, responsible, and constructive civic engagement around socioscientific issues, such as climate change, energy resources, conserving ecological balance, and environmental protection regulations (Brigham, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2011; Bybee, Fensham, & Laurie, 2009; Council of Ministers of Education Canada, 2016; Kolsto, 2001; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2009). …

Conceptual underpinnings for transformative research in a service ecosystems context to resolve social issues – framework foundations and extensions

ABSTRACTA number of services within society are designed to improve the well-being of its members and transform lives. Some services focus on the protection and support of vulnerable members of society, for example, those suffering the effects of drug use, mental health conditions, violence or poverty. Clients of such social services may also come from minority or marginalised cultural backgrounds. Typically, social services aim to reduce disparities and enhance individual and population well-being. A major challenge for social policy-makers and social service providers is to establish and maintain constructive engagement between the social services and those they are intended to serve. Some of these vulnerable clients are deemed ‘hard-to-reach’ (HTR) by policy-makers and service providers. Yet, the transformation of lives requires the involvement of the focal actor (client) and their service or activity system, as well as the engagement of other actors, such as the social worker embedded in their service or activity system. This paper aims to further unpack a novel approach, called integrative transformative service framework. This contribution extends its conceptualisation which fuses mainly three different approaches, namely Transformative Service Research (TSR), (Cultural-Historical) Activity Theory (CHAT) and (Regulatory) Engagement Theory (RET).

Constructive Controversy and Creative Process Engagement

This research explores how and when constructive controversy enhances creativity process engagement by probing into the mediating roles of positive conflict value and cognitive flexibility and the ...

A Historical Perspective on China's Approaches to International Criminal Law: Past, Present and Future

China’s approach to international criminal law is a representative example of non-Western people’s perspectives towards the Western-dominated international law. This paper provides a historical perspective for analyzing China’s approaches to international criminal law in the aspects of historical origins, contemporary dynamics and further implications. China has been interacting with the Western-dominated international law in a reluctant, instrumental and pragmatic way since the Opium War, as well as historically critical and culturally conservative; the final goal of China’s interaction with the Western-dominated international law has always been to achieve national rejuvenation. Specific to China and international criminal law, China’s general approach of critical thinking, constructive engagement and realistic utilitarianism manifests its critical and pragmatic attitudes towards the Western-dominated international law, which have their historical origins in China’s “century of humiliation”. Contemporary dynamics of China’s approaches illustrate the “clash of ignorance” and structural biases of Eurocentrism in the Western-dominated international criminal law. Under the context of the rise of China, China’s approaches provide valuable implications on the future evolution of the current Western-dominated international law.

On the Fictionality of Literature: An Evolutionary and Neuroscientific Legitimation

문학은 허구이다. 문학은 자신의 허구적 측면을 ‘시적 관용’의 차원에서 논증하고 변호해온 역사를 갖는다. 이 논문은 진화론적 시각, 특히 진화 심리학과 인지 신경과학의 시각을 반영하면서 문학의 허구 프레임이 갖는 의미와 의의를 재점검하고자 한다. 인간의 언어는 사물과 사태의 개념화와 추상화를 촉진하였으며, 이에 기반한 반사실적 사고로서의 허구는 인류의 인지적 진화에 있어 가장 최종 심급에 위치하고 있다. 정신분석학, 역사학, 탈식민론 등을 참조하면서 자신의 논리를 지속적으로 재점검 해온 문학과 문화 연구는 이제 인문 사회적 사유와 함께 인류학과 진화 심리학 그리고 인지과학 등이 제시하는 시사점을 포월하면서 그 지적 지평을 넓혀갈 필요가 있다.Literature dwells in fictional space. Drawing on such concepts as ‘artistic,’ ‘poetic,’ or ‘dramatic’ license, literary studies have a standard genealogy in defending the fictionality of literature. Accommodating some implications of the evolutionary perspective, especially evolutionary psychology and cognitive neuroscience, this paper tries to articulate the intellectual horizon of literature in a more expansive disciplinary orientation and to recast the much discussed project of consilience between natural science and humanities. In conjunction with adaptive, prospective, and constructive meaning-making engagement, enabled by linguistic conceptualization and abstraction in the development of the human species, the fictive thinking goes hand in hand with its cognitive fluidity. The imaginary and fictional mode of literature, par excellence, is a chief exemplar of cognitive revolution in human evolution. Taking over those controversies concerning nature vs. nurture, science vs. humanities, and biology vs. culture, this paper suggests that as for literary studies at least what is called for at present is both to counterbalance an uneasy biological reductionism and also to interconnect the established self-productive autonomy of literary theories with other academic fields, especially anthropology, evolutionary psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

Affective and Engagement Issues in the Conception and Assessment of a Robot-Assisted Psychomotor Therapy for Persons with Dementia.

The interest in robot-assisted therapies (RAT) for dementia care has grown steadily in recent years. However, RAT using humanoid robots is still a novel practice for which the adhesion mechanisms, indications and benefits remain unclear. Also, little is known about how the robot's behavioral and affective style might promote engagement of persons with dementia (PwD) in RAT. The present study sought to investigate the use of a humanoid robot in a psychomotor therapy for PwD. We examined the robot's potential to engage participants in the intervention and its effect on their emotional state. A brief psychomotor therapy program involving the robot as the therapist's assistant was created. For this purpose, a corpus of social and physical behaviors for the robot and a “control software” for customizing the program and operating the robot were also designed. Particular attention was given to components of the RAT that could promote participant's engagement (robot's interaction style, personalization of contents). In the pilot assessment of the intervention nine PwD (7 women and 2 men, M age = 86 y/o) hospitalized in a geriatrics unit participated in four individual therapy sessions: one classic therapy (CT) session (patient- therapist) and three RAT sessions (patient-therapist-robot). Outcome criteria for the evaluation of the intervention included: participant's engagement, emotional state and well-being; satisfaction of the intervention, appreciation of the robot, and empathy-related behaviors in human-robot interaction (HRI). Results showed a high constructive engagement in both CT and RAT sessions. More positive emotional responses in participants were observed in RAT compared to CT. RAT sessions were better appreciated than CT sessions. The use of a social robot as a mediating tool appeared to promote the involvement of PwD in the therapeutic intervention increasing their immediate wellbeing and satisfaction.

Chinese Nationalism and Trust in East Asia

ABSTRACTChina’s rise has been accompanied by a rise in nationalism. But what are the characteristics of this nationalism now being witnessed? Does it support China’s constructive engagement with the international order, or does it seek to assert China’s supremacy? These questions lie at the hub of a rapidly expanding secondary literature on the emergence of nationalism in China and its impact on China’s foreign relations. What is, however, absent from the academic discourse is the voice of the Chinese people themselves. What are their perceptions of the nation-state, and how do these beliefs shape their views of China’s relationship with East Asia? To address this gap, we conducted a series of large-scale surveys in Beijing between 2011 and 2013 on the twinned topics of domestic nationalism and international relations. Our findings, as reported below, represent an initial attempt to answer this final and, arguably, most critical set of questions.

Distributed Leadership and bureaucracy

This article considers distributed leadership in the context of the extensive literature on post-bureaucratic organisations. It suggests that both distributed leadership and bureaucracy are ideal types. It outlines the development of bureaucracy as an organisational form, challenges the often-stereotypical criticisms that have damned the theory and questions the withdrawal of the field of educational leadership from constructive engagement. It explores the notion that bureaucracy is conceived as a means of shaping and containing power in a way that is sophisticated and has developed considerably since Weber’s original idea. The article also outlines the development of distributed leadership and critiques the assertion that it offers a means of redistributing power, arguing that there is little evidence that this happens in any reliable way. It suggests that such reliance is often based on a limited zero-sum concept of power and a sanitised view of staff and organisations. It concludes that bureaucracy offers a more realistic and deeper engagement with issues of power, and that its rejection, except as a butt of criticism, deliberately ignores an enduring and important aspect of leading organisations. It concludes that educational leaders need to engage positively with bureaucracy if they are to transform education.

Marketing

This invited commentary is a reflection on and response to an essay on “The Long Macro View”, by Robert Lusch, who articulated key themes of human, societal and marketing evolution, and challenges marketing scholars to consider ways to reduce costs inflicted by prolific human activity, particularly (marketing) exchange. Those costs cumulatively pose existential threats to humanity; they also present opportunities, which potentially can be redressed by better understanding of conflict resolution theory, relevant marketing applications to reduce social conflict, and guidance by complementary macromarketing precepts. Consistent with some ideas in the aforementioned essay, the author of this commentary argues for constructive engagement by individuals, organizations and governments via institutional entrepreneurship, which is crucial to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, fairness and sustainability of a complex and increasingly global macromarketing system, and the well-being and long-term survival of Homo Sapiens.