Cooperative Group Research Articles

An Enhancing Students Reading Comprehension by Using Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC)

Reading comprehension simply understanding what has been read. There are many strategies that can be applied by the teacher to maximize their role in the classroom, but most of them did not try to find a variety of methods. One of the methods that can be used is Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC). Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) is a method that students work together to accomplish shared goals. They work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. In cooperative groups, students work together on specific tasks or projects in such a way that all students in the group benefit from the interactive experience. Since learners are different in their intellectual capacity, their attitude, and their linguistic methods. Furthermore, cooperative learning is a great way to engage English language learners in learning both language and content. This research will be quasi-experiment research. In this research, pre-test and post-test will be administered. To obtain the data, the researcher will use a reading comprehension test and questionnaire. This research will focus on how Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) enhance reading comprehension. Therefore, the researcher decides to give the title of this research namely “Enhancing Students’ Reading Comprehension by Using CIRC”. The Output target of this research is “published in the national scientific non-accredited journal, 1st-yearsst year target: Accepted/Published”. Level of Technology Readiness (TKT), 1st-yearsst year Target: Scale 2.

Effects of Cooperative, Competitive, and Solitary Exergames on Cognition and Anxiety Levels in Children with Developmental Disabilities.

Objective: Exergames are playing an important role in person-centered therapy, health care services, and in the rehabilitation field. This study aimed to compare the effects of cooperative, competitive, and solitary exergames on cognition and anxiety levels in children with developmental disabilities (DD). Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial pretest-posttest including 36 children with DD who were allocated to the cooperative exergame group (CGG), competitive exergame group (CmGG), and solitary exergame group (SGG). The exergame program was performed two times a week for 8 weeks and the outcome measurements were conducted before and after the program. A paired sample t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the changes within and between the groups. Results: The result indicated a significant improvement in memory, attention, and visual perception in all groups; the CGG and CmGG showed a high increase in attention compared with the SGG. However, only the CGG presented a significant improvement in the language subscale. In terms of anxiety, only the CGG presented substantial improvements in all anxiety subscales. The CmGG showed improvement in social phobia and the SGG in physical injury fears, social phobia, and general anxiety fears. Conclusion: The findings suggest that cooperative and competitive exergames may be used to effectively improve cognitive functions; cooperative exergames can be applied as the most effective method to reduce anxiety compared with the other game types for children with DD.

A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Populism Research (2000–2020)

The 21st century has seen a revival of populism in politics worldwide. Although scholars in different fields have extensively investigated populism, the term remains controversial and fragmentary. This article uses the bibliometric method to analyze the scientific production, critical points, and main trends of studies on populism from 2000 to 2020 based on the literature retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, to better understand relevant themes and issues and conduct a comparative study. Populism research shows a general upward trend in three stages and covers a wide range of disciplines, with political science contributing the largest number of publications and sociology sharing the closest links with other subjects. Two relatively large cooperation groups of institutions were found in European countries, but cross-region links between institutions are weak. No relatively stable and large academic teams have been formed between political scholars, and low cooperation exists between prolific scholars in different disciplines. Literature with high co-citation counts are mainly conceptual and comparative studies, and research hotspots include the relationship between populism and democracy, the polarization of populism, and national populism. We believe that future research may shift focus to polarization, European populism, and political trust.

Cooperatives and the capabilities of the poor

The paper reviews main theoretical reasons explaining why cooperatives and cooperation in developing, rural and poor countries, have a comparative advantage in enlarging poor people's capabilities. In particular, we consider main pillars of the Capability Approach to human development with reference to the relation between groups and capabilities, and discuss why cooperative groups can support participatory human development, grassroots empowerment and human poverty alleviation.

A Retrospective Dosimetric Study in Breast Cancer Patients Who Received Conformal Radiation Therapy for Achievability of Recommended Dose Constraints of RTOG, DBCG, EORTC for Lung and Heart

In India, carcinoma of breast is the commonest malignancy among women. In multidisciplinary approach of its management, radiotherapy (RT) is an important component. Different cooperative groups have defined dose constraints to lungs and heart to minimize these late side effects such as radiation pneumonitis and coronary artery disease. To assess the achievability of dose constraints given for lung and heart by RTOG, EORTC and DBCG in our cohort of breast cancer patients who underwent conformal radiation therapy to chest wall / breast along with supraclavicular nodal region. This retrospective dosimetric study included all breast cancer patients who underwent conformal radiation in our institute from Jan 2021 to Dec 2022 and was treated with a dose of 40 Gy in 15 fractions. A total of 302 patients (162 - Left sided, 140 - Right sided) were in the study cohort. Majority of them received RT with 3DCRT with FiF (266 patients) and 36 patients received RT by VMAT technique. Respiratory gating was done in left sided breast cancer by DIBH for 46.2 % of patients due to COVID pandemic during this period. Our analysis showed that for the ipsilateral lung, EORTC (77.8%) dose constraints were easy to achieve followed by DBCG (65.2%) and RTOG (61.9 %). For the heart constraints in left sided breast cancer patients, easily achievable constraints were by DBCG (91.9 %) followed by RTOG (66.6 %) and EORTC (53.1%). The DBCG constraints of Dmean <5 Gy was more liberal than any other recommendations. All the dose constraint recommendations were easily achieved for heart in right sided breast cancer patients, by more than 90 % of the population. Usage of respiratory gating with DIBH technique improves the rates of achievability of lung constraints in 56 (74.6%) out of 75 patient and heart constraints in 54 (72 %) out of 75 patients. Our institutional policy is to treat chest wall / breast along with supraclavicular nodal chain in case of NACT or T3/T4 disease and this could have been the reason why we were unable to achieved the dose constraints recommended. The DBCG dose constraint recommendations for heart was achieved in the left chest wall treatment in majority of women and EORTC was best achieved for ipsilateral lung. All heart dose constraint recommendations were achieved for right chest wall treatment. Respiratory gating improves achievability rates of the recommendations. It is difficult to achieve all the dose constraints as recommended by different cooperative groups as there is variation among them.

Multi-Institutional Experience of Proton Therapy for Rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing Sarcoma in the Proton Collaborative Group (PCG) Prospective Registry

To report on outcomes, acute toxicities, and the use of dose-escalation with proton therapy (PT) in patients with rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma in a prospective multi-institutional registry (PCG). Data on patients with primary rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma treated with definitive PT (defined as ≥45 Gy) were queried from the PCG registry. A similar query was performed of our institutional database with IRB approval. Overall survival rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier. Toxicities were scored using CTCAE v4.0. A total of 354 patients across 10 institutions (203 rhabdomyosarcoma, 151 Ewing sarcoma) met the eligibility criteria. Median age was 9 years (Interquartile Range: 5-15). Median dose was 50.4 GyRBE for rhabdomyosarcoma patients (Range: 45-66 GyRBE) and 55.8 GyRBE for Ewing sarcoma patients (Range: 45-66 GyRBE). Median follow-up was 2.4 years (Range 0.3-12.3 years). Two-year overall survival rates were 81.1% (95% CI: 73.7%-88.5%) for rhabdomyosarcoma and 79.1% (95% CI: 71.7%-86.2%) for Ewing sarcoma. The Table lists the prescription doses delivered by tumor histology; 28.1% of rhabdomyosarcoma and 21.9% of Ewing sarcoma patients, respectively, received dose-escalated radiotherapy (defined as >50.4 Gy for rhabdomyosarcoma and >55.8 Gy for Ewing sarcoma). Excluding alopecia and skin desquamation, 153 patients (43.2%) developed any acute grade 2+ non-hematologic toxicity, while 49 patients (13.8%) developed one or more grade 3 toxicities. The most common grade 3 toxicities were anorexia/weight loss (7.3%), pain (7.3%) mucositis/esophagitis (4.8%), and nausea/vomiting (3.1%). One grade 4 toxicity (esophagitis) and no deaths were reported during treatment. In this multi-institutional prospective registry, 28.1% of rhabdomyosarcoma and 21.9% of Ewing sarcoma patients received dose-escalated PT, with 13.8% of patients developing grade 3 toxicities. Long-term outcomes for disease control and late toxicity and anticipated cooperative group trial results are needed to fully assess the benefits and risks of dose-escalated radiotherapy for these tumors.

Polarize, catalyze, and stabilize: how a minority of norm internalizers amplify group selection and punishment

Many mechanisms behind the evolution of cooperation, such as reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, and altruistic punishment, require group knowledge of individual actions. But what keeps people cooperating when no one is looking? Conformist norm internalization, the tendency to abide by the behavior of the majority of the group, even when it is individually harmful, could be the answer. In this paper, we analyze a world where (1) there is group selection and punishment by indirect reciprocity, but (2) many actions (half) go unobserved and therefore unpunished. Can norm internalization fill this “observation gap” and lead to high levels of cooperation, even when agents may in principle cooperate only when likely to be caught and punished? Specifically, we seek to understand whether adding norm internalization to the strategy space in a public goods game can lead to higher levels of cooperation when both norm internalization and cooperation start out rare. We found the answer to be positive, but, interestingly, not because norm internalizers end up making up a substantial fraction of the population, nor because they cooperate much more than other agent types. Instead, norm internalizers, by polarizing, catalyzing, and stabilizing cooperation, can increase levels of cooperation of other agent types, while only making up a minority of the population themselves.Significance statementWhat keeps people cooperating when no one is looking? Group selection favoring cooperative groups does not require observers, but often works best when there is some other norm enforcement mechanism to supplement it. But most norm enforcement mechanisms require observers in order to function. Here, we examine whether norm internalization could fill this enforcement gap, by acting as an “internal enforcer” of norms. Perhaps surprisingly, we discovered in our simulations that the population of norm internalizers always remained quite small, and norm internalizers did not necessarily cooperate more than other agent types. Nevertheless, under certain conditions, they were able to spark significantly higher mean levels of cooperation, by causing other agents to cooperate more—partly by setting off bouts of high cooperation after periods of very low cooperation, and partly by helping maintain those bouts of high cooperation for longer.

Examining the Influence of Accompanying Midwifery with Position Guidance on Delivery Outcomes

Objective: To explore and analyze the influence of accompanying midwifery with position guidance on deliveryoutcomes. Methods: A total of 68 puerpera who were admitted to Dafeng People’s Hospital from April 2021 to April 2023 were recruited, grouped using odd and even number draw methods, and divided into cooperation and regular groups with 34 cases in each group. The patients in the cooperation group cooperated with the process of accompanying midwifery and position guidance, whereas the patients in the regular group had routine midwifery intervention. The delivery outcome, the duration of each labor process, the psychological state, and the amount of postpartum hemorrhage were compared between the groups. Results: The delivery outcomes of vaginal delivery and cesarean section in the cooperation group were significantly better than those in the regular group (P &lt; 0.05). The difference was not statistically significant when comparing the cooperation group with the regular group through a lateral vaginal incision (P &gt; 0.05). The duration of each labor process in the cooperation group was significantly shorter than in the regular group (P &lt; 0.05). Before the intervention, the HAMD and HAMA scores of the two groups were insignificant (P &gt; 0.05); but the HAMD and HAMA scores of the cooperation group were significantly lower than the regular group after the intervention (P &lt; 0.05). The amount of postpartum bleeding in the cooperation group was markedly lower than that in the regular group (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Accompanying midwifery and position guidance throughout the delivery process can improve delivery outcomes and increase the natural delivery rate.

Rehabilitation needs of people with brain tumours in Ireland: Protocol for a prospective, mixed methods action research study ("Brain-RESTORE").

Background: Approximately 480 people annually in Ireland are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour. Brain tumours are a heterogeneous group of conditions, varying in histopathology, location, and progression. A consistent feature is neurological impairment, which can lead to profound effects on physical and cognitive function. There is evidence that people with brain tumours can benefit from rehabilitation, but pathways are poorly described, and no best practice is defined. This leads to significant unmet need. The aim of this study is to understand the rehabilitation needs of people diagnosed with a brain tumour in Ireland, and gain insight to inform policy and practice. Methods: A prospective, mixed methods study with embedded action research will be conducted. Patients (n=122) with a new diagnosis of primary brain tumour, and optionally, a nominated carer or family member, will be recruited through a national neuro-oncology service. Rehabilitation need (Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory), quality of life (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Brain Cancer Module, EuroQol-5D-5L), healthcare utilisation and, optionally, carer needs (Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool) will be assessed at four, eight and 12 months post diagnosis. An embedded qualitative study will invite 30 patients and carers to a semi-structured interview to explore their lived experience of rehabilitation needs and services following brain tumour diagnosis. Finally, using an Action Research approach, healthcare professionals involved in caring for people with brain tumours will be invited to participate in co-operative inquiry groups, to reflect on emerging aggregate findings and identify actions that could be undertaken while the study is underway. Conclusions: By understanding rehabilitation need, the findings will help healthcare professionals and health service providers understand how to prioritise the supports required and encourage policy makers to adequately resource neurorehabilitation to meet the needs of people with a brain tumour diagnosis.

Does Digital Literacy Provide Evidence for Iranian EFL Learners’ Cooperative Learning in Online Classrooms

Introduction: Technology can revolutionize how members of cooperative groups interact and work with others. Since digital literacy and cooperative skills are necessary for teachers’ success and students’ achievement, the current research aimed to find the relationship between EFL learners’ digital literacy and their attitude towards cooperative learning in online classes. Methodology: The present research followed a quantitative study using a correlational research design to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ digital literacy and their attitudes toward cooperative learning in online classrooms. In this study, 210 participants, who were all Iranian EFL students in different fields of study and from different cities, were invited to participate. They were from both genders and of different ages. For data collection, the researcher used a Google form link sent via social media and students were asked to complete the questionnaires online. The responses from participants were collected and analyzed using SPSS. Mean, standard deviation, multiple linear regression, and independent sample t-tests were run to analyze the obtained data and check whether the results were significant. Results: The findings of the study indicated a significant relationship between the two variables, meaning that learners could learn and collaborate better with technology. Besides, the study results showed that the second component of digital literacy (technical dimension), as the best predictor, significantly predicts a 34% variance in learners’ attitudes toward cooperative learning. Moreover, there was no significant difference between men and women in digital literacy and their attitudes toward cooperative learning. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the participants had a favorable view of using digital literacy in their attitude toward cooperative learning. Therefore, there is a need to change the English classroom curriculum and employ a proper syllabus to integrate digital literacy.

Diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic was a global health crisis with population-wide behavioural restrictions imposed worldwide to reduce transmission of infection and to limit the potential burden on the healthcare systems. We examined whether there was any change in the diagnosis or treatment of breast cancer during the pandemic as compared to previous years. Material and Methods The study population comprised all women aged ≥18 years diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015-2021 with data obtained from the clinical quality registry of the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group (DBCG). Data on socioeconomic factors were retrieved from Statistics Denmark. Prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated from a generalised linear model (GLM) with a log link for the Poisson family with robust standard errors (SE) of each outcome, using the COVID-19 pandemic period in Denmark as the exposure of interest. Results In total, 30,598 breast cancers were diagnosed during the study period. There was a small decrease (4.5%) in the total number of breast cancer cases in 2020 compared with previous years. During the pandemic, a lower proportion of the patients diagnosed with breast cancer had a short educational level (28.5 vs. 26.9%; PR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.88–0.95), a low income (20.5 vs. 19.0%; PR = 0.90; 0.85-0.95) and fewer than expected in the age group 60-69 years (27.8 vs. 25.3; PR = 0.90; 0.86-0.94) were diagnosed, as compared with the pre-pandemic period. No difference in type of surgery or tumour size was observed. A higher proportion of patients received neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (49.0 vs 55.0%; PR = 1.15; 1.06–1.24), whereas a lower proportion received adjuvant chemotherapy (93.5 vs 85.6%; PR = 0.92; 0.90–0.93) during the pandemic, compared with the pre-pandemic period. Conclusions During the pandemic, a small decrease in the number of breast cancer diagnoses was observed particularly among socially disadvantaged groups. Overall, the quality of breast cancer treatment was maintained.

Multispecies interactions shape the transition to multicellularity.

The origin of multicellularity transformed the adaptive landscape on Earth, opening diverse avenues for further innovation. The transition to multicellular life is understood as the evolution of cooperative groups which form a new level of individuality. Despite the potential for community-level interactions, most studies have not addressed the competitive context of this transition, such as competition between species. Here, we explore how interspecific competition shapes the emergence of multicellularity in an experimental system with two yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces lactis, where multicellularity evolves in response to selection for faster settling ability. We find that the multispecies context slows the rate of the transition to multicellularity, and the transition to multicellularity significantly impacts community composition. Multicellular K. lactis emerges first and sweeps through populations in monocultures faster than in cocultures with S. cerevisiae. Following the transition, the between-species competitive dynamics shift, likely in part to intraspecific cooperation in K. lactis. Hence, we document an eco-evolutionary feedback across the transition to multicellularity, underscoring how ecological context is critical for understanding the causes and consequences of innovation. By including two species, we demonstrate that cooperation and competition across several biological scales shapes the origin and persistence of multicellularity.

Criminology and History: Towards Interdisciplinary Convergence

The connection between criminology and other sciences has always been viewed as a vital component of increasing scientific knowledge on crime and developing the methodology of criminological research. One of the areas of such connection is the interaction between criminology and history. Both sciences are moving towards each other. The principle of historicism, being an inalienable element of the methodology of modern criminology, stimulated criminologists to study the history of crime and its specific types, the history of preventive and law enforcement work, the history of criminological theories’ development. The diversification of the methodological basis for the historical science and the development of social history, in their turn, also turned the attention of historians to the problems of crime and its prevention. Meanwhile, the application of historical method in criminology and the inclusion of crime in the object of historical studies remain two relatively independent and unconnected processes. At the same time, the theoretical understanding of inter-disciplinary connections between criminology and history unjustifiably remains «a white spot». This is not a problem specific of Russia, in recent years it has been the object of attention for specialists all over the world. English-language research explains the absence of cooperation between criminology and history primarily though the goals and the organization of research. Historians study the past for the sake of uncovering the past itself, without stressing its connection to the present, while criminologists, on the contrary, are focused on the present and refer to the past only in the degree necessary for explaining the processes happening today. However, this autonomy, arising from the boundaries that are in many aspects artificial, is duly challenged. Research is consistently moving towards overcoming the isolation of criminology and history. The result of this shift is the development of historical criminology as a special approach to studying crimes and related problems. Special monographs, cooperative group discussions, theme-based issues of authoritative journals, the development of special educational programs are all aimed at ensuring the full-scale inclusion of the historical component in the science of criminology by stimulating historical thinking and abolition of no longer relevant historical-philosophical ideas on the interconnection between the past, the present and the future.

Dynamics of a Prey–Predator Model with Group Defense for Prey, Cooperative Hunting for Predator, and Lévy Jump

A stochastic predator–prey system with group cooperative behavior, white noise, and Lévy noise is considered. In group cooperation, we introduce the Holling IV interaction term to reflect group defense of prey, and cooperative hunting to reflect group attack of predator. Firstly, it is proved that the system has a globally unique positive solution. Secondly, we obtain the conditions of persistence and extinction of the system in the sense of time average. Under the condition that the environment does not change dramatically, the intensity of cooperative hunting and group defense needs to meet certain conditions to make both predators and preys persist. In addition, considering the system without Lévy jump, it is proved that the system has a stationary distribution. Finally, the validity of the theoretical results is verified by numerical simulation.

Effectiveness of cooperative and competitive gamification in mobile fitness applications among occasional exercisers

ABSTRACT Physical activity (PA) is critical to health, but PA level declines dramatically in young adulthood. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of different social gamification designs (i.e. cooperation and competition) in mobile fitness applications among occasional exercisers among young adults. A mobile fitness application featuring competitive, cooperative, or individualistic gamification was designed and their effectiveness in promoting PA behaviours and socio-cognitive factors among occasional exercisers was compared through a four-week (i.e. one week for baseline and three weeks for use) field experiment involving 49 participants. The participants used one of the gamified applications with one or more friends in daily life during the experimental period. The results showed that cooperation and competition stimulate different types of social support: cooperation improves companion support, whereas competition improves appraisal support. Both gamification significantly increased daily steps in the first week, but after three-week usage, the increase of the cooperation groups reclined, whereas that of the competition groups was maintained. The application usage in cooperation also declined significantly after three weeks, while that of the other two conditions did not change significantly. The current study provided insights into gamification design for occasional exercisers among Chinese young adults.

O.5.3-4 Key components in the implementation of a co-produced framework for community-based physical activity promotion: a comparative case study of six diverse pilot communities

Abstract Purpose As part of the project KOMBINE, we co-produced a framework with nine key components for community-based physical activity promotion (c-PAP) focusing on health equity together with stakeholders from policy, practice and research. We then implemented the framework in six diverse pilot communities (PC). The aim of this study is to analyse process and output of the participatory implementation. Methods The framework includes six phases: (1) preparation, (2) assessment, (3) setting up cooperative planning groups including steering committees (4) organization of the planning process, (5) development and (6) implementation of measures. We used an online questionnaire and meeting minutes to evaluate the process by means of qualitative content analysis. We then compared the PC regarding the four key components intersectoral collaboration, participation, political support and resources. For the output evaluation, we conducted a document analysis of the action plans from phase 5. Results Each PC established a cooperative planning group with intersectoral collaboration. The participation of people with social disadvantages proved to be challenging, but was more successful in rural compared to urban PC. Further, some PC had to invest many resources to ensure political support and had difficulties involving high-ranking political stakeholders, while in others political support was a given throughout the entire process. Personnel resources were a highly relevant topic in all PC, while financial resources played a bigger role in rural and socioeconomically deprived PC. The output was a broad range of measures (personal skills (n = 28), infrastructure (n = 70), policy action (n = 11), and community action (n = 3)) relevant to the specific needs of each PC. Conclusions Through the analysis, we shed light on the interplay between context, process and output and the role of key components for the successful implementation of sustainable and equitable c-PAP in different contexts. Next steps are the evaluation of outcome and impact to inform the effective scale up of this approach. Funding Source This work was supported by the Federal Centre of Health Education (BZgA) on behalf of and with funds from the statutory health insurances according to § 20a SGB V in the context of the GKV Alliance for Health (https://www.gkv-buendnis.de).

A Lightweight Island Model for the Genetic Algorithm over GPGU

This paper presents a parallel approach of the genetic algorithm (GA) over the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). Since the earlier studies did not focus on implementing the island model in a persistent way, this paper introduces an approach, named Lightweight Island Model (LIM), that aims to implement the concept of persistent threads in the island model of the genetic algorithm. For that, we present the implementation details to convert the traditional island model, which is separated into multiple kernels, into a computing paradigm based on a persistent kernel. Many synchronization techniques, including cooperative groups and implicit synchronization, are discussed to reduce the CPU-GPU interaction that existed in the traditional island model. A new parallelization strategy is presented for distributing the work among live threads during the selection and crossover steps. The GPU configurations that lead to the best possible performance are also determined. The introduced approach will be compared, in terms of speedup and solution quality, with the traditional island model (TIM) as well as with related works that concentrated on suggesting a lighter version of the master-slave model, including switching among kernels (SAK) and scheduled light kernel (SLK) approaches. The results show that the new approach can increase the speed-up to 27x over serial CPU, 4.5x over the traditional island model, and up to 1.5–2x over SAK and SLK approaches.

Evaluation of a stroke rehabilitation training programme for community-based primary healthcare.

Family caregiver training is an integral part of stroke rehabilitation programmes and is associated with improved caregiver and stroke survivor outcomes. In the Cape Winelands District, a low-resourced rural community-based setting in South Africa, stroke survivors and family caregivers mostly rely on assistance from community health workers (CHWs), despite their lack of stroke-specific rehabilitation training. To evaluate the implementation and immediate effects of a bespoke, 16 session, 21 h stroke rehabilitation training programme for CHWs to better support family caregivers. Two cooperative inquiry groups participated in participatory action research to design and develop the programme. This article reports on the implementation of this programme. Inquiry group members directly observed the training, obtained written and verbal feedback, interviewed CHWs and observed them in the community. Consensus on their learning was achieved after reflection on their experience and observations. Learning of the cooperative inquiry groups was categorised into the effect on community-based care, the training programme's design and development, how training was delivered and implications for service delivery. Community health workers empowered caregivers and stroke survivors and enabled access to care, continuity, coordination and person-centredness. The need for experiential learning and a spiral curriculum was confirmed. Therapists needed a different set of skills to deliver training. A systems approach and effective leadership were needed to enable community health workers to use their new skills. The stroke rehabilitation training programme demonstrated potential for integration into service delivery and equipping CHWs to support family caregivers and stroke survivors. Further evaluation of the programme's effectiveness and scale-up is needed. Evidence of an intervention to train CHWs to support stroke survivors and family caregivers.

Evaluating a Secondary Education Urban Ecology Project within the Framework of a Problem-Based Learning Methodology

As a reaction to the current situation of local and global environmental deterioration, recent decades have seen the emergence of multiple educational strategies and methodologies within Environmental Education (EE) with the aim of promoting pro-environmental attitudes among young people. One of these strategies is Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and it is necessary to analyze the didactic implications of this methodology in the field of EE in order to maximize its effectiveness. This study evaluates the implementation and didactic implications of an environmental project designed under the PBL methodology. The project was carried out over consecutive years of compulsory secondary education (Grades 9 and 10) in two secondary schools in the province of Granada, Spain. The data collection instruments used included the researcher’s diary, self-assessment and reflection questionnaires for the participating students, and questionnaires and rubrics completed by the audience during the presentation of the final product. The study employed a qualitative interpretative approach, using response categorization and SWOT analyses, the results of which revealed multiple conclusions, highlighting the high level of motivation, work and participation of the students, as well as the didactic benefits of the enriching socialization of the project. Difficulties, such as time management and cooperative group work, lack of practice in the methodology used and challenges related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), were also identified. Finally, recommendations are provided for the application of this methodology in other educational contexts.

Improving Access to Cancer Clinical Trials for Patients From Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds in Australia: A Survey of Clinical and Research Professionals.

Patients with cancer from racial and ethnic minorities, referred to as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) in Australia, are significantly under-represented in cancer clinical trials. We performed a national survey of the Australian cancer clinical trials workforce to determine barriers and preferred solutions to address this inequity. A 15-item online survey containing both closed- and open-ended purpose-designed questions was created using REDCap. The survey was emailed to members of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, Medical Oncology Group of Australia, and Australian cancer cooperative trial groups, and promoted via Twitter. Descriptive analyses summarized quantitative data, and free-text entries underwent thematic analysis with NVivo Version 12. Ninety one respondents completed the survey-with representation across Australia. Eighty-seven percent were directly involved in clinical trial recruitment. Sixty-eight percent were clinicians. Seventy-four percent of respondents did not collect routine data on CALD patient enrollment to cancer clinical trials. Communication (eg, lack of translated materials) and opportunity-related barriers (eg, exclusionary trial protocols) were the most frequently perceived barriers to recruitment. Additionally, qualitative analysis indicated that insufficient consultation time and difficulties accessing interpreters for patients with non-English language preference were significant barriers. Trial navigators and a generic cancer trial pamphlet available in multiple languages were judged the most likely solutions to improve recruitment. This study articulates the Australian clinical trials workforce's perspective on current barriers and potential solutions to the under-representation of patients from CALD backgrounds on cancer clinical trials. The insights and solutions from this survey provide steps toward achieving equity in Australian cancer clinical trials.