Enhancement Of Autonomy Research Articles

Computer-mediated communication as an autonomy-enhancement tool for advanced learners of English

This article examines the relevance of modern technology for the development of learner autonomy in the process of learning English as a foreign language. Computer-assisted language learning and computer mediated communication (CMC) appear to be particularly conducive to fostering autonomous learning, as they naturally incorporate many elements of autonomy that give learners control over and responsibility for their own learning, such as choosing the materials used, managing their contact with various genres and types of interaction, often in authentic contexts, and evaluating their own progress, measured through their success in understanding and conveying meanings. However, providing access to language resources does not automatically lead to the development of autonomy, as much depends on other factors, such as the learners’ level or previous experience in learner training. The present study investigated whether advanced learners of English made use of out-of-class CMC engagement for the purpose of learning English autonomously. The results indicate that most of the participants were eager to use CMC opportunities to deliberately practice their English, although, quite naturally, leisure and social reasons for using CMC predominated. The expressed willingness to deliberately focus on practicing English during beyond-theclassroom meaning-oriented online interactions confirms the great potential of CMC as an autonomy enhancement tool.

Making death ‘good’: instructional tales for dying in newspaper accounts of Jade Goody’s death

Facilitating a 'good' death is a central goal for hospices and palliative care organisations. The key features of such a death include an acceptance of death, an open awareness of and communication about death, the settling of practical and interpersonal business, the reduction of suffering and pain, and the enhancement of autonomy, choice and control. Yet deaths are inherently neither good nor bad; they require cultural labour to be 'made over' as good. Drawing on media accounts of the controversial death of UK reality television star Jade Goody, and building on existing analyses of her death, we examine how cultural discourses actively work to construct deaths as good or bad and to position the dying and those witnessing their death as morally accountable. By constructing Goody as bravely breaking social taboos by openly acknowledging death, by contextualising her dying as occurring at the end of a life well lived and by emphasising biographical continuity and agency, newspaper accounts serve to position themselves as educative rather than exploitative, and readers as information-seekers rather than ghoulishly voyeuristic. We argue that popular culture offers moral instruction in dying well which resonates with the messages from palliative care.

Older Adults' Needs for Assistance as a Function of Living Environment.

As the older adult population grows and becomes more diverse, so will their needs and preferences for living environments. Many adults over 65 years of age require assistance in their living environment (Administration on Aging, 2009), however it is important for their feelings of well-being that the assistance does not restrict their autonomy (e.g., Barkay & Tabak, 2002). Moreover, autonomy enhancement may improve older adults' functionality (e.g., Greiner et al., 1996). This paper provides an overview of older adults' diverse living situations and an assessment of their needs for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) when living in the community or in a long-term care residence, such as assisted living or skilled nursing. We also examine older adults' residential mobility patterns to understand potential unmet needs for assistance. This needs assessment highlights the specific areas that could benefit from human factors interventions to support older adults in making choice-driven decisions about where they live.

A design process enabling adaptation in pervasive heterogeneous contexts

In the next decades, the growth in population aging will cause important problems to most industrialized countries. To tackle this issue, Ambient Assistive Living (AAL) systems can reinforce the well-being of elderly people, by providing emergency, autonomy enhancement, and comfort services. These services will postpone the need of a medicalized environment and will allow the elderly to stay longer at home. However, each elderly has specific needs and a deployment environment of such services is likely unique. Furthermore, the needs evolve over time, and so does the deployment environment of the system. In this paper, we propose the use of a model-based development method, the adaptive medium approach, to enable dynamic adaptation of AAL systems. We also propose improvements to make it more suited to the AAL domain, such as considering heterogeneity and a composition model. The paper includes an evaluation of the prototype implementing the approach, and a comparison with related work.

The role of early parental bonding in the development of psychiatric symptoms in adulthood

To identify and discuss recent research concerning the association between parent-child relationships and psychiatric symptoms in adulthood. Despite their methodological limitations such as small sample sizes and inadequate follow-up periods, recent studies have shown that early parental bonding may play an important role either as a risk or protection factor for the development of psychiatric symptoms in adulthood. Affective enhancement and encouragement of autonomy seem to exert a protective effect, whereas emotional neglect and overprotection seem to be risk factors for the development of psychiatric symptoms in adulthood. Current available data indicate that parent-child relationships may prevent or promote the development of psychiatric symptoms, mainly anxiety and depressive symptoms. In order to investigate the quality of parental bonding and its correlation with the level of psychological well being or psychiatric morbidity, further longitudinal studies with larger samples and adequate follow-up periods should be conducted.

Understanding the Relationship of Perceived Distance Learning Environments and the Enhancement of Learner Autonomy

Understanding the Relationship of Perceived Distance Learning Environments and the Enhancement of Learner Autonomy

Physical Activity and Psychological Adjustment in Japanese Advanced Lung Cancer Patients in Chemotherapy: The Feasibility of Intervention

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a physical activity intervention program and the relationship between physical activity and psychological adjustment in Japanese advanced lung cancer patients in chemotherapy. The study was designed as an intervention study and the sample was comprised of advanced lung cancer patients in chemotherapy, all of whom provided written informed consent. Physical activity was recorded by uniaxial accelerometry monitors (Lifecoder®, Suzuken, Co., Ltd), and psychological adjustment was measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Each participant received 1) feedback about the data of their footsteps, 2) positive reinforcement for being physically active, 3) enhancement of autonomy for being physically active and 4) information about setting goals related to physical activity in the first, second, and fourth week. Drop out rate of participants was 33.3% (3/9). None of the variables changed over the four weeks of the study. Spearman's correlational analysis revealed that higher steps were correlated with lower depression (r= −.90, p<.05) at the start of the study. At four weeks, however, higher steps were not correlated with HADS score; similarly, the change of steps had no significant relationship with the change of HADS scores. The results from this study demonstrate that this manner of intervention was less than preferable. The present study partially suggests that high physical activity is related to psychological adjustment in Japanese advanced lung cancer participants in chemotherapy. In order to develop an effective physical activity program, future research should elaborate the method of intervention or increase the control of the variables.

The legitimacy of private transnational governance: experts and the transnational market for force

This paper explores the roles that experts, specialized systems of knowledge and law play in the legitimization of private transnational governance. Governance of the global political economy and society is increasingly being shaped by private actors, institutions and processes that operate transnationally, linking local and global orders through complex laws and regulatory arrangements. These private governance arrangements are legitimized through their claims to possess expert knowledge and authority. However, adopting the lenses of critical theory, this paper seeks to problematize the tendency to defer unquestioningly to expert opinion. It argues that uncritical deference to experts is symptomatic of deeper conditions that are linked to the dominant form that law takes under contemporary capitalism. This paper examines the nexus between knowledge and power and the specific place that experts have in the legitimization of private modes of governance under contemporary conditions of post-modern legality and late capitalism. It advances critical theory as an approach to understanding the significance of technological rationality and expert systems of knowledge in the reproduction of transnational capitalism and in the creation of space for greater reflexivity in governance and the enhancement of individual autonomy.

Preliminary study on the role of alternative educational pathways in promoting the use of problem-focused coping strategies

Coping styles are generally considered to be environmentally driven. Up to now, research has mainly focused on family influences. However, some studies underline the effect of educational settings on the development of problem-focused coping strategies. Consistently with previous reports on the enhancement of autonomy and problem-solving in alternative schools, and the relationship established by self-determination theory between autonomy-supportive climates and positive coping, we hypothesized that alternative school students develop more problem-focused coping styles. This hypothesis was tested on 80 traditional school students and 50 alternative school students (Steiner, Montessori and New schools), during their last secondary school year, using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler & Parker, 1990a). We also assessed psychological factors which can influence coping styles measures (anxiety and depression), using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983), and the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961). The proportion of problem-focused coping strategies was compared in traditional and alternative settings, adjusting for potential confounding factors, using logistic regression. Results show that the proportion of students using predominantly problem-focused coping strategies is higher in the population of alternative schools. Directions for further research on alternative schools are highlighted concerning coping as well as autonomy-supportive class climates.

The Compatibility of L2 Learners' Assessment of Self‐ and Peer Revisions of Writing With Teachers' Assessment

The current study examines second language (L2) learners' self assessment of text changes that they made on their written drafts in self revisions and peer revisions, focusing on linguistic features of their repairs as well as the validity of self-assessment. In the study, the term self-revision refers to writers' revisions of their own written texts, whereas the term peer revision means that writers revise their drafts while talking with their peers. Learners' self-assessment of their language performance or profi ciency is often referred to as a kind of alternative assessment (Alderson Sc Banerjee, 2001) or alternative in assessment (Brown 8c Hudson, 1998). Advantages of alternative assessment including selfand peer assessment are (a) quick administration; (b) students' involvement in the assessment process; (c) enhancement of students' autonomy of language learning by means of involvement; and (d) increase of students' motivation toward language learning (Blanche & Merino, 1989; Brown 8c Hudson, 1998). Disadvantages of alternative assessment are concerned with reliability and validity (Blanche, 1988; Blanche & Merino, 1989; Blue, 1988;Jafarpur, 1991). The number of studies on alternative assessment is still limited (Oscarson, 1997). Most studies of selfor peer assessment in second lan guage acquisition research do not focus on assessment of specific linguis tic features such as morphemes, lexis, or discourse (Cheng 8c Warren, 2005; Patri, 2002; Ross, 1998; Rothschild & Klingenberg, 1990). The study of self-assessment validity with regard to linguistic features will thus give pedagogical suggestions to training or form-focused instruction for self assessment, particularly in a process-oriented writing class where students need to assess and revise their previous self-revision or peer revision. Theoretically, further research is needed to examine differences in L2 learners' assessment with regard to different conditions of revision (i.e., self-revision and peer revision). Moreover, the reliability of self-assessment should be verified. Pedagogically, this has consequences for organizing self-assessment, self-revision, and peer revision in the writing classroom. Two research questions guided this study:

Technological assistance tool for elderly´s autonomy enhancing and care-givers support based on the use of portable devices and web

Technological assistance tool for elderly´s autonomy enhancing and care-givers support based on the use of portable devices and web

A model for the enhancement of autonomy

This article presents an innovative model for the enhancement of learner autonomy and shows some of its results and challenges. The model entails investigation of problematic areas of individual students' foreign language learning processes, identification of their privileged learning styles, use of technological tools to improve learning autonomy, development of a wider range of language learning strategies, and implementation of self-monitoring and self-evaluation routines. This model has been applied for the last three years with undergraduate students, earning a B.A. in Modern Languages (English, French or German), who will become foreign language teachers in elementary and high schools in Brazil. Results are threefold: first, the model has proven its efficiency in providing scaffolding for students autonomous language learning; second, autonomy developing experiences lived by subjects who are studying to be teachers can be mirrowed in their future professional lives with their own students; and thirdly, data derived from the participants in the study can shed some light into the variety of ways people learn in the local context.

Beyond the Charter Schoolhouse Door: Teacher-Perceived Autonomy

This article presents a study that explores the relationship between charter schools and teacher autonomy. The theoretical framework is based on the charter school concept, whereby three policy levers—choice, deregulation, and accountability—lead to various goals for the charter school. One of the first and foremost of these is the enhancement of professional autonomy and opportunities for teachers. The assumption is that teachers who select the schools they want to work at will be more willing to invest their time and energy and be more dedicated to the school. Although charter school legislation has provided significant autonomy for professionals in exchange for accountability, the school-based initiatives that have been under way suggest that the autonomy is not always present.

Organizational culture and creative processes: Comparing German theater companies and scientific institutes

An open organizational culture (for example, enhancement of individual autonomy) is needed in order to promote organizational creativity. But such openness can lead to problems with coordination that may jeopardize the organization's success. For example, an open organizational culture is accompanied by parallel processes of closure (promoting orientation, consensus, and trust) that reduce the negative secondary effects of openness (Gebert and others, 2004). It is thereby understood that the creative process in a theater company requires a greater effort at coordination than in scientific institutes. This is why cultural openness in a theater company comes with risk. Empirical results from interviews with 28 research institutes (N = 113) and 13 theater companies (N = 88) show that an open culture in theaters as well as in scientific institutes, is significantly connected to closed culture processes that serve as buffers. Furthermore, openness in a theater company in terms of risk prevention is developed significantly less than in scientific institutes. Also openness when the buffering closure is missing is not significantly connected to success in scientific institutes, and in theater companies there is even a significant negative connection. The need for buffering is thus especially meaningful for the results in a theater company.

Autonomy-related behaviors of patient companions and their effect on decision-making activity in geriatric primary care visits

The objective of this study, undertaken in the USA, was to investigate the consequences of autonomy-related companion behaviors on patient decision-making activity during geriatric primary care visits. Videotapes were analyzed to characterize patient and companion decision-making activity and related companion behaviors. These behaviors were coded throughout the visit using an autonomy-based framework that included both autonomy enhancing (i.e. facilitating patient understanding, patient involvement, and doctor understanding) and detracting behaviors, (i.e. controlling the patient and building alliances with the physician). Patients ( N=93) in this cross-sectional sample range in age from 65 to 95 years and are mostly white ( n=73, 79%) and female ( n=67, 72%). Companions are spouses ( n=42, 46%), adult children ( n=33, 36%), or other relatives and friends ( n=15, 16%) of patients. Companions are active participants in medical visits and engage in more autonomy enhancing than detracting behaviors. Companions of sicker (compared with less sick) patients were more likely to facilitate patient understanding, p<.05; doctor understanding, p<.01; and patient involvement, p=.06, in care. Patients whose companions facilitated their involvement in the medical visit by asking the patient questions, prompting the patient to talk, and asking for the patient's opinion were more than four times as likely to be active in decision-making as patients whose companions did not assist in this manner (unadjusted OR 3.5, CI 1.4-8.7, p<.01; adjusted OR 4.5, CI 1.6-12.4, p<.01). Companions can play an important role in the visits of geriatric patients by facilitating communication throughout the visit as well as patient activity in decision-making.

Autonomy and social skills: a group‐based programme with adolescents with learning difficulties for the enhancement of personal autonomy and social skills

A group‐based educational programme on life skills was implemented with eleven participants with moderate learning difficulties, aged 17–18 years, for nine months. The aim of the programme was to enhance autonomy by means of group cohesion and the teaching of social skills. Teaching was based on the internalisation cycle model. The analysis of group processes was completed by means of content analysis of the teacher's detailed reports. Students’ outcomes were computed on three questionnaires that were administered at the beginning and end of the programme: the Quality of Life questionnaire (Schalock &amp; Keith, 1993), The Progress Assessment Charts of Social Development (Gunzburg, 1972), and the Self‐Concept scale (Fitts,1964). Significant changes occurred in the area of social integration; at the end participants expressed a more positive feeling concerning friends. Significant improvements occurred in nearly all areas of social skills: self‐help, socialisation, communication and occupation. No changes occurred in the self‐concept; it was high and positive at the beginning and at the end the programme. The findings confirm the efficacy of a group‐based educational programme with participants with learning difficulties.

Telematics in geriatrics--potentials, problems and application experiences

Modern telecommunication technology (telematics) has the potential to improve the quality of life for elders with physical and mental impairments as well as for their care giving relatives. Videophones, internet resources, and multimedia computers can be used for networking them together with social workers, nurse practitioners, physicians and therapeutic staff in service-centers. This can be viewed as a unique opportunity to establish and maintain instant and personalized access to various medical services in a situation where increasing needs are opposed to decreasing resources. However, it is not yet clear whether telematics is adequate, efficient, and effective in supporting care for geriatric patients. Some studies already showed its applicability and feasibility, but there are still no larger trials showing that maintenance or enhancement of autonomy can be achieved effectively by using new technologies. This article reviews the literature on telematics in geriatrics and presents data of a tele-rehabilitation project ("TeleReha", conducted at the Berlin Geriatric Center) which comprised mobility-impaired patients (N = 13, mean age 72 yrs), care giving relatives (N = 8), and geriatric professionals. Networking was established using ISDN technology with videophones or PC-based videoconferencing systems. Results showed that participants regard telecommunication devices as a valuable resource for their informational and communicational needs. Use of telecommunication systems was inversely related to physical mobility. Having access to professional service and counselling was rated highly important but also the opportunity to establish reliable contacts with non-professionals (relatives, other participants). Despite experienced technical problems, use of telecommunication systems was evaluated more positively in the post-test as compared to the pre-test. In summary, current experience suggests that telematics can be used efficiently by geriatric patients and by relatives and professionals caring for them. However, evidence for a medically and economically effective use is still scarce. A lack of structural and organizational concepts for geriatric telematics initiatives can be identified which in part may be due to the fact that the considerable potentials of telematics applications are still largely unrecognized by geriatricians.

A programme for the enhancement of autonomy in young adults with physical disabilities

A programme for the enhancement of autonomy in young adults with physical disabilities

Devolution and Economic Development in France

English The role of the French regions in economic intervention since the decentralisation reforms of the 1980s has been considerably more significant than recent appraisals have suggested. The diversity in the strategies adopted from one region to another indicates an increased capacity to shape policy initiatives according to their own priorities. The enhancement of regional autonomy is examined in the case of Brittany, where the development of an original pattern of local authority relations in the sphere of economic intervention has helped to overcome some of the obstacles to the effective functioning of the system instituted by the decentralisation programme.

Designing devices that are acceptable to the frail elderly: a new understanding based upon how older people perceive a walker

It is commonly suggested that the unappealing appearance of many assistive devices discourages their adoption and use by elderly people. This study investigated users' perceptions of walking aids through 22 semi-structured interviews and three focus groups. It was found that device acceptance incor porates issues related to device appearance and stigma and enhancement of individual autonomy. Each individual held unique preferences for both aspects of image and autonomy. Additionally, device acceptance is dependent upon the context. Concern with the negative image of the device was limited to the first mobility device and was temporary.