Practical Lessons Research Articles

Climate change adaptation measures in the context of health promotion using participatory foresight

Abstract Issue/problem Climate change is regarded as a big threat to human health (WHO 2023), requiring action to prepare our health systems. Using participatory foresight approach has the potential to increase capacities of communities and to sustain future health. The process is easily transferable to other regions or countries across Europe. The work is part of the Austrian “Climate-Resilience-Check Health for regions and municipalities”. Description of the problem We present an innovative qualitative method to contribute to a climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment following WHO’s guidelines. Questions answered by the project were: • What measures can be taken to shape the regions’ potential for a health-promoting lifestyle and to increase climate resilience? • Does participatory foresight represent a well-suited method to develop climate adaptation measures which address local needs? Taking place between 10/23 to 12/23, the participatory foresight process consisted of (1) a foresight-workshop facilitating development of adaptation measures through the creation of personas and (2) intervention boards, which gave the broader population the opportunity to vote for measures developed in the workshop. The aim of the approach was to identify measures that receive approval within the population. Results The participatory foresight process highlighted the local populations’ wish of revitalizing village centers to strengthen social cohesion. Particular emphasis was placed on the establishment of a community center and the expansion of daycare services. Lessons The process will be conducted in further regions as part of the Climate-Resilience-Check Health for Austrian regions and provides lessons of good practice for roll-out across European countries aiming to bridge efforts for climate adaptation and health promotion at regional levels.

The role of discretion and street‐level deliberative practices in the COVID‐19 crisis response: Lessons from the Philippines

AbstractThis study investigates the role of frontline workers, such as the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) in the Philippines, as street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) in implementing COVID‐19 community quarantine policies. Drawing from SLB theory and deliberative policy analysis (DPA), I explore how SLBs adapted to rapidly changing conditions by exercising discretion in interpreting and adapting the implementation of nationally formulated pandemic management policies to meet local realities. I argue that SLBs functioned as deliberative practitioners, mediating between national policies and local realities while engaging in deliberative practices with their clients. Using the experience of BHERTs in Palompon, Leyte in the Philippines as an illustrative case, I identified the policy mandates (policy‐as‐written) of the BHERTs; the challenges and constraints they faced in implementing community quarantine policies; and the discretion they exercised in implementing community quarantine policies (policy‐as‐practiced). The findings reveal that, to meet their policy mandates and address the challenges they faced, they engaged in deliberative practices and collaborated with citizens in implementing context‐specific and creative strategies. Insights from this study highlight the adaptive and deliberative potential of SLBs in crisis situations and the value of a DPA in understanding SLB theory and research. By examining SLBs’ experiences during the pandemic, this study contributes to the SLB literature and offers practical lessons to policy practitioners in facilitating deliberation and developing context‐specific solutions in times of crisis.Points for practitioners The COVID‐19 pandemic and the subsequent government response in the Philippines have increased the challenges faced by street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs), including resource scarcity, organisational and political pressure, public resistance, and the risk of exposure to the virus. SLBs have shown their capacity to apply discretion and collaborate with their clients to resolve their own and the client's challenges and limitations through negotiation, mediation, conflict management, and active listening. This cooperative approach empowers them to resolve common issues and together formulate effective strategies that are beneficial to all parties involved. Relationships outside of SLBs’ duties as state agents (i.e. socio‐cultural relationships) can be a viable pathway for SLBs to implement alternative policy strategies to meet their policy mandates and address the challenges they face as they implement their mandates. Competing value systems, knowledge claims, and emotional narratives, compounded by a governance crisis, define the complex and informal nature of the policy process in the context of a crisis like the pandemic. Although SLBs demonstrate their capacity to creatively solve the challenges they encounter through deliberative practices, this should not serve as a justification for the government's lack of action in prioritising, safeguarding, and preserving their welfare.

Epilogue: Looking forward

AbstractInspired by recent advancements in evaluation capacity building (ECB), we developed an issue of New Directions for Evaluation to respond to the call to action made by fellow researchers and practitioners to leverage evaluation to expand upon our understanding of meaningful ECB and share practical lessons learned. The resulting issue brought practitioners and scholars together to reflect on and share their contributions to knowledge around the evaluation of ECB as they pertain to research, theory, methodological approaches, and practical applications. This epilog highlights key themes and practical lessons that can support others in their approaches to ECB evaluation. As this issue aims to continue, and in some cases kick‐start, conversations about the evaluation of ECB, future directions for research and practice are explored. We conclude with a call to action, urging those engaging in ECB to plan to evaluate their important initiatives and share relevant findings to others in the field.

Training Methods for Students-Foreigners with the English Level Lower than A1

The English language level of students-foreigners who are going to study at Ukrainian Universities plays a crucial role especially in the cases when their future practical lessons and lectures are delivered in English. The group of Turkish students who had to undergo the training in Medical University as future doctors demonstrated during the preliminary linguistic tests that English (and Ukrainian) knowledge of the majority of students was even lower than A1 level. The causes were as follows: the low level of school education, geographical position of their native places, i.e. their remoteness from the cultural centers of the country, age (the younger the worse) and others. The situation made the Ukrainian teachers, who were responsible for their English training, use some uncommon methods, which should have led to positive results. The methods are as follows: first of all to brake the opposition “teacher – students” which allows to put teachers and students in the same social position; to forbid the use of computer translator during the lessons except for learning the new lexis to stop the irresponsible attitude of students to classes; to control psychological situation during the training and follow the University psychologists advices. The results of such methods use are described in the presented article.

Spinoza, Liberation From Causation, and Community Health Promotion.

What sense does it make to say that a new program implemented in a community with roots as old as evolution caused an observed health benefit? Evaluation of community approaches has often sought to isolate the causal roles of interventions. Central to this is the assumption that there are causes to be proven and isolated. Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) dismissed the concept of cause, arguing that all things, "substances," are not caused but simply are. Actions of things in nature can influence each other, e.g., erosion of a mountain, but their substance, the mountains simply are. For Spinoza, satisfaction in life comes from realizing and acting in accord with our substance, but this requires communities that support such realization and action. Thus, communities and the vast influences they contain are central to human welfare. Interventions within them do not cause benefits but join with the history, culture, and numerous other features of the community in becoming part of how the community influences its members. Implications include a) expanding the social ecological model fully to embrace multiple influences - including innovative programs - and interactions among them, and c) varied research methods to identify practical lessons about how communities may adopt and incorporate innovations to engender change, rather than a catalogue of interventions that are supposed to change them.

How Family Group Conferencing Can Support a Contextual Safeguarding Response to Community-based Youth Harm: Lessons for Practice from a Participatory Study

Abstract This article reports on a study that brought Family Group Conferencing (FGC) and Contextual Safeguarding together to create an innovative practice response to extra-familial harm. It took place as part of a wider research project into the implementation of Contextual Safeguarding—an ecological approach to creating safety for young people harmed outside the home. Whilst there is growing understanding in social care of the contextual dynamics of young people’s safeguarding needs beyond their homes, many remain unsure about what it means, in practice, for them to create safety in a context. Using data collected via participatory and embedded research methods, this article considers how FGCs were adapted to create responses to youth harm that shifted the focus from ‘family’ to ‘community’; addressed the ‘social conditions of harm’; and drew on practitioners’ existing FGC skills. It demonstrates conceptual alignment and practice benefits for bringing the two approaches together and argues that drawing on the value-base and skills of FGC coordinators has considerable potential. The article highlights three key elements that are needed to recreate similar responses, namely: organisational mandate/support; conceptual framework aligned to ecological theory; and skills and attributes that include facilitation, working restoratively and with authority in challenging situations.

Centralization potential of automotive E/E architectures

Current automotive E/E architectures are subject to significant transformations: Computing-power-intensive advanced driver-assistance systems, bandwidth-hungry infotainment systems, the connection of the vehicle with the internet and the consequential need for cyber-security drives the centralization of E/E architectures. A centralized architecture is often seen as a key enabler to master those challenges. Available research focuses mostly on the different types of E/E architectures and contrasts their advantages and disadvantages. There is a research gap on guidelines for system designers and function developers to analyze the potential of their systems for centralization. The present paper aims to quantify centralization potential reviewing relevant literature and conducting qualitative interviews with industry practitioners. In literature, we identified seven key automotive system properties reaching limitations in current automotive architectures: busload, functional safety, computing power, feature dependencies, development and maintenance costs, error rate, modularity and flexibility. These properties serve as quantitative evaluation criteria to estimate whether centralization would enhance overall system performance. In the interviews, we have validated centralization and its fundament – the conceptual systems engineering – as capabilities to mitigate these limitations. By focusing on practical insights and lessons learned, this research provides system designers with actionable guidance to optimize their systems, addressing the outlined challenges while avoiding monolithic architecture. This paper bridges the gap between theoretical research and practical application, offering valuable takeaways for practitioners.

Increasing Demand for Fact-Checking

ABSTRACT Fact-checks successfully persuade people to reject misinformation, but people who are exposed to misinformation rarely read fact-checks. This makes increasing the demand for fact-checking a crucial, understudied aspect of the fight against misinformation. We test several ways of increasing demand for fact-checking. In our first two studies, we find little evidence that the partisan reputation of fact-checkers affects willingness to read fact-checks. Our third and fourth studies yield three successful classes of interventions: appeals to civic duty, social pressure, and micro-payments. Effects are robust among those who are least likely at baseline to choose to read fact-checks, and among those who are most likely at baseline to consume misinformation. Our results offer several practical lessons. Increasing demand for fact-checks is possible, including among the subgroups most in need of encouragement. Though fact-checkers are widely perceived as partisan, increasing demand may require looking beyond partisan reputations and identities.

How ignition and target gain [formula omitted] were achieved in inertial fusion

For many decades the running joke in fusion research has been that “fusion” is twenty years away and always will be. Yet, in 2023 we find ourselves in a position where we can talk about the milestones of burning plasmas, fusion ignition, and target energy gain greater than unity in the past tense – a situation that is remarkable! This paper tells some of the story of the applied physics challenges that needed to be overcome to achieve these milestones and the strategy our team followed. Things did not always go well and some practical lessons learned are part of this story. The data shows, getting to a burning plasma in late 2020 and early 2021 was a key tipping-point, after which ignition (August 8, 2021) and target gain (December 5, 2022) were rapidly achieved.

Navigating Data Acquisition and Data Quality Validation of Large Databases: Practical Lessons

ObjectiveHave you ever been frustrated when working to acquire data? Have you experienced the trials and tribulations of readying data? ‘Best laid plans often go awry’. ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’ and we’d like to share our experiences and lessons learned with you. We are a Canadian provincial organization with over 20 years experience working with large comprehensive data currently in the midst of validation work on newly acquired data. This behind the scenes and sometimes forgotten work can take considerable time, but it is crucial and integral for research. ApproachData acquisition is complex, particularly when adding new data to existing data files. Many validation steps are vital to ensuring that data used in research are the highest quality possible and limitations are understood. The process began with preparing the agreement and list of new variables to add in 2018 for 4 databases (hospital, drug, physician, emergency), to signatures in 2023, and it is ongoing. While we have a plan to do this work, it requires flexibility and constant updates based on new information learned. ConclusionInvestigating errors, deciding level of acceptance of errors, managing relationships, and communication are the most critical aspects of the work. Contingency plans are important when it takes longer than expected. Data are never perfect, but a thoughtful approach to validation and documentation of limitations and decisions support using the data appropriately. Also, a kind demeanor, an open mind, and a sense of humour can go a long way!

Robodebt: A Socio-Technical Case Study of Public Sector Information Systems Failure

Large-scale public sector information systems (PSIS) that administer social welfare payments face considerable challenges. Between 2014 and 2023, an Australian government agency conceived and implemented the Online Compliance Intervention (OCI) scheme, widely referred to as Robodebt. The scheme's primary purpose was to apply digital transformation in order to reduce labour costs and increase recovery of overpayments. Among its key features were a simplified, but inherently erroneous, estimation method called income averaging, and a new requirement that welfare recipients produce documentation for income earned years earlier. Failure by welfare recipients to comply with mandates resulted in the agency recovering what it asserted to be overpayments. This article presents a case study of Robodebt and its effects on over 1 million of its clients. The detailed case study relies on primary data through Senate and other government hearings and commissions, and secondary data, such as media reports, supplemented by academic sources. Relevant technical features include (1) the reliance on the digital persona that the agency maintains for each client, (2) computer-performed inferencing from client data, and (3) automated decision-making and subsequent action. This article employs a socio-technical systems approach to understanding the factors underlying a major PSIS project failure, by focusing on the system's political and public service sponsors; its participants (users); the people affected by it (usees); and the broader economic, social, and political context. Practical and theoretical insights are presented, with the intention of highlighting major practical lessons for PSIS, and the relevance of an articulated socio-technical frame for PSIS.

50097 Direct to Patient Synchronous Teledermatology during COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for future Teledermatology practice

50097 Direct to Patient Synchronous Teledermatology during COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for future Teledermatology practice

Technology Integration in Teaching: Applying TPACK Model for Vietnamese Universities

This research aims to synthesize international experiences in applying technology in teaching according to the TPACK model (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge), in order to draw lessons and apply them to Vietnamese universities. This article uses a theoretical research method, mainly synthesizing and analyzing texts from research papers published in large databases including Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar, using keywords such as "TPACK" and "application of technology in teaching". To effectively apply technology, educational technologists have developed modern teaching frameworks, including the TPACK model, which combines three elements: (i) Technological knowledge; (ii) Pedagogical knowledge; and (iii) Content knowledge. Teachers need to harmoniously integrate these three elements when applying the TPACK model. In Vietnam, there have been some recent studies on the TPACK model in universities; however, the number of studies is still limited. This research aims to synthesize and analyze relevant studies on the application of technology in teaching according to the TPACK model. International experiences serve as practical lessons for Vietnamese universities to adapt and apply appropriately to the TPACK model, integrating technology with content and pedagogical methods in teaching to meet current practical requirements.

A Comprehensive Review of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS): Technological Advances, Environmental Impact, and Economic Feasibility

Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technologies are critical to reducing CO2 exhalations on a global scale. This review study synthesizes the many elements of CCUS over 50 years, from R&D to deployment scales, in terms of their mitigation potential for global emission reductions. Next, it discusses existing and new carbon capture techniques from an automation standpoint (e.g., pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture combustion), as well as the economic feasibility of CCUS regionally in terms of capital retail price, operating expenses, and value in the form of potential revenue streams based on CO2, aided by significant range-scaling building blocks such as rising nation. Each technique is thoroughly evaluated in terms of its environmental impact and associated risks, and case studies are used to illustrate practical lessons learnt. The paper also discusses the arguments around what future advances may exist in CCUS technology, and opportunities to scale these up (including research needs for this support), drawing lessons past policy. The findings underscore the importance of integrating CCUS into broader climate strategies to achieve net-zero exhalations while addressing the economic and environmental challenges that remain.

Development of a Multifaceted Program for Pharmacogenetics Adoption at an Academic Medical Center: Practical Considerations and Lessons Learned.

In 2019, Indiana University launched the Precision Health Initiative to enhance the institutional adoption of precision medicine, including pharmacogenetics (PGx) implementation, at university-affiliated practice sites across Indiana. The overarching goal of this PGx implementation program was to facilitate the sustainable adoption of genotype-guided prescribing into routine clinical care. To accomplish this goal, we pursued the following specific objectives: (i) to integrate PGx testing into existing healthcare system processes; (ii) to implement drug-gene pairs with high-level evidence and educate providers and pharmacists on established clinical management recommendations; (iii) to engage key stakeholders, including patients to optimize the return of results for PGx testing; (iv) to reduce health disparities through the targeted inclusion of underrepresented populations; (v) and to track third-party reimbursement. This tutorial details our multifaceted PGx implementation program, including descriptions of our interventions, the critical challenges faced, and the major program successes. By describing our experience, we aim to assist other clinical teams in achieving sustainable PGx implementation in their health systems.

A Review of “Next level grammar for a digital age: Teaching with social media and online tools for rhetorical understanding and critical creation”

Next level grammar for a digital age by Darren Crovitz, Michelle D. Devereaux, and Clarice M. Morgan has made a valuable contribution to English Language Arts (ELA) education by delineating how grammar instruction can be situated within real-life contexts using digital technologies and media, as well as emphasizing the importance of critical digital literacy in ELA education. The book provides educators with a wide range of approaches to guide students in utilizing language in digital spaces and understanding rhetorical grammar to create digital content, aiming to raise learners to become more conscious digital readers and writers and to grow up to be engaged citizens. With its concrete and practical lesson ideas, the book helps language teachers to prepare for teaching complex and challenging topics that emerge in digital realms and to guide students to incrementally develop their literacy skills. Individuals in language education will find valuable insights for engaging discussions on how language teaching can be updated to meet requirements of an increasingly digital media landscape.

Development Augmented Reality of CNC Lathe G-Code Programming

In the realm of education, the most recent novel methods, such as augmented reality (AR), are becoming increasingly popular since students can apply the learning circumstances seen in virtual form to the real-world environment. The study's goal is to create an AR application for G code programming on CNC Lathe machines for the Machining course at Batu Pahat Vocational College. The ADDIE model was employed as the process model in this development. The phases of this paradigm are as follows: analysis, design, development, implementation, and assessment. SolidWorks, Blender, and Blippar are used to create AR apps. Product functionality was evaluated by five experts in the fields of machining and multimedia. The data is collected using an expert confirmation form and analysed using the frequency of acceptance and expert feedback. The study's findings suggest that the built application achieved its purpose. Overall, this AR application for G code programming was created with vocational college students in mind and is suited for use as a supplementary reference that can be used in theoretical or practical lessons.

A study on the impact of open source metaverse immersive teaching method on emergency skills training for medical undergraduate students

BackgroundIn recent years, the traditional simulation-based medical teaching approach has faced challenges in meeting the requirements of practical emergency medicine education. This study utilized open-source tools and software to develop immersive panoramic videos using virtual reality technology for emergency medical teaching. It aims to investigate the efficacy of this novel teaching methodology. This transformation shifted the focus from physical simulation to virtual simulation in medical education, establishing a metaverse for emergency medical teaching.MethodsIn accordance with the curriculum guidelines, the instructors produced panoramic videos demonstrating procedures such as spinal injury management, humeral fracture with abdominal wall intestinal tube prolapse, head and chest composite injuries, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and tracheal intubation. Using Unity software, a virtual training application for bronchoscopy was developed and integrated into the PICO4 VR all-in-one device to create a metaverse teaching environment. Fourth-year medical undergraduate students were allocated into either an experimental group (n = 26) or a control group (n = 30) based on student IDs. The experimental group received instruction through the metaverse immersive teaching method, while the control group followed the traditional simulation-based medical teaching approach. Both groups participated in theoretical and practical lessons as usual. Subsequently, all students underwent a four-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) to assess the effectiveness of the teaching methods based on their performance. Additionally, students in the experimental group provided subjective evaluations to assess their acceptance of the new teaching approach.ResultsBefore the training commenced, there were no significant statistical differences in the first aid test scores between the experimental and control groups. Following the training, the experimental group outperformed the control group in the four-station OSCE examination, with all P-values being less than 0.05. The satisfaction rate among the experimental group regarding the new teaching method reached 88.46%, reflecting levels of satisfaction and extreme satisfaction.ConclusionThe open-source metaverse immersive teaching method has demonstrated a positive impact on enhancing the emergency skills of medical undergraduate students, with a high level of acceptance among students. In comparison to traditional simulated medical teaching methods, this approach requires less time and space, incurring lower costs, and is deemed worthy of wider adoption.

Equipping Civil Technology Teachers with Hands-On Skills and Educational Resources for Effective Teaching of Practical Lessons

Continuous professional development for teachers will always be prioritized, especially in cases where there are obvious and conspicuous gaps in their subject-matter expertise and when they handle practical skills exercises with inadequate planning and delivery. Hence, this study explores the effects of equipping Civil Technology teachers with hands-on skills and provision of educational resources for effective teaching of practical lessons. This study purposefully sampled nine (09) Civil Technology teachers from Ekurhuleni East, Gauteng province of South Africa. This study was hinged on Stronge’s qualities of effective teachers as its framework. This study adapted a mixed method design where closed-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were considered relevant data collection instrument and sources. A sequential explanatory design was used to analyze the collected data. The findings reveal that even though teachers get continuous hands-on skills training from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) annually, the trainings are often too generic and do not adequately boost teachers with confidence to teach specific skills (i.e., construction and plumbing) to learners. As a result, Civil Technology teachers could not actualize their continuous professional development training as an element of learning to become innovative skills teachers. The survey found that while certain Ekurhuleni East schools have instructional tools, some of the teachers were not trained to use them, which made it difficult to effectively teach practical lessons in Civil Technology. Therefore, this study recommended that the Gauteng Department of Education should focus on discipline specific instructional strategies that will promote innovation in skills-based activities in Civil Technology.

미동북부 지역 대학교의 교양 음악교과 운영현황 분석 -예일 대학교, 존스 홉킨스 대학교, 컬럼비아 대학교, 바너드 대학교를 중심으로-

This study aims to analyze the operation status of liberal arts music education courses at universities in the Northeastern United States and draw implications for South Korea. The study investigated the liberal arts curricula and music courses listed on the official websites of Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University and Barnard College. Across all universities, a total of 106 liberal arts courses were offered from the spring of 2023 to the spring of 2024. The research findings are as follows: First, liberal arts music education courses focused more on theoretical lectures rather than practical lessons, regardless of the scale or educational content of music majors. Second, all types of liberal arts music courses were distribution requirements. Columbia University had both core and distribution requirement courses. Additionally, advanced courses were offered based on students’ musical background knowledge. Third, the category names of liberal arts music courses were related to ‘Humanities’ or ‘Humanities & Arts’. Fourth, the courses were classified into music courses (theory 76.93%, performance 24.53%) and convergence courses (theory 5.66%, performance 1.89%). Fifth, the content of the courses, if theoretical, covered various fields of musicology, while practical courses provided actual musical experiences such as composition and stage performance. They included classical music, jazz, popular music, and ethnic music from certain period. Integrated courses included subjects related to popular culture studies, theater, and literature. Based on these findings, the study suggests improving the liberal arts music education infrastructure of domestic universities, expanding core or distribution requirements, designating specific categories related to music or humanities, and developing courses of various topics and difficulties.