Practitioner Review Research Articles

Does negative contact undermine attempts to improve intergroup relations? Deepening the understanding of negative contact and its consequences for intergroup contact research and interventions

AbstractIntergroup contact is an established pathway to improve intergroup relations. Research has long focused on mainly positive intergroup contact and its capability to improve intergroup relations. Yet, if members of different groups meet, they will not only make positive, but possibly also negative intergroup contact experiences. Recent research considering both positive as well as negative intergroup contact has raised concerns about potentially stronger effects of negative compared to positive contact. These new insights and the increasing awareness of potentially detrimental effects of contact could lead to doubts about whether it is always sensible to bring individuals from different groups together. Our article first updates the latest review on joint effects of positive and negative intergroup contact. We find that there is no clear tendency for either positive or negative intergroup contact to yield stronger effects on intergroup relations, and we portray factors that might influence these effects. Such factors—for example an individual's prior experiences—could play a crucial role in defining the relevance of negative contact in everyday settings. We continue by answering calls to increase a more qualitative understanding of what kinds of experiences are seen to be intergroup contact, and where intergroup contact in everyday life is experienced from a lay understanding, with new qualitative data from British White and British Asian individuals. Our results demonstrate that positive as well as negative contact is often rather casual and happens in public spaces and at work. Interventions explicitly addressing these spaces may help to reach more people. We also demonstrate that positive contact is much more frequent than negative contact. This finding is confirmed in the third section, which reviews the relative frequency of positive and negative intergroup contact. Last but not least, we discuss the implications of our review for practitioners and researchers alike.

Practitioner Review: Parenting interventions for child conduct problems: reconceptualising resistance to change.

Parenting interventions based on social learning theory have received extensive empirical support in the treatment of child conduct problems; yet, they fail to produce lasting gains in as many as a third of cases. Perspectives on these poor outcomes have been informed by numerous lines of research, and practitioner recommendations for improving such outcomes have often emphasized processes related to clinical engagement. In this Practitioner Review, we examine recent theory and evidence pertaining to these processes, including emerging research into the therapeutic relationship across face-to-face and eHealth treatment modalities, and the clinical engagement of both mothers and fathers. The concept of resistance to change is examined in light of these developments, and it is argued that the process of overcoming such resistance can be characterized as one of reflective practice. A novel process model based on this perspective is presented, comprising practical clinical strategies that are designed to be initiated from the earliest contacts with a family and build on one another across treatment.

Review on Brand Citizenship Behavior and Importance of Employees in Brand Strategy

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

Dividend Payout and Firm Performance: Evidence from a Frontier Market

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

The Moderating Effect of Personal Cultural Orientation on Brand Association and Conspicuous Consumptions: A Study in the Context of Luxury Fashion Brand Market in Sri Lanka

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

Outlining NHRD as Practiced in Malaysia in its National Planning Context

Journal of Business & Technology (JBT) is an open-access journal published by the Department of the Commerce and Financial Management of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process and is published bi-annually (January, July). JBT aims to publish scholarly research, critical reviews, case studies, practitioner reviews and technology reviews in the fields of business and technology.

Monitoring Training Loads in Basketball: A Narrative Review and Practical Guide for Coaches and Practitioners

ABSTRACT Monitoring training load provides information about the physical demands of the sport in which athletes are competing. Strength and conditioning coaches need to use this information to periodize and make decisions on training to optimize performance and prevent injuries. The following narrative review presents the current state of knowledge on monitoring external and internal loads in basketball. The reviewed articles were classified according to the sample represented, considering 3 groups: elite, subelite, and young basketball players. In addition, we analyzed the recording procedures and methodology used in technological and ecological terms. Articles were classified, considering what was monitored and the context in which it was monitored. These settings included competition, training, and small-sided games. Performance and sports injury variables were also taken into account in our review.

The Comparability and Utility of Perioperative Mortality Rates in Global Health

To examine the comparability and utility of perioperative mortality rate (POMR) as a key global surgery metric and the added potential for mortality review to drive continuous quality improvement. There is a wide variation in the perioperative mortality rate (POMR) reported between countries, even for the three Bellwether procedures (emergency laparotomy, emergency caesarean section, management of an open fracture) and other common procedures. Clinical registries such as the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit target high-mortality procedures. Nationally, administrative databases may be used to adjust for risk factors such as age, urgency, socio-economic status and ethnicity, as well as regional variation. To improve care, clinical governance requires practitioner, peer and multidisciplinary review of all avoidable deaths attributable to surgical disease. Appropriately messaged, POMR is a useful metric for health stakeholders and informative for National Surgical, Obstetric and Anaesthesia Plan (NSOAP). The combination of a national database background reporting POMR and clinical governance through local peer and case review of individual mortalities is essential for improving perioperative care.

Post-activation performance enhancement strategies in sport: a brief review for practitioners

In this review, we will present and critically discuss how different conditioning exercises can be implemented in training, testing, and competition for the enhancement of performances in different sports, via post-activation performance enhancement and other delayed potentiation responses. The potentiation approaches described here include warming up, testing and monitoring, re-warm-up and priming strategies, and complex training. The post-activation performance enhancement responses can be best described following the new taxonomy, which allows the identification of the best strategies in every specific sport setting. This requires identifying the post-activation performance enhancement factors, which are the conditioning activity, the verification test, the population of athletes; and potential moderators (i.e. exercise type and loading, timing; recovery interval, target exercise, performance parameter; training background, age, and sex). The inherent limitations to these approaches, including the gaps in literature requiring further studies, may be overcome in practice by using individualized approaches.

Unpacking Reflective Practice in the Praxis of English Language Teaching in Indonesia

This paper portrays the ways Indonesian English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners review and reflect on their practice, seek to expand new ideas and techniques they can apply in their classrooms. This study aims to enhance our understanding of what it is actually that Indonesian ELT practitioners are doing, understanding, and what they are trying to achieve in their classroom activities. This study investigates explanative answers to a single research question: In what ways are Indonesian ELT practitioners reflective in their classroom practice? This study conducted at secondary schools and universities uses a qualitative approach, utilizing observation, interviews, and documents as data collection methods, and content analysis as a means of data analysis. This research involved four participants selected purposively and voluntarily. Its findings, analysis, and interpretation are presented descriptively. The major finding of this study suggests that Indonesian ELT practitioners are reflective in three ways: being reflective within the process of their teaching, known as “reflection-in-action, being reflective in their post-teaching referred to as “reflection-on-action, ” and being reflective in their future improvement planning known as “reflection-for-action.” The practitioners’ reflexivity aims to improve the quality of their teaching, which can potentially affect the quality of their students’ learning. Thus, arguably Indonesian ELT practitioners have performed the praxis in their language teaching through reflective practice.

Achieving cultural safety for Australia's First Peoples: a review of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency-registered health practitioners' Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics.

Objective Health practitioners' Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics articulate practice standards across multiple domains, including the domain of cultural safety. As key tools driving individual practice and systems reform, Codes are integral to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is, therefore, critical that their contents specify meaningful cultural safety standards as the norm for institutional and individual practice. This research assessed all Codes for cultural safety specific content. Methods Following the release of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency's (Ahpra) Health and Cultural Safety strategy 2020-25, the 16 Ahpra registered health practitioner Board Codes of Conduct and professional Codes of Ethics were analysed by comparing content to Ahpra's new cultural safety objectives. Two Codes of Conduct, Nursing and Midwifery, met these objectives. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners Code partially met these objectives. Results Most Codes of Conduct (14 of 16) conflated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities undermining the sovereignty of Australia's First Peoples. Eleven professions had a Code of Ethics, including the Physiotherapy Code of Conduct, which outlined the values and ethical principles of practice commonly associated with a Code of Ethics. Of the 11 professions with a Code of Ethics, two (Pharmacy and Psychology) articulated specific ethical responsibilities to First Peoples. Physiotherapy separately outlined cultural safety obligations through their reconciliation action plan (RAP), meeting all Ahpra cultural safety objectives. The remaining eight advocated respect of culture generally rather than respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures specifically. Conclusions The review identified multiple areas to improve the codes for cultural safety content for registered health professions, providing a roadmap for action to strengthen individual and systems practice while setting a clear regulatory standard to ensure culturally safe practice becomes the new norm. It recommends the systematic updating of all professional health practitioner Board Codes of Conduct and professional Codes of Ethics based on the objectives outlined in Ahpra's Cultural Safety Strategy. What is known about the topic? Systemic racism and culturally unsafe work environments contribute to poor health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They also contribute to the under-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the health workforce, denying the system, and the people who use and work in it, much needed Indigenous knowledge. Creating a culturally safe healthcare system requires all health practitioners to reflect on their own cultural background, to gain appreciation of the positive and negative impacts of individually held cultural assumptions on the delivery of healthcare services. Competence in cultural safety as a required standard of practice is therefore essential if broad, sustainable and systemic cultural change across the health professions and ultimately across Australia's healthcare system is to be achieved. Given that Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics are integral in setting the practical and moral standards of the professions, their contents with respect to cultural competence are of great importance. What does this paper add? A review of this type has not been undertaken previously. Following the establishment of the Ahpra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy Group, release of Ahpra's 2018 Statement of intent, and the 2019 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety strategic plan and Reconciliation Action Plan, we analysed the content of each of the 16 registered health professions Codes of Conduct and Code of Ethics looking for content and guidance in accordance with the new national cultural safety definition. Several opportunities to improve the Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics were identified to realise the vision set out in the statement of intent including through the application of the National Law. This analysis provides a baseline for future improvements and confirms that although some current health practitioner Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics have begun the journey of recognising the importance of cultural safety in ensuring good health outcomes for Australia's Indigenous peoples, there is broad scope for change. What are the implications for practitioners? The gaps identified in this analysis provide a roadmap for improvement and inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and cultural safety as a required standard in Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics for all registered health practitioners. Although it is recognised that Codes alone may not change hearts and minds, codifying the clinical competency of cultural safety provides a portal, and a requirement, for each individual practitioner to engage meaningfully and take responsibility to improve practice individually and organisationally.

A design process for developing agricultural life science‐focused model eliciting activities

AbstractAgricultural life science topics include but are not limited to (1) agriculture and the environment, (2) culture, society, and economy, and (3) energy. These topics have potential to come up during mathematics and science instruction and offer learning opportunities. One way for agricultural life science topics to be part of such instruction is through tasks that encourage problem solving. Model‐eliciting activities (MEAs) are tasks that promote problem solving, draw upon real‐life experiences, and have potential to engage in learning across multiple disciplines. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe a qualitative, exploratory multiple case study. It answers the research question: What are important design features when developing Agricultural Life Science MEAs? Results from this study provide a viable roadmap as an approach to develop MEAs that address Agricultural Life Science issues. This roadmap includes six stages: problem identification, assessing developmental readiness, identifying potential engagement in the MEA, considering pedagogical supports, practitioner reviews, and finally field testing.

Unpacking Reflective Practice in the Praxis of English Language Teaching in Indonesia

This paper portrays the ways Indonesian English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners review and reflect on their practice, seek to expand new ideas and techniques they can apply in their classrooms. This study aims to enhance our understanding of what it is actually that Indonesian ELT practitioners are doing, understanding, and what they are trying to achieve in their classroom activities. This study investigates explanative answers to a single research question: In what ways are Indonesian ELT practitioners reflective in their classroom practice? This study conducted at secondary schools and universities uses a qualitative approach, utilizing observation, interviews, and documents as data collection methods, and content analysis as a means of data analysis. This research involved four participants selected purposively and voluntarily. Its findings, analysis, and interpretation are presented descriptively. The major finding of this study suggests that Indonesian ELT practitioners are reflective in three ways: being reflective within the process of their teaching, known as “reflection-in-action, being reflective in their post-teaching referred to as “reflection-on-action, ” and being reflective in their future improvement planning known as “reflection-for-action.” The practitioners’ reflexivity aims to improve the quality of their teaching, which can potentially affect the quality of their students’ learning. Thus, arguably Indonesian ELT practitioners have performed the praxis in their language teaching through reflective practice.

"They were all together … discussing the best options for me": Integrating specialist diabetes care with primary care in Australia.

Over one-third of diabetes-related encounters with healthcare providers in Australia fail to meet clinical guidelines. Evidence is mounting that care provision within an integrated framework may facilitate greater adherence to clinical guidelines and improved outcomes for patients. The Diabetes Alliance Program was implemented across a large healthcare district to enhance diabetes care capacity at the primary care level through intensive case-conferencing involving the primary care team, patients and visiting specialist team, whole practice performance review and regular diabetes education for practitioners. Here, we provide an in-depth patient assessment of the case-conferencing process and impact on diabetes management. Two practices with high pre-intervention HbA1c monitoring and three practices with low HbA1c monitoring provided the sampling frame. Patients were selected according to their score on the Patient Activation MeasureTM to achieve maximum variation, with up to two patients with high scores and three with low scores, selected from each practice. Patients were sampled until data saturation was achieved and then subjected to thematic content analysis (n=19). Patients mostly described the model of care as a positive experience, reporting a boost in confidence in diabetes self-management (particularly around nutrition). The program was also seen to be helpful in providing an opportunity to refocus when "life gets in the way". Other valued aspects of the program included the holistic approach to healthcare, reduced travel time, familiarity in environment and clinical care, top-down knowledge transfer as well as mutual learning by the patient and their primary care team. Despite this, difficulties in coping with diabetes and adherence to treatment recommendations remained for a minority of patients. Integrating specialist teams within primary care has the ability to provide efficient healthcare delivery, better patient experience and health outcomes. Investment in such approaches will be critical to navigating healthcare provision in order to meet the demands of an ageing population.

Coaching to Tackle COVID-19 Crisis: A Critical Review for Management Practitioners

The current paper is an attempt to refresh the concept of coaching in the minds of scholars to help them address major issues affecting performance, psychological well-being, and behaviors of employees due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The paper serves as an effort to help organizational researchers recall the concept of coaching and its benefits for people and their organizations during the current times. The work also aspires to encourage researchers to consider investigating coaching to provide objective results for policy and implications. The article provides information on the idea of coaching and the various explanations given by management and organizational practitioners. The paper also provides information on the purpose of coaching and why organizations need to understand the concept of coaching and the different types that are available both within and outside of the organizations. Important to state that the paper also discusses the benefits of coaching, which spotlights the need for coaching to be utilized by organizations. Lastly, the paper discusses how coaching can be particularly important in crises like COVID-19 Pandemic followed to guide and recommend organizations to make the use of it to overcome employee, organization, and performance-related issues.

Brain Injuries in American Football: Understanding the Injury, Difficulty in Helmet Optimization, and Current Communication Practices – A Narrative Review

Background: Over 2.7 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) annually in the United States. TBI involves the application and generation of external forces and impulse loads respectively to the head whereby the brain moves relative to the skull. Despite numerous studies, further understanding of TBIs is necessary, requiring consistent attention. Objective: The purpose of this article is to investigate the history of American football helmets and provide an academic and practitioner review as it relates to TBIs. This study is a literature review that also considers perspectives from an autoethnographic frame. Method: An extensive literature review was performed to assess the history of TBI as it relates to American football. This article evaluates helmet design optimization and American football safety as well as an exploration into the sports’ education methods for players and staff alike. Results: Despite developing helmet designs that can better attenuate impact forces, reducing linear and rotational movement, the skull and brain move very differently relative to one another. Helmet designs and tools for measuring forces require further validation techniques to determine resultant forces and movement for the brain. Current biomechanics research lacks sufficient methodology for defining TBI thresholds, making helmet optimization difficult. Conclusion: According to past research, no helmet can eliminate all TBI risk; however, processes are in place lead by the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association to educate players, coaches, and staff at all levels of competition of the protective capabilities of available helmet options.

Delusional infestation: Clinical presentations, diagnosis, and management

Delusional infestation is a primary psychiatric disorder characterized by a somatic-type delusional disorder (primary delusional infestation) that may lead to self-induced cutaneous lesions which are often difficult to recognize and treat properly. It may be also secondary to other psychiatric disorders, medical diseases, or substance abuse. This review will describe prevalence, common clinical features, different clinical presentations, differential diagnoses, and treatment recommendation. Special focus has been put on psychological aspects. We conducted a literature search on PubMed from January 2001 to June 2020 with the search terms of delusional parasitosis, delusional infestation, psychological, Reference lists of identified articles were examined for further relevant studies. The search was limited to English language articles. No specified quality criteria were used for study inclusion. The clinical manifestations of delusional infestation are very important in the differential diagnosis and its psychological implications and management perspectives. This article presents an update regarding the clinical aspects and treatment options of delusional infestation in order to provide an up-to-date review for dermatologists and general practitioners.

How to Improve Behavioral Parent and Teacher Training for Children with ADHD: Integrating Empirical Research on Learning and Motivation into Treatment

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] is one of the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood with poor prognosis if not treated effectively. Recommended psychosocial evidence-based treatment for preschool and school-aged children is behavioral parent and teacher training [BPT]. The core elements of BPT are instrumental learning principles, i.e., reinforcement of adaptive and the ignoring or punishment of non-adaptive behaviors together with stimulus control techniques. BPT is moderately effective in reducing oppositional behavior and improving parenting practices; however, it does not reduce blinded ratings of ADHD symptoms. Also after training effects dissipate. This practitioner review proposes steps that can be taken to improve BPT outcomes for ADHD, based on purported causal processes underlying ADHD. The focus is on altered motivational processes (reward and punishment sensitivity), as they closely link to the instrumental processes used in BPT. Following a critical analysis of current behavioral treatments for ADHD, we selectively review motivational reinforcement-based theories of ADHD, including the empirical evidence for the behavioral predictions arising from these theories. This includes consideration of children’s emotional reactions to expected and unexpected outcomes. Next we translate this evidence into potential ADHD-specific adjustments designed to enhance the immediate and long-term effectiveness of BPT programs in addressing the needs of children with ADHD. This includes the use of remediation strategies for proposed deficits in learning not commonly used in BPT programs and cautions regarding the use of punishment. Finally, we address how these recommendations can be effectively transferred to clinical practice.

Practitioner review: health anxiety in children and young people in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health-related fear is a normal and common response in the face of the global pandemic of COVID-19. Children and young people are frequently being exposed to messages about the threat to health, including from the media and authorities. Whilst for most, their anxiety will be proportionate to the threat, for some, existing pre-occupation with physical symptoms and illness will become more problematic. There is a growing body of evidence that health anxiety may occur in childhood, however much of the literature is taken from research using adult samples. This practitioner review aims to give an overview of the assessment and treatment of health-related worries in children and young people in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This review is based on the limited existing evidence in this population and the more substantial evidence base for treating health anxiety in adults. We consider the adaptations needed to ensure such interventions are developmentally appropriate.

Practitioner Review: Pharmacological treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children and youth with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Clinically significant attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are common and impairing in children and youth with autism spectrum disorder(ASD). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to (a) evaluate the efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy for the treatment of ADHD symptoms in ASD and (b) distil findings for clinical translation. We searched electronic databases and clinical trial registries (1992 onwards). We selected randomized controlled trials conducted in participants <25years of age, diagnosed with ASD that evaluated ADHD outcomes (hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention) following treatment with stimulants (methylphenidate or amphetamines), atomoxetine, alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonists, antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, bupropion, modafinil, venlafaxine, or a combination, in comparison with placebo, any of the listed medications, or behavioral therapies. Data were pooled using a random-effects model. Twenty-five studies (4 methylphenidate, 4 atomoxetine, 1 guanfacine, 14 antipsychotic, 1 venlafaxine, and 1 tianeptine) were included. Methylphenidate reduced hyperactivity (parent-rated: standardized mean difference [SMD]=-.63, 95%CI=-.95,-.30; teacher-rated: SMD=-.81, 95%CI=-1.43,-.19) and inattention (parent-rated: SMD=-.36, 95%CI=-.64,-.07; teacher-rated: SMD=-.30, 95%CI=-.49,-.11). Atomoxetine reduced inattention (parent-rated: SMD=-.54, 95%CI = -.98,-.09; teacher/investigator-rated: SMD=-0.38, 95%CI=-0.75, -0.01) and parent-rated hyperactivity (parent-rated: SMD=-.49, 95%CI=-.76,-.23; teacher-rated: SMD=-.43, 95%CI=-.92, .06). Indirect evidence for significant reductions in hyperactivity with second-generation antipsychotics was also found. Quality of evidence for all interventions was low/very low. Methylphenidate was associated with a nonsignificant elevated risk of dropout due to adverse events. Direct pooled evidence supports the efficacy and tolerability of methylphenidate or atomoxetine for treatment of ADHD symptoms in children and youth with ASD. The current review highlights the efficacy of standard ADHD pharmacotherapy for treatment of ADHD symptoms in children and youth with ASD. Consideration of the benefits weighed against the limitations of safety/efficacy data and lack of data evaluating long-term continuation is undertaken to help guide clinical decision-making regarding treatment of co-occurring ADHD symptoms in children and youth with ASD.