Vocational Domains Research Articles

Assessing Health-Related Quality of Life in Children With Spina Bifida in Lithuania.

Introduction In recent years,more emphasis has been placed on improving the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with spina bifida (SB).Chronic disability is understood to impact various aspects of the person's life, family, and social functioning, in addition to the specific needs of the disease. The HRQOL is done to assess the patient'squality of life (QOL) in various domains includingphysical and mental. Back in the 1900s, few children survived SB, whereas today, they almost have normal life expectancy.By understanding the contributing factors to the quality of life (QOL), more targeted interventions can be put in place in order to maximizethe psychological and social well-being of these patients. Aim The aim of this study is to estimate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Lithuanian children with spina bifida (SB) in relation to comorbidities, level of lesions, and mobility. Objectives The objectives of this study are to investigate the HRQOL of Lithuanian childrenwith SB born between 1999 and 2012; to analyze the relation between the HRQOL and its comorbidities, including hydrocephalus, Chiari II malformation, incontinence, and epilepsy; and to determine the relationship of health variables, the level of lesions, and mobility to the HRQOL. Methods This was a quantitative cross-sectional study on children with spina bifida across Lithuania to assess the HRQOL. Subjects were chosen and interviewed from various cities includingKaunas, Vilnius, Marijampolė, Gargždai, Biržai, Panevėžys, Palanga, and Alytus. A questionnairewas used as an instrument to measure the HRQOL. The level of lesions, comorbidities, and other health variables were obtained from the medical files and directly from the patient's history. Results Regarding the HRQOL, our study population showed the highest scores in the emotional, medical, intellectual, and social domains. The lowest sub-scores were in recreational, vocational, environmental, and then physical domains. We also found that certain comorbidities including hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and incontinence negatively affected the QOL. In our study group, we also found that the ambulatory group scored significantly higher in the overall QOL. However, when comparing the level of lesions to the HRQOL, we found no statistically significant difference. Conclusion Positive results were obtained regarding the medical, emotional, intellectual, and social aspects of patients with SB in Lithuania as they scored high in this domain. However, the environmental and vocational domains scored low, suggesting that further examination needs to be carried in these domains. We concludedthat having various comorbidities includinghydrocephalus and incontinence has negative impacts on the QOL. Patients whosuffered from epilepsy had a statistically significant lower QOL. No significant difference was found in the association between the level of lesion and the QOL in our study.

Navigating career stages in the age of artificial intelligence: A systematic interdisciplinary review and agenda for future research

As artificial intelligence (AI) use expands within organizations, its influence is increasingly permeating careers and vocational domains. However, there is a notable lack of structured insights regarding AI's role in shaping individual career paths across career stages. To address this gap, we undertook a systematic literature review of 104 empirical articles, aiming to synthesize the scholarship on AI in the context of careers. Drawing upon career stage theory, we examine the implications of AI on careers, identify key barriers and enablers of AI use in this area, and reveal how the utilization of AI impacts individuals' career competencies. In doing so, we illustrate how AI actively shapes individuals' career trajectories and we dissect these effects both within and across various career stages to situate AI within the broader context of careers research. Adopting a sustainable career lens, we conclude by outlining a future research agenda that advocates for the design and adoption of AI systems that promote sustainable and equitable careers.

Symptom domains and psychosocial functioning in borderline personality disorder

BackgroundBorderline personality disorder (BPD) is often characterized by severe functional impairment, even after a decrease in symptoms. A comprehensive understanding of psychosocial functioning in BPD is necessary to tailor treatment offer, which should address relevant aspects of daily life. The aims of the present study are to (1) conduct a cross-sectional comparison of functioning of a group with BPD and a non-BPD clinical comparison group at service entry, and to (2) assess the relationship between intensity of BPD symptom domains and psychosocial functioning.MethodsThe sample consists of N = 65 participants with BPD and N = 57 participants from the clinical comparison group without BPD (non-BPD group). The Revised Borderline Follow-up Interview (BFI-R) was used to evaluate psychosocial functioning and the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R) to assess BPD symptoms. Linear, logistic, and multinomial regression models were run separately for each aspect of functioning as a function of BPD status or BPD symptom domains.ResultsOnly 23% of participants in the BPD group fulfilled criteria for good overall psychosocial functioning, compared to 53% in the non-BPD group. Furthermore, participants in the BPD group were less likely to have completed a high number of years of education, to work consistently, to be financially independent, to be in a cohabiting relationship and have a good relationship with parents. In addition, various links were identified between BPD symptom domains and functional impairments.ConclusionsConsistent with prior research, the main impairments in functioning in the BPD group are found in the educational and vocational domains. Though some domains show impairment, others, like friendships, may act as potential resources. Further investigation on the relationships with symptom domains is required.

Expertise Development at Work: A Workplace Curriculum Perspective in the Domains of Sales Representatives and Leadership Coaches in a German Context

Context: Active engagement and participation in professional practices are an important requirement for expertise development in vocational domains. However, not much is known about how work contexts foster or hinder such expertise development. To further fill this research gap, this study investigates two vocational domains, namely sales representatives and leadership coaches, using the Workplace Curriculum Approach. This approach focuses on three aspects. First, how novices get access to certain tasks. Second, which tasks at work are especially conducive to learning, referred to as pedagogically-rich activities. Third, what knowledge is hard-to-learn through practice alone. By focusing on these three aspects, the Workplace Curriculum Approach helps to understand learning. Method: Eleven highly competent sales representatives and ten highly competent leadership coaches from German organizations participated in an interview study. A thematic qualitative text analysis was applied using deductive and inductive coding. Results: For sales representatives, task sequencing is different across organizations due to structural factors, particularly products, and infrastructure. Ideally, apprentices start by getting to know the customers by selling products on site at a counter and by getting to know the products in the warehouse. challenging interactions with customers on the phone are most conducive to learning. The scope of the product portfolio and the amount of technical knowledge are hard to learn. Leadership coaches are encouraged by peers to start at team leader and smaller team levels before moving on to more senior executives and larger team levels. Weekly team meetings offer important social learning opportunities similar to informal discussions among peers. Methodological and organizational knowledge are hard to learn. Conclusion: Regardless of differences between both domains, the Workplace Curriculum Approach proved useful for analyzing learning and expertise development in the different workplace contexts. The approach proved to be a fairly tangible and easy-to-use tool to investigate how workplaces support expertise development and how workplace learning regimes might be changed to further foster novices’ learning and development. Researchers and practitioners alike can utilize the Workplace Curriculum Approach to analyze learning in different domains in their respective organization. However, individual factors of the learners such as motivation to participate in activities in the workplace are not explicitly included in this approach to investigate professional learning and development. They should be of additional focus in any study interested in vocational expertise development.

Virtual Reality and Language Learning in Hospitality: An Investigation of Students' Perceptions

This research investigates the perceptions of students within the hospitality management program at Politeknik Negeri Lampung (Polinela) regarding the utilization of Virtual Reality (VR)-based learning in English for Hospitality, a specialized branch of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). With a qualitative approach, the study aims to uncover students’ perspectives on both the challenges encountered and the aspects appreciated in the context of VR-based language learning. The participants, comprising 23 individuals, responded to open-ended questions that aimed to delve into their experiences. The findings shed light on the feasibility and effectiveness of VR-based learning, with the majority of participants reporting minimal difficulties. Appreciation for the immersive learning experience, novelty, realism, and engagement factors were evident in their responses. This research contributes to the understanding of incorporating innovative technologies like VR in ESP contexts, highlighting the need to address technical challenges and optimize language support for a diverse learner population. The outcomes offer insights into the potential of VR-based learning to enhance language acquisition within specific vocational domains.

Vocational Domain Identification with Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing on Wikipedia Text: Error Analysis and Class Balancing

Highly-skilled migrants and refugees finding employment in low-skill vocations, despite professional qualifications and educational backgrounds, has become a global tendency, mainly due to the language barrier. Employment prospects for displaced communities are mostly decided by their knowledge of the sublanguage of the vocational domain they are interested in working. Common vocational domains include agriculture, cooking, crafting, construction, and hospitality. The increasing amount of user-generated content in wikis and social networks provides a valuable source of data for data mining, natural language processing, and machine learning applications. This paper extends the contribution of the authors’ previous research on automatic vocational domain identification by further analyzing the results of machine learning experiments with a domain-specific textual data set while considering two research directions: a. prediction analysis and b. data balancing. Wrong prediction analysis and the features that contributed to misclassification, along with correct prediction analysis and the features that were the most dominant, contributed to the identification of a primary set of terms for the vocational domains. Data balancing techniques were applied on the data set to observe their impact on the performance of the classification model. A novel four-step methodology was proposed in this paper for the first time, which consists of successive applications of SMOTE oversampling on imbalanced data. Data oversampling obtained better results than data undersampling in imbalanced data sets, while hybrid approaches performed reasonably well.

Influence of Gender on Stress among School Children: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: The perception of stress by students affects their academic performance significantly. Continuous exposure to stress for a long time can cause both physical illnesses (including heart disease), and mental illnesses (e.g., anxiety disorders). Furthermore, stress increases the risk of suicide in students which is an important cause of adolescent mortality. Perception of stressors depends upon the biological, social, and psychological factors of students. Moreover, biological differences between male and female students attributed to the significant difference in experiencing stress among them. Aim: To study the gender difference and stress levels among adolescent school students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Government boys higher secondary school and Government girls higher secondary school Mauganj, a town of Madhya Pradesh, India, between August 2016 to September 2016. The state board of examinations and the Hindi medium of instruction were followed in the school. Total 40 study subjects, 24 males and 16 females were recruited for study after obtaining written informed consent from participants by simple random sampling method. The self-administered student stress scale was used to measure participants’ levels of stress and socio-demographic information, including age, sex, education, was recorded in semistructured data entry proforma. The data were summarised using means with standard deviations and frequencies with percentages. Comparative analyses between the genders were conducted using the Student’s t-test (for continuous variables). The p-value ≤0.05 was considered level of significance. Results: Total of 40 study participants included, mean age 16.2±2.2 years. A total of 24 were male students and 16 were female students, amongst included subjects. Majority of student’s family practiced Hindu religion. Total stress score was 84.3±7.5 for male and 96.2±5.5 for female students (p=0.001). Conclusion: Significant amounts of stress were felt by students in high school. Male and female students perceived similar levels of stress in their academic and vocational domains, but female students felt significantly more stress in their financial, emotional, familial, and social domain. Student total stress levels were significantly higher for female students than male students.

Identification and Successful Targeting of a Larger Than Expected Health Literacy Gap in Young People with Sickle Cell Disease Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care

Young people living with long-term medical conditions growing into adulthood face significant challenges inherent in the necessary new-found autonomy and unprecedented responsibility for their health along with understanding the interfaces with adult health services. Data from the United Kingdom has found that amongst people living with Sickle cell disease (SCD), young adults aged 20-29 years have the highest rates of emergency hospital admissions. This is associated with a significant increase in mortality amongst patients with SCD of this age group. It is well recognized that those who don't understand health information are less likely to seek out healthcare support appropriately and are more likely to have significant ill-health. Furnishing young people with the skills to improve their health literacy is therefore the cornerstone of any transition preparedness programme. Ready Steady Go (RSG) is a UK National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) endorsed generic transition programme that may be used to support children with long-term conditions. It comprehensively addresses the full range of issues for good transition and facilitates discussion in greater depth of any areas of need to support young people with chronic medical conditions so that they might more effectively manage the needs of their medical condition and navigate entry into adult life with confidence. Data were compared between responses of 147 young people with chronic conditions transitioning to adult care at each of the Ready, Steady and Go timepoints. Age-appropriate questionnaires were offered as part of routine patient care and 4451 unique responses to each of the questions on the age-appropriate RSG questionnaires were obtained including responses related to knowledge and understanding of the condition, its treatment and the composition of the healthcare team, capacity for self-advocacy, assessment of understanding of general adolescent health issues including sexual health, exercise and diet, educational, independence and vocational domains, psychosocial aspects and the understanding of the concept of transitional care. Experience using these questionnaires in clinical practice has taught us that often the questions not answered are at least as informative as those answered as 'need more help' and are often areas with the highest need so we elected to include questions without a response in our evaluation. Analysis revealed that at all stages the young people with SCD (n = 42) were significantly less likely to report confidence in important transition parameters compared to those living with other long-term conditions (n = 105) (figure A). This was most pronounced in questions that assessed knowledge and understanding of their medications and how they worked and ownership of taking their own medications without parental assistance (79.9% SCD vs 89.9% other chronic conditions) with low reported rates of requesting and picking up their own repeat prescriptions (13.9% SCD vs 47.4%) (figure B). Patients with SCD were more likely to report that they needed more help 'dealing with unwelcome comments or bullying' (26.1% SCD vs 3.5%) and less likely to 'feel happy with life' (73.8% SCD vs 86.4%) (figure C). They were also more likely to reply that they did not feel able to 'tell others of their condition' (36.8% SCD vs 11.8%) and were less likely to say that they were 'happy with the way they looked to others' (77.8% SCD vs 86.4%). Our data also suggested that their social support was less with 24% of respondents with SCD saying they did not 'know someone I can talk to when I feel sad or fed up' vs 8.3% of respondents with diabetes. 23.8% of young people with SCD reported they did not see friends outside of school vs 15.5% of young people with diabetes. In response to these data, a bespoke, bite-sized, animated SCD transition education package was developed (figure D). It was offered to young people living with SCD peri-transition and demonstrated an uplift in confidence and understanding from 47.8% to 84.6% after engagement with the resource (figure E). This data analysis and reflexive action research shows that there is a significant health literacy gap in young people with SCD transitioning to adult care, larger than that seen in young people with other chronic conditions and that targeted digital health education interventions are effective at increasing a young person's health literacy, engagement and confidence. Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal

The concept of HRQoL for patients on hemodialysis in Saudi Arabia: an exploratory study

BackgroundThe concept of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a patient-reported outcome measure, is poorly defined within the Saudi literature. There is a lack of culturally adapted measures to assess the HRQoL of patients on hemodialysis in Saudi Arabia. Hence, this study aims to explore and define the concept of HRQoL, identify its key domains and develop a conceptual model as perceived by patients with renal failure who are undergoing hemodialysis in Saudi Arabia.MethodsQualitative research methods was used; data were collected in one dialysis center in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. Twenty-two semi structured qualitative interviews were conducted using a topic guide. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis methods as the transcripts were coded, the categories identified, and the themes generated.ResultsSeven definitions of the HRQoL concept emerged from data analysis in terms of health status and psychological wellbeing including the satisfaction with life, socialization and the ability to play the expected social role and having social relationships that are supportive, religiosity and the belief in God and being able to perform religious worships and finally needs satisfaction was used to define HRQoL which included financial needs and the quality of healthcare services. All these themes were utilized to develop one common definition that emphasized the personal satisfaction with health, social, psychological and financial needs in addition to religious performance and the quality of healthcare services provided. The conceptual model was developed using five key domains of HRQoL: physiological, social, psychological, religious and vocational domains that were defined by certain indicators and the relationships between the domains were clarified in the model.ConclusionThe findings of this study could guide the selection of the appropriate HRQoL instrument to assess the HRQoL of patients on hemodialysis in Saudi Arabia, which would ensure the validity of the findings that could be used in healthcare decisions and planning of care.

MOTIVATING FACTORS FOR CHOOSING DENTISTRY AND PLAN AFTER GRADUATION

Background: The knowledge of current motivation to choose dentistry and future plan of dental graduates is critical to health care systems and may result in major change for policies in dental education. This study aimed to assess the motivational factors that influenced students to choose dentistry as a profession and their future plan after graduation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the 120 students who have cleared the final Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) examination and were undergoing their mandatory internship program. The data was collected between January 2020 to April 2020. Data analysis was done using Statistical Prod­uct and Service Solution (SPSS) version 20 with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The leading professional reason was the flexible working hour, 54.8% (n=57). Job stability, 50% (n=52), the desire to help people, 49% (n=51) and a desire to be associated with a health profession, 69.2% (n=72) were the primary reasons on economic, vocational and personal domains respectively. Around half of the participants 52% (n=54) have planned for further study after graduation. Similarly, 28.8% (n=30) of the participants have planned to live and work outside Kathmandu valley, 28.8% (n=30) were planning to live and work within Kathmandu valley. Conclusions: This study found that the flexible working hour, job stability and desire to help people were the motivational factors for choosing dentistry. Majority have planned for further study. In future, only those from outside Kathmandu valley were willing to serve the people beyond the valley.

Il silenzio come esperienza trasformativa. L’importanza del silenzio nella meditazione e in ambito professionale

The article is motivated by the lack of studies which address silence as a context- dependent phenomenon; that is, as a phenomenon whose meaning arises within specific contexts, situations and physical spaces. Accordingly, I address the ways in which the phenomenon of silence plays an essential role in particular professional and vocational domains. The analysis leads through some thoughts and considerations of people who work or are active in specialized fields that have a significant connection with the practice and the experience of silence. I especially examine areas such as meditation, teaching, health professions, and other professional and even – to some extent – artistic practices.

Functional outcomes and subjective recovery of jumping to conclusions in schizophrenia

This study investigated the effects of the bias known as jumping to conclusions (JTC) on objective functional outcomes as well as subjective assessments of quality of life (QoL) and personal recovery among a sample of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Specifically, this study assessed the variables of JTC, psychiatric symptoms, neurocognitive functioning, objective interpersonal and daily activities, vocational domains, subjective QoL, and personal recovery among 94 participants. Results showed that those in the JTC group had significantly lower neurocognitive and functional outcomes (moderate effect sizes); however, subjective measures such as QoL and personal recovery did not differ significantly according to JTC (small effect sizes). After adjusting for attributes, there were no statistically significant differences, but the JTC group demonstrated lower overall functional outcomes and higher individual recovery, each with a moderate effect size. This ‘trade-off’ is not evidence-guaranteed, and further research is recommended to examine the relationship between social functioning and personal recovery in people with JTC bias.

Vocational interest profiles in secondary school: Accounting for multiplicity and exploring associations with future-oriented choices.

Secondary school students in the Netherlands already face future-oriented decisions about their educational careers, which are expected to be informed by their interests in specific vocations or occupations. However, vocational interest assessment tools generally do not account for the possibility that students are interested in multiple vocational domains, potentially challenging students’ future-oriented decision-making processes. The present study examines the different combinations of vocational interests that secondary school students have and explores how the both differentiated and nondifferentiated character of these interests’ structures is associated with students’ educational and career-oriented decision-making processes. A latent profile analysis on six realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional interests revealed seven distinct vocational interest profiles across a sample of 358 Grade 9 students, of which 40.8% had a nondifferentiated interest structure (i.e., a low, neutral, or broad vocational interest) and 59.2% had a differentiated interest structure (i.e., a social dominant, enterprising–conventional dominant, realistic–investigative dominant, or artistic–social–enterprising dominant interest). This finding shows that many secondary school students show similar levels of interest across different vocational activities. Additionally, associations between the differentiated and nondifferentiated structure of these profiles and students’ educational track choices and career image specificities were examined. Our results extend prior work by showing that having a nondifferentiated interest structure does not necessarily mean that students are more uncertain about their educational or career choice. We suggest that future research can further explore the associations between vocational interest structures and future-oriented decisions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

A Review of Extended Reality (XR) Technologies for Manufacturing Training

Recently, the use of extended reality (XR) systems has been on the rise, to tackle various domains such as training, education, safety, etc. With the recent advances in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies and ease of availability of high-end, commercially available hardware, the manufacturing industry has seen a rise in the use of advanced XR technologies to train its workforce. While several research publications exist on applications of XR in manufacturing training, a comprehensive review of recent works and applications is lacking to present a clear progress in using such advance technologies. To this end, we present a review of the current state-of-the-art of use of XR technologies in training personnel in the field of manufacturing. First, we put forth the need of XR in manufacturing. We then present several key application domains where XR is being currently applied, notably in maintenance training and in performing assembly task. We also reviewed the applications of XR in other vocational domains and how they can be leveraged in the manufacturing industry. We finally present some current barriers to XR adoption in manufacturing training and highlight the current limitations that should be considered when looking to develop and apply practical applications of XR.

Vocational rehabilitation in northern Sweden. III. Aspects of life satisfaction

Levels of global (1 item) and domain-specific (8 items) life satisfaction were explored at the commencement of vocational rehabilitation and two years later in a consecutive series of subjects who were partly or completely vocationally disabled with a diagnosis of bodily impairment. At the onset of vocational rehabilitation, global life satisfaction (satisfaction with life as a whole) and satisfaction derived from performance- and provider-related (instrumental) domains of life were significantly lower than satisfaction derived from socio-emotional (expressive) facets of life. The eight domain-specific items of life satisfaction described a characteristic three-factor pattern (76% of variance) which resembled quite closely that of non-impaired subjects, one factor being expressive. The other two factors were instrumental and separated recreative from vocational domains of satisfaction. Successful vocational rehabilitation resulted in increases in vocational satisfaction. For those subjects who were successfully rehabilitated, satisfaction with other instrumental aspects of life and with life as a whole also increased. The results indicate that successful vocational rehabilitation leads to increased social well-being.

Occupational Participation of Persons with Schizophrenia: Exploring Issues of Job-Termination in Supported-Employment

Occupational participation in a supported-employment is a rehabilitation strategy to improve both vocational and non-vocational domains of people with psychiatric disabilities, enabling them to access and/or re-enter employment. This study aims to identify the factors associated with unsatisfactory job-termination among the participants of supported-employment to inform future intervention. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a group (with a diagnosis of schizophrenia) who participated in a supported-employment program in a large psychiatry institution in Malaysia. Within the first week of job termination, interviews were conducted with three subgroups independently - the participants, the employers and the hospital employment specialists, using the Job-Termination Interview. Factors linked to job-termination and job-accommodation were analysed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.Key reasons for job termination were- poor job performance (n = 32; 47.1%), interpersonal issue (n = 31; 45.6%), medical illnesses (n = 30, 44.1%), incompatibilities between work-schedule and environment (n = 30; 44.1%), and job-dissatisfaction (n = 29, 42.6%). Key factor for sustaining job/ job-accommodation was “higher pay” (n = 4; 33.3%). Overall, an unsatisfactory trend of job terminations was observed where many (n = 53; 77.9%) quit their job without a ready job at hand. Unsatisfactory job-terminations were associated with three factors -(i). Enrolment in the Individual Placement-Support (IPS) (Adj. OR = 10.70, 95% CI 1.32-86.98, p = 0.012), (ii). Unstable medical issues (Adj. OR = 22.51, 95% CI 1.74-291.08, p = 0.003), (iii). Interpersonal issues (OR = 18.26, 95% CI: 2.24-149.15, p < 0.001).Most participants terminated their jobs in an unsatisfactory manner (77.9%). A high 63.2 percent quit their job without another ready-job at hand, while 14.7 percent were fired. Unsatisfactory job-endings were correlated to, poor job-performance, interpersonal problems and medical illnesses. Occupational re-entry intervention program must be tailored to the individual levels and needs, and be fully integrated within the clinical system to ensure job-person-environment fit, in order to improve job-experience and to lower unfavourable job terminations.

Editorial

This third publication of JOVACET follows the Special Issue which emanated from our 2018 conference on adult learning and education. While the Special Issue was focused on papers presented on the theme of the conference, the conference call for papers also yielded additional submissions outside the scope of the Special Issue, which contributed to this subsequent volume. Articles in this issue are situated in the vocational education and workplace training domains and constitute research at the level of practice as well as at the macro-policy level.

JOVACET Volume 2 Issue 2 (2019)

JOVACET Volume 2 Issue 2 (2019)

Development of the Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills program for adults on the autism spectrum: Results of initial study.

The population of adults on the autism spectrum continues to increase, and vocational outcomes are particularly poor. Longitudinal studies of adults with autism spectrum and without intellectual disability have shown consistent and persistent deficits across cognitive, social, and vocational domains, indicating a need for effective treatments of functional disabilities as each impact employment. This initial pilot study is an open trial investigation of the feasibility, acceptability, and initial estimates of outcomes for the newly developed Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills intervention, a manualized "soft skills" curriculum, to enhance both cognitive and social development in adults with autism spectrum. A total of eight adults with autism spectrum, without intellectual disability (78% males), participated in the study. Results support the original hypothesis that adults with autism spectrum can improve both cognitive (i.e. executive functioning) and social cognitive (i.e. social thinking and social communication) abilities. Further Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills was found to be feasible, acceptable, and highly satisfactory for participants and parents. Employment rates more than doubled post-intervention, with an increase from 22% to 56% of participants employed. Conclusion is that Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills has promise as an intervention that can be easily embedded into exiting supported employment vocational training programs to improve cognitive, social, and vocational outcomes.

Enjoying working and learning in vocational education: a multilevel investigation of emotional crossover and contextual moderators

BackgroundStudents’ positive emotions, such as enjoying learning activities at school, are increasingly recognized as being conducive to learning. Researchers therefore seek to understand the roles that teachers’ emotions and instructional behaviours play for promoting activity-related enjoyment among their students. This study is the first to investigate emotional crossover in vocational classrooms, combining Control-Value Theory and Broaden-and-Built Theory to substantiate potentially mediating teaching characteristics (clarity and support, enthusiastic teaching, application-orientation). Moreover, this study explores contextual moderators of crossover by comparing different types of training (classes in dual and in school-based training programs) as well as different domains of training (commercial, technical, and social occupations).MethodsSurvey data were gathered from 77 teachers and 1522 students with a temporal distance of about 5 months, covering a considerable period of instructional interaction. Data were examined with multilevel latent contextual models, which allow controlling for measurement and sampling errors as well as for potential confounders when testing mediation and moderated mediation in nested data structures.Results and conclusionsMediation analysis for the full sample indicates substantial positive relations between (a) teachers’ work enjoyment and teaching characteristics, and between (b) teaching characteristics and students’ enjoyment of lessons. Still, crossover of activity-related emotions cannot be empirically established. Moderator analyses reveal that crossover occurrence is not a function of training type. However, positive relations between teaching characteristics and students’ enjoyment vary in strength across the three contrasted vocational domains, and the same applies to positive associations between teachers’ enjoyment and teaching characteristics. Consequently, crossover effects are demonstrable only in commercial classes. The paper therefore discusses methodological issues, further research needs and practical implications.