“This place means freedom to me”: needs-based engagement with marginalized migrant Muslim women in London

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Thompson ◽  
Rabia Nasimi
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Women ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
First Year ◽  
Speakers Of Other Languages ◽  
Community Based Organization ◽  
Group A ◽  
Funded Project ◽  
Workshop Evaluation

Abstract This paper draws on a case study of a community-based organization working with marginalized Muslim women in London from refugee and migrant backgrounds. The organization delivers a model of practice that involves English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, practical/informative workshops, and social integration in a women-only community space rather than these elements being accessed separately in often formal spaces. The article draws on data collected as part of the first year of an evaluation of a three-year funded project to engage the women. The data include registration information about the participant group, a bespoke workshop evaluation form completed by the women each month, and interviews with beneficiaries, volunteers, and staff. Our research finds that an integrated, bottom-up approach is successful in engaging isolated women and impacts on their lives through increased well-being, knowledge and skills, empowerment, and freedom. Whilst asset-focused interventions have become dominant in community development, there is a danger that a deliberate focus away from the needs of vulnerable groups may cement rather than tackle inequalities, and collude with a political and neoliberal agenda that promotes individualism and austerity. We argue it is necessary to develop interventions that respond to the needs of marginalized groups before building on people’s strengths to address them. Our case study offers evidence for this.

scholarly journals Implementing pedagogies of care in online teacher education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewa Wardak
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Human Aspects ◽  
Survey Responses

Research shows that students who believe their teachers are caring for them are more likely to engage with the class and exhibit higher levels of self-esteem and well-being. What we learn from the past should guide our present practice to pave the way for a more authentic relationship with our students in the future. This paper reports a case study of how a ‘pedagogy of care’ was implemented in a first-year large teacher-education unit of study at an Australian university during the transition to fully online learning and teaching in response to the pandemic. The paper reports the strategies adopted by the teaching team and the results of an online survey conducted with the students about their experience of the transition. The qualitative survey responses were organised into themes that illustrated how students perceived teacher care. According to the students, teachers cared when they organised consistent synchronous sessions, provided opportunity for interaction between students, recorded lectures, were lenient, modified assessment, marked assessments quickly, exhibited positivity, and acknowledged challenges due to COVID-19. These themes were then classified into two broad categories on a continuum ranging between the delivery of the unit to interpersonal or human aspects.

scholarly journals Crafticulation as a method of knowledge creation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henna Lahti ◽  
Päivi Fernström
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Mind Maps ◽  
The University

Our aim in this article is to introduce the idea of ‘crafticulation’ as a part of scientific method and to present a case study related to it. A novel course, Materializing in Craft Science, was offered in the first year of the craft teacher master’s degree at the University of Helsinki. The aim of the course was to pilot a method of crafticulation by materializing theoretical mind maps. Crafticulation consists of the words, ‘craft’ and ‘articulation’ and further, crafticulation is seen as a part of practice-led research in which craft plays a key role in eliciting a wide spectrum of knowledge. Our research question is how crafticulation emerged in students’ inquiry processes. The research data included twenty individual mind maps, materializations and reflections of the course. Based on theory-driven data analysis, the results indicated that many students used crafticulation for demonstration purposes. For example, they tested the connection between their craft-making process and well-being. Another approach was to convey a certain experience by way of crafticulation. In some cases, crafticulation was linked to analogies and metaphors in learning theoretical concepts. Furthermore, the students found new avenues in which to reflect research topics and to deepen their inquiry processes.

scholarly journals Experiences of Older People and Social Inclusion in Relation to Smart “Age-Friendly” Cities: A Case Study of Chongqing, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manlin Li ◽  
Ryan Woolrych
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
City Policy

Whilst cities can be sites of creativity, innovation, and change, they can also reproduce the conditions for the exclusion of vulnerable groups. Older people report experiencing specific barriers to accessing the city and are often excluded from the resources for ageing well. The smart city agenda has attempted to bring about technological change whilst also delivering improved quality of life for urban citizens. Smart technologies are a key element of the smart city and are viewed as having the potential to support the independence, autonomy, and well-being of older people. Yet, there has been little research exploring the role of the smart city in supporting the social inclusion of older people, nor any attempt to link this with key policy drivers on ageing e.g., age-friendly cities and communities. In response, the aim of this paper is to explore the experiences of older people living in a smart city in China and discuss how the smart city and age-friendly can be brought together to support positive social outcomes for older people. The paper presents qualitative findings from a multi-methods approach, including semi-structured interviews, walking interviews and focus groups. A total of 64 older people participated in the research across three diverse neighbourhoods in the case study smart city of Chongqing, China. The findings identified opportunities in the development and deployment of smart cities, including the potential for improved health and well-being and social connectedness. Yet in delivering on these benefits, a number of challenges were identified which may widen social inequalities, including inequities in access, issues of safety and security, and exclusion from the co-production of smart city policy and practise. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for future smart city policy and practise, specifically in delivering interventions that support older adults' social inclusion and the delivery of age-friendly cities and communities.

The Need for Remedial Pedagogy in Undergraduate Violin Instruction: A Case Study of Postsecondary Instructors’ Perceptions

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-45
Author(s):  
Vanessa Andrea Mio
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
External Data

Postsecondary violin instructors often implement remedial pedagogy with first-year performance/music education students to holistically nurture individual artistic goals and overall well-being. Using a qualitative multiple case study research design, 10 postsecondary violin instructors from across North America were interviewed to investigate their perceptions of why remedial pedagogy is often required for incoming first-year students. The interview data and external data sources were analyzed through the lens of empiricism, attribution theory, and teacher attribution scaffolding theory. The results indicated that some secondary instructors may require further knowledge in terms of effective communication and pedagogical approach with individual students. Other factors may be equally critical throughout the learning process, including student motivation, resistance, and parental support. The pedagogical expertise presented in this research can inform violin instructors about the factors/challenges that may affect teaching and learning as students prepare for higher education.

SenCity – Evaluating Users’ Experiences of Intelligent Lighting for Well-Being in Smart Cities

2018 ◽  
pp. 60-67
Author(s):  
Henrika Pihlajaniemi ◽  
Anna Luusua ◽  
Eveliina Juntunen
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
System Data

This paper presents the evaluation of usersХ experiences in three intelligent lighting pilots in Finland. Two of the case studies are related to the use of intelligent lighting in different kinds of traffic areas, having emphasis on aspects of visibility, traffic and movement safety, and sense of security. The last case study presents a more complex view to the experience of intelligent lighting in smart city contexts. The evaluation methods, tailored to each pilot context, include questionnaires, an urban dashboard, in-situ interviews and observations, evaluation probes, and system data analyses. The applicability of the selected and tested methods is discussed reflecting the process and achieved results.

Chakras and Endocrine Glands

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
Andrea Jain
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Scientific Discourse ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Endocrine Glands ◽  
Subtle Body ◽  
Modern Yoga ◽  
Unique System ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

This paper is an exploration of preksha dhyana as a case study of modern yoga. Preksha is a system of yoga and meditation introduced by Acarya Mahaprajna of the Jain Svetambara Terapanth in the late twentieth century. I argue that preksha is an attempt to join the newly emerging transnational yoga market whereby yoga has become a practice oriented around the attainment of physical health and psychological well-being. I will evaluate the ways in which Mahaprajna appropriates scientific discourse and in so doing constructs a new and unique system of Jain modern yoga. In particular, I evaluate the appropriation of physical and meditative techniques from ancient yoga systems in addition to the explanation of yoga metaphysics by means of biomedical discourse. I will demonstrate how, in Mahaprajna’s preksha system, the metaphysical subtle body becomes somaticized. In other words, Mahaprajna uses the bio-medical understanding of physiology to locate and identify the functions of metaphysical subtle body parts and processes in the physiological body.

A descriptive study of the prevalence of psychological distress and mental disorders in the Canadian population: comparison between low-income and non-low-income populations

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Caron ◽  
A. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Canadian Community Health Survey ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
High Psychological Distress

Objective This descriptive study compares rates of high psychological distress and mental disorders between low-income and non-low-income populations in Canada. Methods Data were collected through the Canadian Community Health Survey – Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS 1.2), which surveyed 36 984 Canadians aged 15 or over; 17.9% (n = 6620) was classified within the low-income population using the Low Income Measure. The K-10 was used to measure psychological distress and the CIDI for assessing mental disorders. Results One out of 5 Canadians reported high psychological distress, and 1 out of 10 reported at least one of the five mental disorders surveyed or substance abuse. Women, single, separated or divorced respondents, non-immigrants and Aboriginal Canadians were more likely to report suffering from psychological distress or from mental disorders and substance abuse. Rates of reported psychological distress and of mental disorders and substance abuse were much higher in low-income populations, and these differences were statistically consistent in most of the sociodemographic strata. Conclusion This study helps determine the vulnerable groups in mental health for which prevention and promotion programs could be designed.

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