Coping Response to Workplace Violence Among Healthcare Workers in the Emergency Department: A Qualitative Study

Background Workplace violence faced in the Emergency Department is well documented. However, there is minimal local data found in the literature. An exploration regarding workplace violence in a local setting is undertaken. This study examined the coping response to the occurrence of workplace violence encountered by an Emergency and Trauma Department healthcare workers. Method The study was done in one of the Emergency and Trauma Department of a tertiary government hospital in Malaysia. A period of a month was taken for data collection. Inclusion criteria includes healthcare workers who had exposure to work- place violence and agreeable to participate in the study. Incident reports were examined and semi-structured in-depth interview of various level of healthcare staff were conducted. Results Three final themes were identified in the way healthcare workers response to workplace violence; First, coping in pre-crisis phase to prevent a violent incident from occurring -mental and behavioural preparedness; Two, coping during crisis to prevent escalation of violence- self-restraint, constructive confrontation, seeking instrumental support; Three, coping after crisis to adapt emotionally and improve knowledge in managing workplace violence-seeking emotional support, disengagement, adaptation. Conclusions The method of coping response employed by participants corresponded to the level of violence exhibited by perpetrator. Multicentre study will help to broaden the understanding of WPV in Malaysia

Creative Ways to Approach the Theme of Cultural Diversity in Wordless Picturebooks Through Visual Reading and Thinking

Cultural diversity, as one of the most important characteristics of European community in the framework of the DIALLS project (see Chapter 10.1007/978-3-030-71778-0_1 for overview), is integral to notions of cultural identity and cultural literacy. The acknowledgement of identity formation as an ongoing, dynamic process through interaction rather than a pre‐conceived characteristic arises as an imperative need, in order to encourage democracy to thrive through constructive confrontation and integration (Rapanta et al. in The Curriculum Journal, 2020). According to Bland, picturebooks that authentically reflect cultural diversity can move even young readers towards “flexibility of perspective” (CLELE Journal, 4(2):45, 2016). Bishop (Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3):ix–xi, 1990) highlights the need for young readers to recognise themselves in books they read, learn about the lives of other people, and be able to cross between groups and worlds. However, reading wordless picturebooks can be a challenging task, because of the ambiguity and open nature of their visually rendered narratives. The affordances of wordless picturebooks and the challenges embedded in their reading are discussed by the authors in Chapter 10.1007/978-3-030-71778-0_5 of this volume. This chapter presents several creative ways to analyze and approach the theme of cultural diversity in class, through various disciplinary lenses and methodological approaches.

A Strategy for Meaningful Ethics Curriculum

Recently, there has been a focus on ethics education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and business programs. Scholars, industry representatives, and accreditation bodies have identified ethics education as an element that requires renewed strategies to create better prepared professionals. In this paper, the author argues the importance of educating future technology and business professionals in constructive confrontation, conflict resolution, and creative problem solving. In addition, students need to be provided tools to become self-aware so they can be more assertive in their everyday lives which will lead to more confident decision-making. Ethics curriculum in all fields should provide discussion regarding the normalcy and essential nature of confrontation. Without knowledge and practice of strategy when confrontation is needed, students will be less likely to act when faced with questionable situations in their professional lives. Finally, educational techniques for use in the classroom, such as assignments that promote practice in confrontation and peer mediation, are presented and explained.

Exploring ‘confrontational pedagogy’

This chapter details a therapeutic method developed in Germany to illustrate some of the contested theoretical and practical issues involved in violence reduction, especially the potential pitfalls of an overly person-centred approach. Through an analysis of some of the therapeutic and educational methods employed, the authors try to provide a stimulus for further debate as to what ‘constructive confrontation’ might look like within the context of youth work practice.