Centre for Digital Transformation of Health - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableGreen Cities and Micro-climate – Interim Report 2(Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, 2013-03)
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ItemExpanding Formal School Curricula to Foster Action Competence in Sustainable Development: A Proposed Free-Choice Project-Based Learning Curriculum(MDPI, 2022-12)A key determinant and outcome of successful environmental education is ‘pro-environmental behavior’, i.e., behavior that involves conscious action to mitigate adverse environmental impacts at personal or community level, e.g., reducing resource consumption and waste generation, avoiding toxic substances, and organizing community awareness initiatives. However, some theorists have sought to move away from rationalist models of behavioral modification, towards holistic pedagogical initiatives that seek to develop action competence. In light of the global push towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emerging evidence suggests that education initiatives should foster action competence so students may be equipped to contribute to sustainable development as part of their education. The UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Roadmap 2030 has also identified key priority areas to strengthen ESD in formal curricula. This article reports two informal environmental education initiatives for promoting action competence and pro-environmental behaviors in school-aged children. The authors recommend that formal education settings (e.g., schools) should incorporate self-directed, free-choice project-based learning to augment environmental education programs and promote students’ action competence for contribution to attainment of SDGs. To this end, we propose a Free-Choice Project-based Learning for Action Competence in Sustainable Development (ACiSD) Curriculum, comprising six implementation dimensions, namely: (1) project duration and teaming arrangements, (2) topic selection, (3) student support, (4) teacher support, (5) learning environments, and (6) digital access and equity. For each implementation dimension, we recommend action steps to help educators implement this curriculum in their own educational settings, with the aid of an illustrative worked example.
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ItemHow aspects of self-compassion contribute to wellbeing and the effect of age(International Journal of Healing and Caring, 2018)This study investigating the differential contribution of self-compassion subcomponents to wellbeing, and examined the effect of age. A total of 275 participants (219 females) completed demographic measures, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Mental Health Index, and a Social Desirability Scale. Hierarchical Multiple Regression indicated that the self-kindness and mindfulness subcomponents predicted wellbeing, whereas the self-judgement, isolation and over- identification subcomponents predicted psychological distress. Furthermore, the negative self- compassion subcomponents accounted for additional variance in psychological wellbeing. Self- compassion was also significantly higher in older adults. This research consolidates previous findings, increases the scope of self-compassion research, and may have practical implications in treatment.
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ItemEmotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as a Constructivist Psychotherapeutic Approach: Epistemological Reflections from a Qualitative Experiential Study(International Journal of Healing and Caring, 2018)This article presents the first theoretical and methodological analysis of the practice of a contemporary psychotherapeutic technique called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), to be discussed in academic literature. This analysis has emerged from an epistemological reflection on a qualitative research study that explored users’ experiences of EFT for deepening physical chronic disease healthcare. This study was underpinned by a biopsychosocial view of health, and a personhood approach to healthcare. In establishing the methodological framework for this study, the researcher analyzed the EFT therapeutic approach against the principles of constructivist psychotherapeutic approaches. The analysis suggested that the EFT practice borrows at least four key facets of constructivist psychotherapeutic approaches, namely: ‘exploration and resolution of early life issues’, ‘construction of new meanings’, ‘client as a change agent’, and ‘outlook towards emotions’. Each of these facets is explored in this article, in light of some participant case examples from the study. The analysis presented in this article may assist the conceptualization and design of future qualitative and mixed-methods research studies involving EFT.
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ItemWomen’s recovery journeys from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome towards wellbeing: A creative exploration using poetic representation(International Journal of Wellbeing, 2020)Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a poorly understood condition, with an unclear aetiology. Due to diagnostic difficulty, CFS has frequently been dismissed by medical professionals as an untreatable “psychological issue” leading to patients not receiving adequate care for extended periods of time. This situation has led to patients feeling isolated, neglected, and misunderstood. CFS is more common in women than men, in an approximate ratio of 4:1; accordingly, we explore seven (7) women’s experiences of CFS and by adopting an idiographic approach seek to amplify the voices of a group of patients who have long been marginalized, and often dismissed. Findings are presented using a narrative research technique called poetic representation, wherein participants’ interview transcripts are cast into poetic forms. The condensed encapsulation of participants’ experiences through carefully crafted poetry adds an intensity that focuses readers’ attention more tightly than merely telling their stories. A small sample size commensurate with the study’s aim, enabled an in-depth exploration of each individual’s experiences. In the context of CFS, themes surrounding illness, diagnosis, treatment, wellbeing, and recovery were explored, focusing particularly on the potential for the recovery of a new life achieved through participants’ self-agentic psychosocial endeavors. The emerging poetic representations were clustered together in themes using a temporal framework, as follows: 1) Downhill to diagnosis; 2) From diagnosis to despair; 3) From despair to hope; 4) Looking back to move forward; 5) And, now. This research not only sheds light on the experiences of a puzzling illness, but also seeks to drive improvements in patient care through a more authentic understanding of the CFS lived experience.