Stephen Winn

Students with Asperger's syndrome in an inclusive secondary school environment: Teachers', parents', and students' perspectives

This qualitative study used focus groups and interviews to investigate the inclusion of students with Aspergers Syndrome (AS) into secondary education from the perspectives of: general teachers; special education teachers; students with AS; and their parents (N = 122). Across the four cohorts, five main themes emerged, however, different cohorts concentrated more on one theme than another. Mainstream teachers concentrated more on the nature of the AS condition and its influence on behaviour and social interactions; special education teachers on collaboration and relationships; parents on burnout and a lack of services; and the students with AS on the notion special educators worked hard to assist others. The fifth theme across the four cohorts was the quality of school facilities. The study found that diversity was both an inter‐cohort and an intra‐cohort variable. The research provides insight into how inclusive practice can be enhanced and why it is a complex, dynamic and multidimensional concept.

Remote, synchronous, hands-on ultrasound education

BACKGROUND Ultrasound has become a major diagnostic tool in many parts of the world, with broad clinical applications. Ultrasound provides a noninvasive, painless mode of diagnostics that produces instant results. Disseminating ultrasound skills to remote and rural communities has become a challenge for many medical schools, particularly those where distances are great and the density of population is low. MATERIALS AND METHODS The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and the University of New England School of Rural Medicine in Australia piloted the use of dual video feeds in two scenarios: (1) to display the instructors ultrasound feed and the instructors transducer placement to provide guidance for remote students; and (2) to display side-by-side views of the instructors and the remote students ultrasound feeds to allow the instructor to guide the remote student in his or her transducer placement. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Using high-speed broadband connections, the two schools demonstrated the feasibility of remote, synchronous, practical, and hands-on ultrasound training and instruction over international distances. This opens up a broad range of possibilities for future remote ultrasound education.

Gender-differentiated Social and Human Capital and the Use of Microcredit in Bangladeshi Female Entrepreneurship

In many developing countries, microfinance has become a critical component in implementing poverty reduction strategies, which are often addressed through social business and female entrepreneurship. Despite poor individuals being excluded from formal credit, microfinance organisations are delivering opportunities for them to obtain small amounts of credit. This chapter examines whether gender-differentiated social and human capital matters in social entrepreneurship, and how loans received by Bangladeshi men and women are being used in productive ways. It identifies barriers that might exclude the poorest women from these microfinance programs in Bangladesh. This analysis has important policy implications for donors, microfinance institutions and NGOs operating in developing countries as it focuses on employment generation and poverty alleviation, and also on impact on poor women in microcredit programs.

Interactions between low-socioeconomic status, adult influences on macronutrient intakes and childhood obesity

Australia as a developed country has 60% of adults and one in four (25%) children identified as overweight or obese. In 2014–15, 63.4% of Australians adults (aged 18 years and over) were classified as overweight or obese (11.2 million people), with 35.5% overweight (6.3 million people) and 27.9% obese (4.9 million people). The remainder of the population were identified mainly as normal weight (35.0%), with 1.6% of the population as underweight. The prevalence of overweight and obese children aged 5–17 years was 25.3% in 2011–12.1 Additionally, the Australian Health Survey (2011–12) revealed that in the four-year period starting from 2007–08 there was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of children (aged 5–14) overweight or obese (23% in 2007–08 and 26% in 2011–12). This study provides an empirical demonstration of the impact that adult influence has on a child’s chances of becoming obese through diet habit as well as the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Australian children of low socioeconomic status.