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Work-integrated learning (WIL) has become an essential component of many university curricula. Recent global disruptions have challenged traditional models of WIL, particularly industry-based student placements, leading to growing calls for new, sustainable models of WIL. Aligned with this call and the increased emphasis on learning across disciplines, interdisciplinary project-based WIL provides an alternative to student placements that is both student and industry centered. This study reports on the outcomes of pilots of this model of WIL across four Australian universities. A cohort of 38 students, faculty and industry staff who participated in the pilots were interviewed. The key challenges and enablers of interdisciplinary project-based WIL are identified along with recommendations for implementation.

As universities offer more flexible delivery options there are parallel concerns about increasing levels of engagement. Withdrawal and disconnection from study is most common during the first year of university as students experience social, cultural and financial adjustments and attempt to understand the nuances of academic learning. This article reports on the impact of a technology-enabled support system delivering timely, personalised and actionable feedback on online activity and support emails at critical periods in two courses. Learning analytics data was used to identify appropriate engagement metrics for personalising feedback to students with results indicating an improvement in course grades. While the learning analytics approach provides a technology-mediated means for scaling personalised feedback and communicating with large cohorts of learners, the qualitative results indicated that students felt they were noticed as individual learners, were more willing to contact educators for support, and more motivated to engage with the online course learning materials.

Australian Government participation targets recommended in the Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley In Review of Australian higher education: Final report, Commonwealth of Australia 2008) presented a complex public communication challenge to higher education participation. This research discusses the content of communication messages about Australian universities propagated in the period following the implementation of new national student participation goals. It argues that despite the stated policy objectives and increasing public rhetoric about broadening access to university such messages continued to position universities as elite and exclusive, while vocational training colleges continued to be promoted as having less rigorous academic standards suited to those who aspire to develop trade employment skills. Australian universities are part of a wider communication system that includes other tertiary education organisations including the vocational education sector, State and Federal Governments and the news and information media. The communication of messages about the value of higher education and differences between institutions in this system contributes to the formation of public beliefs and attitudes. The paper argues that the persistence of communication practices and messages that promote the superiority of university and the low success rates of students from disadvantaged backgrounds contributes to the persistence of entrenched views about post-secondary education. The limited discursive framing of university education in Australia in those messages is likely to prevent universities from increasing the participation rates of students from non-traditional higher education backgrounds and thus undermine national educational and associated economic goals, while contributing to an increasing social divide where educational achievement is the fault line.

Objectives To explore the contribution of avoidable mortality to life expectancy inequalities in Wales during 2002–2020. Design Observational study. Setting Wales, 2002–20, including early data from the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We used routine statistics for 2002–2020 on population and deaths in Wales stratified by age, sex, deprivation quintile and cause of death. We estimated the contribution of avoidable causes of death and specific age-categories using the Arriaga decomposition method to highlight priorities for action. Results Life expectancy inequalities rose 2002–20 amongst both sexes, driven by serial decreases in life expectancy amongst the most deprived quintiles. The contributions of amenable and preventable mortality to life expectancy inequalities changed relatively little between 2002 and 2020, with larger rises in non-avoidable causes. Key avoidable mortality conditions driving the life expectancy gap in the most recent period of 2018–2020 for females were circulatory disease, cancers, respiratory disease and alcohol- and drug-related deaths, and also injuries for males. Conclusions Life expectancy inequalities widened during 2002–20, driven by deteriorating life expectancy in the most deprived quintiles. Sustained investment in prevention post-COVID-19 is needed to address growing health inequity in Wales; there remains a role for the National Health Service in ensuring equitable healthcare access to alongside wider policies that promote equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term value‐based healthcare (VBHC) describes an approach to the organization and delivery of care that emphasizes reducing the cost of care while improving outcomes. This involves increased investment earlier in the care pathway e.g., in the prevention, timely diagnosis, and screening for complications in order to maximize the overall impact of care. Key elements of VBHC include the collection and interpretation of relevant data to drive quality improvement and appropriateness of care, a focus on a continuum of care from prevention through to complications, an awareness of the financial drivers of the cost of care and a recognition that meaningful outcomes of care are those that are important to patients. Although VBHC has its origins in North America and has mostly been applied to private health systems, the principles can also be applied to national health services. In publicly funded health systems, where resources are finite, VBHC initiatives aim to eliminate ineffective care that has no beneficial impact or added value for patients and to optimize patient outcomes by delivering care that meets the changing healthcare needs of a population over time. The National Health Service in Wales has established a VBHC Office and has begun to realize the benefits of adopting VBHC approaches. The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) can learn from the approaches used in Wales. In this paper we explore some of the principles of VBHC through case studies from Ireland and Wales highlighting how national health services are using VBHC to achieve improvement in outcomes for people living with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School counselors (SCs) have a wide range of responsibilities in schools, such as administrative, disciplinary, and counseling duties (Dahir & Stone, 2009). Due to the large number of responsibilities, SCs sometime struggle with developing programs to meet relational needs of at-risk students. The purpose of this article was to provide SCs with a creative, hands-on approach to use with youth struggling with anger and relational issues. SCs in four schools collaborated with a mental health counselor to implement a school-based anger management group that focused on creating leadership abilities and improving relational competencies of students. A pretest-posttest design revealed significant changes in participants' anger and leadership ability. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

Research indicates that highly educated individuals endure hardships in finding suitable romantic partners. Romantic hardships affect social and emotional adjustment levels, leading to low self-efficacy in relationship decision making. To address the need for research pertaining to this topic, the authors explored the experiences of eight individuals purposively chosen. Conducting interviews based in qualitative methods, the authors discuss thematic patterns emerging from the study. Constraints such as lack of time and social outlets were barriers to meeting highly desirable mates.

The article discusses the challenges facing healthcare systems globally, including unsustainable practices, disparities in outcomes, and the need for value-based healthcare (VBHC) as a potential solution. It emphasizes the necessity for whole system redesign and cultural shifts, highlighting the importance of engagement from all stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, policymakers, and patients, to drive meaningful change towards VBHC.

A growing body of research points to the need for character education in schools, as evidenced by rising rates of juvenile crime (Britzman, 2005) and increased reports of' bullying in [...]