Liz Jones

Introduction
Internationalisation in tertiary education is “the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary education” (Knight 2003). The main components of internationalisation of higher education are global competition for talents, recruitment of international students, development of international branch campuses, exchange programs for students, staff and scholars, internationalisation of the curriculum, and research and education partnerships between institutions regionally and internationally (Khorsandi Taskoh 2014; Knight 2004; Sanderson 2008). Beck (2012) asserts that internationalisation is a product of and response to globalisation. Such comments have logically led internationalisation to be critiqued as having an economic orientation: indeed the internationalisation of higher education has been criticised as an international competition for the recruitment of students from privileged countries in order to generate revenue, secure national profile, and build international reputation (Khorsandi Taskoh 2014).

The birth of a preterm infant is associated with psychological distress and disruption to the parenting role for adult mothers. Parents rely on health professionals for information and support and have to negotiate shared care of their child making communication an important aspect of the experience. However, little research has investigated whether there are differences in perceptions, attributions or interactions within the neonatal nursery based on the age of the mother. The current study presents the findings from a thematic analysis of interviews with adolescent (N= 20) and adult (N=39) mothers at the time of infant discharge from hospital. Findings suggest that adult mothers consider communication vital for positive adjustment and perceive staff as important sources of support with relationships developed and explained at an interpersonal level. However, few adolescent mothers reported that communication with staff was helpful or that staff were an important source of support....

ABSTRACT This chapter presents an overview of the research on preterm birth and adolescent parenting, highlighting the challenges faced during the transition to parenthood in these contexts. Also presented is current research investigating how these factors combine to influence the experience of parenting for young mothers of preterm infants. Parenting as an adolescent has been associated with a range of negative outcomes for both the young woman and her infant. Similarly, preterm birth is also associated with a number of acute and chronic difficulties that make parenting more challenging. It is well documented that maternal mental health influences the woman’s ability to parent and, as such, factors that increase stress, anxiety and depression can have ongoing implications for their capacity to parent effectively. Both preterm birth and adolescent parenting are associated with an increased risk of distress and mental health issues. However, little research has investigated how these two factors combine to influence the parenting experience for young women who have preterm infants, despite a theoretical double risk. As such, the research presented in this chapter investigated the experience of parenting, both during the early or acute stages of a preterm birth, and longitudinally over the first year of the infant’s life. Quantitative and qualitative longitudinal data from adult mothers of preterm infants, adolescent mothers of full term infants, and adolescent mothers of preterm infants is presented highlighting the specific challenges, as well as similarities, in experiences of parenting. Results from the quantitative data suggest adult mothers of preterm infants reported higher levels of psychological distress pre-discharge than did adolescent mothers but this difference had dissipated post-discharge. Qualitative data findings supported this result, suggesting that parenting for young women was not unduly altered by having a preterm infant, with few overall differences in the parenting experience for young mothers of preterm and full term infants. Preterm birth compounded the everyday challenges of motherhood for young women, by emphasizing transportation difficulties and placing women in more frequent contact with people who they perceived negatively judged them. Conversely, adult mothers were better able to negotiate the hospital system, eliciting parenting support from staff and other parents. These findings help challenge prevailing assumptions about the transition to motherhood and have implications for service delivery and interventions.

This study examined the relation among how parents appraised the premature birth of their infant, their coping strategies, social support, and psychological well-being and parental efficacy pre- and post discharge of their low-risk premature infant from the hospital. Twenty-five couples completed a survey immediately prior to the discharge of their infant and approximately 3 months later. The strongest relations were among appraisal and both psychological distress and parental efficacy, with post-discharge psychological distress and parental efficacy related most strongly to appraising the situation as challenging with potential for growth pre-discharge. The results suggest that identifying the way parents appraise the situation may be useful for identifying at-risk families and informing interventions to assist families experiencing difficulties.

The birth of a preterm infant is associated with psychological distress and disruption to the parenting role for adult mothers. Parents rely on health professionals for information and support and have to negotiate shared care of their child making communication an important aspect of the experience. However, little research has investigated whether there are differences in perceptions, attributions or interactions within the neonatal nursery based on the age of the mother. The current study presents the findings from a thematic analysis of interviews with adolescent (N= 20) and adult (N=39) mothers at the time of infant discharge from hospital. Findings suggest that adult mothers consider communication vital for positive adjustment and perceive staff as important sources of support with relationships developed and explained at an interpersonal level. However, few adolescent mothers reported that communication with staff was helpful or that staff were an important source of support....

Nursing staff are an important source of support for parents of a hospitalized preterm infant. This study aimed to describe parents' and nurses' perceptions of communicating with each other in the context of the special care nursery. A qualitative descriptive design was employed. Thirty two parents with a newborn admitted to one of two special care nurseries in Queensland, Australia participated, and 12 nurses participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Nurses and parents focused on similar topics, but their perceptions differed. Provision of information and enabling parenting were central to effective communication, supported by an appropriate interpersonal style by nurses. Parents described difficulties accessing or engaging nurses. Managing enforcement of policies was a specific area of difficulty for both parents and nurses. The findings indicated a tension between providing family-centered care that is individualized and based on family needs and roles, and adhering to systemic nursery policies.

Question: Is it likely that physiotherapists stigmatise patients due to their body size and could this affect the way patients are treated? Design: Cross-disciplinary review of literature. Participants: Literature was reviewed on the current status of weight stigma generally, weight stigmatising attitudes of health professionals specifically and the effects of weight stigma on treatment of patients including subsequent health outcomes. Intervention: A review of literature was conducted across numerous disciplines including medicine, psychology, fat studies, sociology and public health. The outcomes, conclusions and relevance to the research question were reviewed in 186 scholarly resources. Outcome measures: Overall outcomes of research in scientific literature regarding weight stigma in general, weight stigma by health professionals (including physiotherapists) towards patients, and the impact of this stigma on treatment of patients. Results: Weight is a salient characteristic for ...

Question: Weight stigma has been demonstrated amongst a variety of health professionals and has been seen to affect patient treatment. Do physiotherapists also exhibit weight stigma in responses to typical case studies? Design: Cross-sectional survey with partial blinding of participants. Participants responded to versions of three case studies with manipulations for patients in different body size as indicated by BMI categories. Quantitative responses compared clinical treatment parameters for patients of different BMI (such as length of treatment time and amount of time treating ‘hands on’). Qualitative responses were investigated using theoretical thematic analysis to determine if there was weight stigma evident in the language that participants used to speak about overweight patients. Participants: Australian physiotherapists (n=265) recruited via industry networks. Results: There was minimal indication from the quantitative responses to the case studies that patients who are ov...

Question: Do physiotherapists demonstrate explicit and implicit weight stigma? Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire. Participants responded to the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire (AFA), and physiotherapy case studies with body mass index (BMI) manipulated (normal or overweight/obese). High AFA scores indicated explicit weight stigma. Implicit weight stigma was determined by comparing responses to case studies with patients in different BMI categories (where responses were quantitative) and by thematic analysis of free text responses. Participants: Australian physiotherapists (n=265). Results: The means scores for the AFA showed that physiotherapists demonstrate explicit weight stigma. There were indications of implicit weight stigma in the way participants discussed weight in free text responses about patient management. However, there was little indication from the case studies that patients who are overweight will receive different treatment from physiotherapists in clinical par...

... [Taylor & Francis Online] View all ... [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [CSA] View all references) indicates that individuals rate ingroup criticism more favorably when it is received from an ingroup member rather than an outgroup member (cf., Hornsey, Grice, Jetten, Paulsen, & ...

Social Skills Training requires sensitization of trainees to appropriate skill models and supporting concepts. Interactive Videodisc Instruction (IVI) is an emerging technology used particularly in the sensitization phase of many forms of behavioural training. Compared to training delivered via various combinations of video, workbook and facilitators, IVI was rated as relatively more interesting and led to high levels of retention

Question: Do physiotherapists demonstrate explicit and implicit weight stigma? Design: Cross sectional survey with partial blinding of participants. Participants responded to the Anti-Fat Attitudes
questionnaire and physiotherapy case studies with body mass index (BMI) manipulated (normal or overweight/obese). The Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire included 13 items scored on a Likert-type scale from 0 to 8. Any score greater than zero indicated explicit weight stigma. Implicit weight stigma was determined by comparing responses to case studies with people of different BMI categories (where responses were quantitative) and by thematic and count analysis for free-text responses. Participants: Australian physiotherapists (n = 265) recruited via industry networks. Results: The mean item score for the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire was 3.2 (SD 1.1), which indicated explicit weight stigma. The Dislike (2.1, SD 1.2) subscale had a lower mean item score than the Fear (3.9, SD 1.8) and Willpower (4.9, SD 1.5) subscales. There was minimal indication from the case studies that people who are overweight receive different treatment from physiotherapists in clinical parameters such as length of treatment time (p = 0.73) or amount of hands-on treatment (p = 0.88). However, there were indications of implicit
weight stigma in the way participants discussed weight in free-text responses about patient management. Conclusion: Physiotherapists demonstrate weight stigma. This finding is likely to affect the way they communicate with patients about their weight, which may negatively impact their patients. It is recommended that physiotherapists reflect on their own attitudes towards people who are overweight and whether weight stigma influences treatment focus.