02 Feb Respond to two of your colleagues postings by suggesting additional considerations related to collaboration, communication, technology, and/or infrastructure that they did not d
Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings by suggesting additional considerations related to collaboration, communication, technology, and/or infrastructure that they did not discuss.
BY DAY 6
Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings by suggesting additional considerations related to collaboration, communication, technology, and/or infrastructure that they did not discuss.
SHELLON
Social Problem
The social problem I choose for my final project is the implementation of Technical and Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) in low-income communities in Guyana, South America. TVET programs aim to reduce educational inequality by addressing the multifaceted needs of low-income children and youth (Galindo, 2017).
Global Level and the Future
At the national and international platforms, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provides the needed skills for employment and livelihood for effective performance in the workplace (Okoye, 2014). On a global level, the importance and value of TVET are increasingly recognized in the context of lifelong learning (Ananiadou, 2013). Pavlova (2014) expresses the necessity for TVET in Asia and the Pacific and how it is viewed as a tool for productivity enhancement and poverty reduction in the region. Overall, globally, TVET is much needed, and as the author Pavlova (2014) stated, “… many countries have taken steps to strengthen policy guidance and regulatory frameworks for technical and vocational education and training…” (p. 1). With all this data and research, I expect to see a significant change in the world. I hope to see changes in how the government responds to the need, the involvement of teachers and parents, and a rise in funding to support the implementation of the TVET program.
Collaboration and Communication Challenges
Collaboration demonstrates how people’s current interactions undermine individual and collective performance (Stroh, 2015). Collaboration and communication challenges are inevitable, involving different personalities and thinking. In addressing this social issue, one of the collaboration challenges that might arise is developing a shared sense of direction since this consists in clarifying the mission and vision of the stakeholders involved. Stroh (2015) mentioned that when building a collaborative capacity, “The last cornerstone of a strong foundation is developing people’s abilities to work with one another” (p.86).
Role of Technology and Infrastructure
Examining new trends will provide ideas for designing relevant technology and infrastructure for TVET programs based on collaborative, regional, and global knowledge, sharing, and networks (Maino, 2013). A few essential infrastructures globally addressing TVET programs require (1) high-skilled and highly educated workers; (2) must reflect the underlining beliefs and perspectives; (3) sharing current activities and future directions; and (4) examining and explaining the current purpose of TVET programs (Rojewski, 2009). Relevance technology, such as digital technology and E-Learning tools in the TVET coursework, is playing a significant role now and advancing in the future (Adeoye, 2014).
References
Adeoye, B. F., & Tomei, L. (Eds.). (2014). Effects of Information Capitalism and Globalization on Teaching and Learning: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6162-2 Links to an external site.
Ananiadou, K. (2013). Revisiting global trends in TVET reflections on theory and practice. UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
Galindo, C., Sanders, M., & Abel, Y. (2017). Transforming Educational Experiences in Low-Income Communities: A Qualitative Case Study of Social Capital in a Full-Service Community School. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1_suppl), 140S-163S. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216676571 Links to an external site.
Maino, P. (2013). Efforts in reorienting technical vocational education and training (TVET) system in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to the global economy: A case study. Achieving vision, 2050, 289-305.
Okoye, K. R. E., & Okwelle, P. C. (2014). Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as intervention mechanism for global competitiveness: Perspectives from Nigeria. Developing Country Studies, 4(4), 85-91.
Pavlova, M. (2014). TVET as an important factor in country’s economic development. SpringerPlus, 3(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-3-S1-K3 Links to an external site.
Rojewski, J. W. (2009). A conceptual framework for technical and vocational education and training. International handbook of education for the changing world of work, 1, 19-39.
Stroh, D. P. (2015). Systems thinking for social change: A practical guide to solving complex problems, avoiding unintended consequences, and achieving lasting results. Chelsea Green Publishing.
SARAH
Social Problem
Due to a lack of continued care for individuals who are given medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for the treatment of opioid use disorder, and the stigma surrounding MAT, individuals with an opiate use disorder in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, are returning to the use of opiates as opposed to continuing with MAT treatment. As the number of people who use opiates rises, many individuals resort to crime, many people become homeless, and there is a higher number of overdoses, as well as deaths by overdose. For those who return to the use of heroin, they become a statistic, and they are criminalized. The only solution the state of Pennsylvania has come up with has been to push any person who uses an opioid to MAT, educate them about MAT, and convince them that MAT will help them.
Global Level and the Future
On a global level, countries around the world began operating safe injection sites. There are 11 countries that have recognized the severity of the opioid epidemic, and their mission was to save lives. The first site opened in Switzerland in 1986. In November 2021, New York City opened two sites in Manhattan where drug users can safely inject drugs under the eye of medical personnel (Delos Reyes, 2022). These sites also open the doorway for other services such as medical, psychological, and detox treatment.
There are now several countries that provide heroin assisted treatment. Canada, Switzerland, and Scotland are just three examples. These places provide medical grade heroin and are monitored my medical personnel as they inject or inhale the substance. Scotland leads as the country with the highest number of drug-induced deaths, and the United States is just below them (Schaverien & McCann, 2019).
However, even with the evidence of the reduced overdose death rate, the federal government would need to amend the Crack House statute codified in 21 USC § 856 which makes it a felony to knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance (Kriet, 2019). The sites in New York could be shut down by the federal government at any time since they are operating illegally. If this problem continues, within the next five years we could expect the number of overdoses to continue to rise, as well as crime rates, and see the United States being ranked as the country with the highest number of overdoses.
Collaboration and Communication Challenges
The collaboration and communication challenges that would be faced would be because of the stigma that has surrounded drug use. This has been on-going for years, and it would be the most difficult to try and change the minds of individuals who would have these facilities constructed in their areas. Collaboration with other treatment facilities could also be affected by the stigma. A strong collaboration need to be formed in for the process to begin. Other countries have found a solution, our country does not want to go in the same direction. To be able to work with the people, educate them about harm reduction and what part stigma plays in harm reduction, communicate with them, and show them the evidence to try and gain their support to help save lives.
Role of Technology and Infrastructure
The drug treatment system is an infrastructure, as it consists of many treatment facilities for people who use substances to continue through, except now, there are many clients who flood the facilities on MAT time and time again because of the lack of aftercare that is available to them once they leave a facility. There needs to be a change of the infrastructure so that the United States can catch up to the rest of the world, because despite all of the benefits, the implementation of common-sense programs like these has been stymied by years of stigma-based messaging, fearmongering, and moral panic about drug use (Longely & Diaz, 2021).
Technology can allow for an infrastructure that saves time and money by opening the doors of communication with the countries that already have the proposed facilities. Technology can provide education about the reduction of deaths and crime rates can serve as evidence to the population who has been convinced of the stigma in order to open their minds to the idea of helping more people. Technology can show that the cost of these facilities would be less to operate than a detox center, which would save the state money. The states and localities can also save more money by cutting spending on unnecessary and counterproductive criminal justice system expenditures- no longer arresting, prosecuting, convicting, incarcerating, and punishing people for drug possession (Longely & Diaz, 2021). Technology can help fight for the decriminalization of low amounts of the drug for these centers to operate.
References
Delos Reyes, C. M. (2022, May 12). First supervised injection sites open in the US in New York City. Retrieved from Ohio Society of Addiction Medicine: https://ohsam.org/supervised-injection-sites/
Kaffam, A. (2017, June 23). Canada offers places for addicts to shoot up safely. Can the US copy the model? Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/23/vancouver-supervised-injection-clinic-heroin
Kriet, A. (2019). SAFE INJECTION SITES AND THE FEDERAL "CRACK HOUSE" STATUTE. Boston College Law Review, 413-468.
Longely, J., & Diaz, J. (2021, Sept 10). Drug Treatment is Infrastructure. Retrieved from ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/drug-treatment-is-infrastruc
Schaverien, A., & McCann, A. (2019, Nov 27). Where the Nurse Prescribes Heroin. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/world/europe/heroin-scotland-drug-use.html
