Improving continuing professional development compliance among construction professionals through integrated strategies in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Titus Ebenezer Kwofie ◽  
Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa ◽  
Johannes Siabatho Mpambela
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Platforms ◽  
High Level

Purpose A high level of low compliance with continuing professional development (CPD) among construction professionals in developing countries is well acknowledged in existing literature. In spite of several interventions in CPD implementation, reforms and approaches in recent times, there does not seem to be an immediate improvement. This development calls for a re-think among stakeholders to adopt strategies that can yield the best results in uptake. Though several strategies have been proposed to potentially result in CPD uptake and compliance among construction professionals, these possible strategies have not been considered in an integrated manner. This study aims at identifying CPD delivery and implementation strategies that can significantly contribute to compliance and uptake among construction professionals in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative research design and a questionnaire survey, this study sought to identify effective CPD implementation strategies for construction professionals from a plethora of suggested ones that can engender increased uptake and compliance. Findings By using multiple regression analysis, the results revealed “flexible e-learning platforms”, “standardisation of CPD model and formats by professional institutions”, “inclusion of CPD in tertiary curriculum to easily understand its importance” and “encouraging practices to have frequent in-house training sessions sharing experiences” as the most significant strategies that are likely to improve CPD uptake and compliance. Originality/value Against the backdrop of the need to increase CPD uptake and compliance among professionals through flexible integrated approach comes to the fore the understanding and knowledge of the strategies that can engender CPD uptake and compliance among construction professionals in the construction industry in South Africa.

Academic librarians’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of adopting e-learning for continuing professional development in Lagos state, Nigeria

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 340-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Ngozi Anasi ◽  
Hussaini Ali
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lagos State ◽  
E Learning

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine and discuss academic librarians’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of adopting e-learning for continuing professional development. Design/methodology/approach – To elicit the necessary information, this study adopted a descriptive survey design, using questionnaire as instrument for data collection. The study population consists of five tertiary institutions – two universities, two polytechnics and one college of education, selected as sample using the purposive sampling technique. The study also conducted a literature review on studies done on benefits and challenges of e-learning for professional development. The literature review is built on resources from online and offline. Findings – Academic librarians in Lagos State were unanimous in their perception of benefits and challenges of adoption of e-learning for continuing professional development. The major benefits of e-learning were that e-learning opens up new frontiers for professional learning, supports knowledge generation and management and gives librarians an opportunity to broaden their knowledge. However, the major challenges to adopting e-learning for continuing professional development were inadequate power supply, inadequate knowledge of how to operate e-learning tools and limited bandwidth. Practical implications – This paper establishes that the role of academic librarians in the provision of information for learning and study in academic institutions places them in an advantageous position to engage in e-learning activities for professional development. It also extols the need for top library management to deploy all resources within their reach to develop technology-enhanced learning system. This should also be complemented with the development and implementation of e-learning curriculum in library schools in Nigeria to inculcate e-learning culture. Originality/value – The paper contributes to empirical research on e-learning for continuing professional development among librarians in Nigeria. Librarians who are interested in professional development will find this article useful.

Continuing professional development of academic librarians in Trinidad and Tobago

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 93-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Portia Bowen-Chang ◽  
Yacoob Hosein
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Level ◽  
Training And Support

PurposeThis study aims to present a detailed investigation into the approaches of academic librarians in Trinidad and Tobago in pursuing continuing professional development (CPD) activities. The paper also examines the extent of their participation in CPD at both the institutional and external levels in contributing to the development of their careers.Design/methodology/approachThe instrument used was a questionnaire which assesses the effectiveness of the librarians in their involvement in and attitude toward CPD activities.FindingsThe paper demonstrates the active role and willingness of academic librarians in Trinidad and Tobago in providing and participating in CPD training and support to library and information personnel at both the national and international levels.Originality/valueThe paper underscores the effectiveness of a group of academic librarians in Trinidad and Tobago who pursue and provide a high level of CPD activities to professionals.

Strategic career development of black engineering graduates in South Africa: the workplace experiential approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-48
Author(s):  
Olorunjuwon Michael Samuel ◽  
Sibongile Magwagwa ◽  
Aretha Mazingi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
South Africa ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate effectiveness of the graduate development programme that was aimed at the recruitment and professional development of black engineering graduates through the workplace learning method. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopted qualitative research strategy using in-depth interviews with semi-structured interview guide that was developed after an extensive review of related literature. Data were analysed using thematic analysis technique. Findings Result of the paper indicates that the strategy provides an effective mechanism for the inclusion and professional development of black engineering graduates. Coaching and mentoring relationships were found to be an effective way for knowledge and skills transfers. Research limitations/implications Although this study presented valuable insights into the complexity of the graduate development programme in South Africa, the authors consider it appropriate to draw some limitations to study for in order to provide some guides on the conduct of a similar study by future researchers. It is important to state that qualitative studies inherently lack external validity that limits its generalisability to a wider context. Further, a non-probability sampling method was used in this study thus posing a threat to the scientific representativeness of the participants. At last, but very important is the emotion and tension that is usually associated with social research and discussion regarding the legacies of apartheid in South Africa. This research was not insulated from such sensitivity and social influence. To this extent, while practical efforts were made to mitigate this factor during the interviews, there is no guarantee that the respondents were completely honest, and not influenced by extraneous nuances and considerations in their responses to the questions. In view of the methodological and social limitations to this study, future researchers could consider, for example, the use of a mixed methods wherein a quantitative research component is conducted on trainees of the programme in order to validate or disprove the answers provided by the training managers which were purely from operator/organisational, rather than training participants’ perspective. The mixed method approach could also enhance the external validity or generalisability of the research outcome to a wider context. At last, the administration of structured questionnaire through the use of a web-based survey could potentially eliminate emotions, social tension and response bias since both the researcher and respondents do not engage in a face-to-face contact and personal interaction. This also effectively protects personal identity of both the researcher and respondent. Originality/value Not much research has been conducted in the direction of the graduate development programme as an effective strategy for the career advancement, inclusion and affirmation of black engineers within the engineering landscape of South Africa. Corporate and professional skills development managers could integrate the outcome of this paper into a policy framework that shapes corporate social investment, diversity and inclusion management at the workplaces.

An assessment of education and continuing professional development (CPD) of academic libraries workforce in Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olugbade Oladokun ◽  
Neo P. Mooko ◽  
Babakisi T. Fidzani
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Colleges Of Education ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Beneficial Impact ◽  
Academic Workforce ◽  
Training Programmes

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the current level of education qualifications of the workforce working in academic libraries in Botswana. The study also aims to determine the current and required level of continuing professional development (CPD) of librarians working in academic libraries in Botswana. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted positivist research paradigm and quantitative research design using a structured questionnaire to collect data, where survey questions were developed based on existing, tested and verified NeXus1 and NeXus2 instruments developed in Australia. Findings Findings revealed that majority (41 or 35.3%) of the academic workforce in Botswana had first degree professional qualification, while those with diploma qualification were 28 or 24.1%; about a quarter of respondents had obtained master’s degree qualification. Most of the CPD activities undertaken were workshops and other workplace training programmes. While about half of the total respondents had attended conferences, less than half of them had published or presented a paper, and mentoring, that should have been given a pride of place in the libraries, largely suffers near neglect. Some knowledge and skills have been acquired on the job and have beneficial impact in the service rendered. Originality/value The study seems to be the first of its type in Botswana as a thorough search of literature did not yield any result in the field. What is more, it combines the librarians in public and private universities, colleges of education and institutes of health sciences. Recommendations generated from the findings are likely to improve the services rendered and interest of the librarians in the profession.

Enhancing the management of unstructured data in e-learning systems using MongoDB

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milorad Pantelija Stevic ◽  
Branko Milosavljevic ◽  
Branko Rade Perisic
Keyword(s):  
Service Oriented Architecture ◽  
Structured Data ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Unstructured Data ◽  
Development Effort ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Platforms

Purpose – Current e-learning platforms are based on relational database management systems (RDBMS) and are well suited for handling structured data. However, it is expected from e-learning solutions to efficiently handle unstructured data as well. The purpose of this paper is to show an alternative to current solutions for unstructured data management. Design/methodology/approach – Current repository-based solution for file management was compared to MongoDB architecture according to their functionalities and characteristics. This included several categories: data integrity, hardware acquisition, processing files, availability, handling concurrent users, partition tolerance, disaster recovery, backup policies and scalability. Findings – This paper shows that it is possible to improve e-learning platform capabilities by implementing a hybrid database architecture that incorporates RDBMS for handling structured data and MongoDB database system for handling unstructured data. Research limitations/implications – The study shows an acceptable adoption of MongoDB inside a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for enhancing e-learning solutions. Practical implications – This research enables an efficient file handling not only for e-learning systems, but also for any system where file handling is needed. Originality/value – It is expected that future single/joint e-learning initiatives will need to manage huge amount of files and they will require effective file handling solution. The new architecture solution for file handling is offered in this paper: it is different from current solutions because it is less expensive, more efficient, more flexible and requires less administrative and development effort for building and maintaining.

The use of social media by South African organisations

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nomusa Nomhle Dlamini ◽  
Kevin Johnston
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
South African ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Main Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present how organisations in South Africa are using social media. The paper further explores the value of social media to South African organisations and if it is important for an organisation to have a social media presence. Design/methodology/approach The study used quantitative research methods to answer the main research question and sub-questions. Findings The data collected revealed that most organisations in South Africa are using social media for free advertising, CRM and marketing. The popular social media sites used by these organisations are Facebook and Twitter, with LinkedIn increasing in popularity. The data further revealed that social media is important in organisations for relationship building, contact keeping advertising, marketing, attracting customers, brand management and information gathering. Research limitations/implications The role of social media is changing, it was initially a marketing tool, but the findings revealed that majority of organisations are using social media for free advertising, CRM and marketing. Social media is an easy CRM tool that offers effective and efficient capabilities. Practical implications It is important to use integrate social media with the organisations processes to market and advertise new products, it is an instant and cost-saving way of communicating with customers, and helps in reaching and attracting new customers. Social implications Social media is important for keeping contact and building relationships with customers, advertising and marketing, way to attract customers, brand management tool and gathering information. Originality/value The study provides guidance to how organisation can use social media, identifying the value of using social media and highlighting the importance of social media in an organisation in the South African context.

Continuing Professional Development for Integrative Nursing

2014 ◽  
pp. 429-444
Author(s):  
Mary Koithan ◽  
Kathy Chappell
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Environmental Scan ◽  
Learning Platforms ◽  
Theoretical Evidence ◽  
Nursing Professional

Nursing professional development (NPD) is a career-long continuum of formal and informal educational activities informed by wide-ranging sources of clinical, practice, scientific and theoretical evidence. An environmental scan indicates a plethora of professional development opportunities in integrative nursing with offerings across multiple learning platforms (symposia and conferences, residential intensives, online asynchronous sessions, asynchronous media-supported classes and agency-supported in-service sessions) and multiple venues. Several professional organizations, universities, and private companies offer opportunities to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities that prepare nurses to competently care for self and patients.

scholarly journals Situating Continuing Professional Development in Life Long Learning in Qatar

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishanth Weerakkody ◽  
Mohamad Osmani ◽  
Paul Waller ◽  
Nitham Hindi ◽  
Rajab Al-Esmail
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Life Long Learning ◽  
The Us ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Level

<p>Continued professional development (CPD) has been at the centre of capacity building in most successful organisations in western countries over the past few decades. Specialised professions in fields such as Accounting, Finance and ICT, to name but a few, are continuously evolving, which is necessitating certain standards to be followed through registration and certification by a designated authority (e.g. ACCA). Whilst most developed countries such as the UK and the US have well established frameworks for CPD for these professions, several developing nations, including Qatar (the chosen context for this article) are only just beginning to adopt these frameworks into their local contexts. However, the unique socio-cultural settings in such countries require these frameworks to be appropriately modified before they are adopted within the respective national context. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of CPD in Qatar through comparing the UK as a benchmark and drawing corresponding and contrasting observations to formulate a roadmap towards developing a high level framework.</p>

Use of e-learning at higher educational institutions in Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Fouad Hossain Sarker ◽  
Rafi Al Mahmud ◽  
M. Saiful Islam ◽  
Md Kabirul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Higher Educational Institutions ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Platforms ◽  
Higher Educational

Purpose Although e-learning has already been accepted globally as an effective medium of delivery of quality education and ensure optimum student participation, Bangladeshi higher educational institutions are still at a very early stage of adopting such technologies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically examine the suitability of implementing effective e-learning through learning management system (LMS) at the tertiary educational institutions in Bangladesh, and how both students and teachers experience and respond to this new learning platform. Following mixed-methods techniques, data for this study were collected from students and respective course teachers of a private university in Bangladesh by administering questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The findings of this paper reveal that e-learning has been well accepted by most of the students as they are found routinely spending time on the LMS on a regular basis for watching lecture videos, viewing course information, reading postings of the fellow students in the forum. However, there are constraints as well, since the learning materials are poorly designed that do not allow much interaction between students and lecturers. There are also some technical problems such as poor internet connection which restrict access to e-learning platforms. To harness the optimum benefit of e-learning, this paper recommends a concerted effort by all stakeholders, such as students, lecturers, administrators and policy makers so that each of their priorities and expectations are reflected in the designing and implementing e-learning platforms. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the qualitative evaluation of Education 3.0 platform. Primary data were collected from the students using a well-structured survey questionnaire, and the findings of the survey have subsequently been cross-referred and supplemented by non-participatory observations with semi-structured interviews which allowed a better in-depth understanding of the issue at hand. Findings The findings of the study suggest that a majority of the students are found to be highly enthusiastic about the online courses. They are eager to participate and interact in the online platforms, which are somehow limited in the traditional classroom settings. However, there are several institutional, administrative and technical limitations of implementing e-learning in Bangladesh. It is recommended that better orientation of the users, quality content distribution though user-friendly systems and enhanced asynchronous interaction between the lecturers and students are the key pre-requisites to harness the optimum benefit from e-learning technologies in Bangladesh. Originality/value The data have been analyzed and discussed using qualitative framework which allows an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the use of e-learning technologies at the higher educational institutions in Bangladesh.

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