Overcoming ageism through a new intergenerational learning paradigm: challenges and findings

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Gonçalves ◽  
Alan Hatton-Yeo ◽  
Diana Farcas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a programme developed and tested in Portugal under this new paradigm where young adults (18-30) and old adults (over 65) learn research skills together. Design/methodology/approach The structure of the learning experience consists in a six-month training course for lay people in research skills in three specific areas of family, mental health and intergenerational relationships. In order to apply the acquired research and intervention knowledge, participants work in intergenerational groups on a small research project. Findings Results from the first two editions of the programme indicate benefits of mutual reciprocity in the contribution to tackle ageism and trust between generations. Research limitations/implications The potential practice implications for this type of intergenerational programme are significant, considering the increasing aging population in Portugal and the high ageism present. However, the authors may ask if the encountered results are the same with another type of learning subject. Therefore, the authors recommend a replication of this study/programme in other fields. Practical implications An integrated active ageing goes from a senior cultural entertainment to a public policy intervention sustained over time, reducing costs in terms of health, education and social services. Social implications Ageism, that is to say discrimination against people because of their age, is an enormous social problem. The new intergenerational learning paradigm can help to address this by emphasizing the importance of the intergroup contact between generations where each group can learn from and teach the other. Originality/value The authors can say that these first two editions of the Intergenerational University was a first outlook of how the authors can innovate learning processes at universities and bring research to the public. It is a methodology of social responsibility universities may adopt.

Author(s):  
Samuel Domínguez-Amarillo ◽  
Jesica Fernandez-Aguera ◽  
Patricia Fernandez-Aguera

Today’s buildings are evolving from structures comprising unchanging, static elements scantly able to interact with their surroundings, towards complex systemic compounds with an impact on the environs that entails more than mere anthropic alteration. In pursuit of energy efficiency and true sustainability, buildings must acquire the ability to interact as well as to generate synergies. The most prominent features of this approach are energy management and information flows which, intelligently designed, not only enhance buildings’ capabilities, but also introduce a significant change in their relationship with the surrounds (‘smart cities’) and its inhabitants. This new paradigm calls for revisiting undergraduate architectural instruction, adopting a more complex overview of energy use and management in the design process, regarding buildings as dynamic rather than static entities. The methodology focuses on creating learning environments that favour students’ participation in problem solving and assessment, encouraging teamwork based on case studies and stressing the connection between this new architecture, ICTs included, and social networks as participatory design tools. These ideas were implemented in a pilot learning experience conducted at the University of Seville for undergraduate students. The use of ICTs and the collaboration of non-academic experts were observed to further student promotion and projection beyond the academic environment and introduce them to the professional community.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 481-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geunpil Ryu ◽  
Seong-Gin Moon

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of workplace learning experience and intrinsic learning motive on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In addition, the study examined the moderating effect of intrinsic learning motives on the relationship between learning experience and job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Design/methodology/approach The current research used the Human Capital Corporate Panel survey data set, which aimed to explore how human resource development practices influence corporate performance. In all, 10,003 samples from 441 companies were used for data analysis. Findings Results indicate that taking part in workplace learning programs positively affects job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Likewise, intrinsic learning motives are also positively related to work attitudes. However, no interaction effect between the intrinsic learning motive and the learning experience was found, which may imply that an autonomous extrinsic learning motive is a better predictor for explaining job satisfaction than is a purely intrinsic learning motive within an organizational context. Originality/value Little research has examined the actual effect of workplace learning programs on employees’ attitudes regarding job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore, to the authors’ knowledge, no research has examined the moderating effect of intrinsic learning motive with workplace learning experience on employees’ positive work attitudes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence A. Patterson ◽  
Samuel Berry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences of team culture, structure and function of an intensive support service (ISS) within the context of the recent service guidance “Building the Right Support” (NHS England, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, 2015). Reflections on the Hampshire and Southampton ISS set up in 2010 are discussed with a view to informing a debate about frameworks for ISS services nationally. Design/methodology/approach A reflective piece, drawing on experience and case examples. Findings This paper describes that a key function of an ISS is making individuals safe and this is significantly assisted by using shared team formulation, which can enable information and perspectives to be shared between and within teams as rapidly as possible. Further, a case is made for recognising the importance of inter-disciplinary practice, as the Southampton and Hampshire ISS has removed the “old fashioned” demarcations that led to individuals seeing a “procession” of different professionals from different disciplines. This relates to team structure, but importantly is about a culture of holding a shared identity based on positive behavioural support values, rather than a traditional uni-disciplinary perspective. Practical implications ISS models are being proposed by NHS England and this paper suggests some important practical aspects. Originality/value Limited literature exists examining the team culture within ISSs, which contributes to desired outcomes for service users. This paper opens a debate about structural and functional aspects of service delivery in this service model.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Venugopal Prabhakar Gantasala ◽  
Swapna Bhargavi Gantasala ◽  
Tareq Na'el Al Tawil ◽  
Prerana Prasad

PurposeThe intention for this study was to explore any relationship that might exist between quality of learning experience (QLE), the second construct student satisfaction (SS) and the third construct perceived overall experience (POE) among undergraduate students within the higher education context. This study also attempts to explain the path direction between QLE, SS and POE.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers utilized structural equation modeling to analyze the variables considered for this study – QLE, SS and POE and for hypotheses testing. Respondents for this study were medical students' coordinators of the undergraduate level of medical colleges in the 28 states of India. Data collected for the study were possible by utilizing a questionnaire that was emailed to these student coordinators. The emailing effort returned 198 (n) filled questionnaires (complete) representing 198 institutions offering undergraduate-level medical programs out of a total of 542 institutions that offer undergraduate medical programs.FindingsFindings from this study confirm the relationship between QLE with SS, and PLE. Interestingly, the findings established a significant relationship between SS and POE.Practical implicationsDecision-makers and administrators of higher education institutions (HEIs) can utilize the findings from this study to focus on strengthening important elements of QLE in ways that positively impact SS and POE of students taking online courses and program offerings. The study reiterates the importance of course content, course structure, lecture-delivery quality, instructor mentoring and student-instructor interactions on SS and POE. The role of SS in reinforcing confirmation, perceived usefulness, perceived openness of the online courses and the perceived reputation was established. This relationship is key to administrators while they focus on improving SS and building on the institutions' reputation in addition to their efforts to support marketing and enrollments during the pandemic.Originality/valueResearchers in the past have examined the relationships between QLE and another construct of this study – SS. Past research has also examined the relationship between QLE and POE. However, there is not enough research exploring the relationship between SS and POE. This study establishes the relationship between SS and POE that benefits decision-makers in higher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Louise Whittaker ◽  
Hayley Pearson

Case overview The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), a South African based business school and one of the top ranked business schools in Africa, was yet again facing a crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Having emerged out of an extraordinary year of strict lockdown regulations and having managed a rapid shift to emergency remote teaching. GIBS had managed to maintain its academic programmes, ensuring the completion of the curriculum within the academic year whilst maintaining the exceptionally high standards and quality learning experience it was known for. As 2020 drew to a close, the academic programmes team and the students looked forward to starting the new year in a more “normal” mode of operation. GIBS closed for Christmas holiday with the intent on returning, in early 2021, in some form of face-to-face teaching. However, on the 27th of December 2020, the President of South Africa announced a return to level-3 lockdown as the second wave of infections swept through the country. Strict measures were once again enforced, significantly impacting GIBS’ possible return to campus in January 2021. Reflecting on the lessons learnt over the past year, the Executive Director: Academic Programmes, Professor Louise Whittaker, yet again faced the challenge of deciding how best to proceed given the circumstances. The case illustrates the need for effective change management through the application of Kotter’s 8 steps to transformation, whilst demonstrating the complexity of change management during a crisis. A particular focus on the importance of communication during a change management process in a crisis is illustrated through this case. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: students need to understand that in a crisis, change management will be emergent and requires flexibility and adaptability; students will determine what concrete actions may be required during a change management process in a crisis; students will need to discern that theoretical models do not necessarily fit real world contexts, particularly in a crisis situation; and students will identify aspects that might be missing or inadequately formulated in standard models of change management. Complexity academic level The case is positioned at a post-graduate level and would be ideal as a teaching case for business school students on a Master of Business Administration programme, a specialised business masters programme or selected executive education programmes for general managers or senior executives. The case can be taught in a course in the following fields, namely, change management, leadership or strategy. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Serkan Yiğit ◽  
Nilüfer Şahin Perçin

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the experiences of tourists in the Turkish coffee houses in Istanbul, Turkey. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a qualitative case study method was used to analyze tourists’ comments with user-generated content technique by analyzing tourists’ comments. The data used in the study was collected through TripAdvisor, which is considered one of the most famous websites with tourist reviews and comments, between 20 May and 10 June 2020 from tourists’ reviews (n:219). Findings The findings show that Turkish coffee house experiences are heterogeneous based on the dimensions of coffee characteristics, place, satisfaction, recommendation and revisit intention, value/price and value-added experience. Moreover, value-added experience includes some sub-themes such as a memorable experience, authentic experience and culture learning experience. Originality/value There are some studies on Turkish coffee and Turkish coffee culture in the literature, but there have been no empirical studies investigating the Turkish coffee house experiences of tourists. For this reason, this study aims to examine and understand the experiences of tourists in Turkish coffee houses. Therefore, it is believed that this study will fill the current gap in the literature on tourists’ experiences of Turkish coffee houses.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Heike Johansen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a sector-based analysis of the drivers for social entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses qualitative data from two studies in the Danish region of Northern Jutland. The data include responses from 38 farmers who offered or had considered offering social services. The analytical framework is taken from a review of the limited literature on Green Care and Social Farming and social entrepreneurship theory. Findings – Strong and consistent tools for the categorisation of farmers’ social entrepreneurship have been developed. However, these tools have merely been used descriptively rather than to create proactive agriculture policies to facilitate social entrepreneurship. In Region Northern Jutland social entrepreneurship in farming is driven by a combination of tradition, close relationships and coincidence. It is ad hoc, with each initiative starting from scratch because no knowledge or experience has been gathered or distributed. Research limitations/implications – The agricultural sector-based approach to social entrepreneurship will not be discussed against other approaches to social entrepreneurship. This would be a suggestion for another more conceptual kind of article in the future. Originality/value – A study of social entrepreneurship among farmers has not yet been coupled with a sector-based analytical framework. This paper contributes to the literature of social entrepreneurship by supplementing with an agricultural sector-based approach.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Jia ◽  
Jin Chen ◽  
Liang Mei ◽  
Qian Wu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer the following two questions: What are the influences of the top managers’ different leadership styles on organizational innovation? What is the mechanism by which the different leaderships exert different effects on organizational innovation? Design/methodology/approach To test the hypothesized model, a data set based on 133 MBA part-time students from Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University in China was built, after interviewing several top managers as a pilot study. With the help of SPSS macro, hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analysis, the paper analyzes the effects of two leadership styles on innovation performance, through the mediation mechanism of openness involving open breadth and open depth. Findings The results indicate that transformational leadership enhances, while transactional leadership reduces, the organizational innovation performance. The openness breadth and openness depth not only mediate the beneficial effect of transformational leadership on innovation, but also mediate the deleterious effect of transactional leadership on innovation. Originality/value This study empirically explores the different functions of transformational leadership and transactional leadership for leading organizational innovation performance. Furthermore, a new form of organization is an open design or strategy that allows more external knowledge and resources to be absorbed, which is claimed as a new paradigm for organization innovation. This study integrates the concepts of breadth of openness and depth of openness on the basis of open innovation literature, as an intermediate mechanism to explain the different effects of the two forms of top managers’ leadership.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walead Etri

PurposeThis qualitative research set out to understand what teachers’ assessments were of the context of teaching as it relates to the curriculum, and what they consider appropriate for an optimal teaching and learning experience in a university english language teaching (ELT) context.Design/methodology/approachQualitative data were deemed required to understand the effects and understanding teachers had of the ELT curriculum as it played out in their teaching context. Focus group interviews and observations were the main method for data generation.FindingsThe context has a bearing on the ongoing development of teachers’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) frames and how they address IS over time in their context of teaching as it pertains to curriculum.Originality/valueThis is an original research paper which gives insight to knowledge about the relationship between ELT, curriculum and culture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataša Rupčić

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight challenges and opportunities that surround the process of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer. Several options in this regard have been discussed from the managerial and employee perspective. Design/methodology/approach The systems approach has been implemented to identify options of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer that could be valuable when developing a strong individual and organizational body of knowledge with the purpose to avoid the “knowledge crash.” Findings A review and analysis regarding intergenerational diversity, especially in the light of information and communication technology and social media, has been proposed along with the discussion on possible intergenerational knowledge transfer practices and methods of developing learning agility in all generations though engaging in internal mobility and building communities of practice and learning. Research limitations/implications Conclusions and remarks provided in the paper need further empirical testing and validation. Practical implications Implications for practitioners, especially mangers, have been identified regarding recommendations for implementing intergenerational knowledge transfer solutions which could benefit all stakeholders – not only younger and senior employees but also managers responsible for pursuing enterprise development based on continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Social implications Implementation of suggestions provided in the paper regarding intergenerational knowledge transfer and learning could result in significant benefits in terms of less intergenerational conflict and stress and greater organizational working cohesion as well as further advancements in organizational learning and knowledge management. Originality/value Challenges that surround the process of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer have been identified along with options to manage this complicated and often delicate processes from the managerial and employee perspective.


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