scholarly journals A common standard for the evaluation of public engagement with research

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark S C Reed ◽  
Sophie Duncan ◽  
Paul Manners ◽  
Diana Pound ◽  
Lucy Armitage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Quality Evaluation ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Evaluation Standard ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Post Hoc

Despite growing interest in public engagement with research, there are many challenges to evaluating engagement. Evaluation findings are rarely shared or lead to demonstrable improvements in engagement practice. This has led to calls for a common 'evaluation standard' to provide tools and guidance for evaluating public engagement and driving good practice. This paper proposes just such a standard. A conceptual framework summarizes the three main ways in which evaluation can provide judgements about, and enhance the effectiveness of, public engagement with research. A methodological framework is then proposed to operationalize the conceptual framework. The standard is developed via a literature review, semi-structured interviews at Queen Mary University of London and an online survey. It is tested and refined in situ in a large public engagement event and applied post hoc to a range of public engagement impact case studies from the Research Excellence Framework. The goal is to standardize good practice in the evaluation of public engagement, rather than to use standard evaluation methods and indicators, given concerns from interviewees and the literature about the validity of using standard methods or indicators to cover such a wide range of engagement methods, designs, purposes and contexts. Adoption of the proposed standard by funders of public engagement activities could promote more widespread, high-quality evaluation, and facilitate longitudinal studies to draw our lessons for the funding and practice of public engagement across the higher education sector.

scholarly journals Why do pharmacists leave the profession? A mixed-method exploratory study

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 2332
Author(s):  
Trudi J. Aspden ◽  
Pushkar R. Silwal ◽  
Munyaradzi Marowa ◽  
Rhys Ponton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Pharmacy Profession ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Professional Environment

Background: Recent New Zealand policy documents aim for pharmacists to be retained, and promote the provision of extended clinical pharmacy services. However, younger pharmacists have expressed dissatisfaction with the profession on informal social for a. Objectives: To explore the characteristics, and perspectives of pharmacy as a career, of recent Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm, four-year degree) graduates who have left, or are seriously considering leaving the New Zealand pharmacy profession in the near future and where they have gone, or plan to go. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a mixed-method explanatory sequential design. An anonymous online survey among those who completed their pharmacy undergraduate degree (BPharm or equivalent) in 2003 or later and who had left or who were seriously considering leaving the New Zealand pharmacy profession in the next five years, was open from 1st December 2018 to 1st February 2019. Recruitment occurred via University alumni databases, pharmacy professional organisations, pharmaceutical print media, social media and word-of-mouth. Ten semi-structured interviews were then conducted with a purposive sample of survey respondents. Descriptive statistics were generated from the quantitative data and qualitative data were analysed using manifest content analysis. Results: We received 327 analysable surveys of which 40.4% (n=132) were from those who had already left the New Zealand pharmacy sector at the time of the data collection and the rest (59.6% n=195) were those working within the sector, but seriously considering leaving the profession. Reasons most commonly reported for studying pharmacy were having an interest in health and wanting to work with people. The most common reasons for leaving, or wanting to leave, were dissatisfaction with the professional environment, including inadequate remuneration, and a perceived lack of career pathways or promotion opportunities. A wide range of career destinations were declared, with medicine being most frequently reported. Conclusions: Most of the reasons for leaving/considering leaving the profession reported relate to the values and features of the pharmacy profession such as the professional environment, remuneration and career pathways. These findings are consistent with other studies and may represent a barrier to achieving the aims of recent health policy documents.

scholarly journals Back to the future: challenges of European tourism of tomorrow

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natàlia Ferrer-Roca ◽  
Richard Weston ◽  
Jaume Guia ◽  
Tanja Mihalic ◽  
Dani Blasco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Tourism Development ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Future ◽  
Tourism Governance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the most recent (or emerging) trends likely to have a major impact in shaping the future of tourism in Europe. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this paper involved in-depth literature review of European Union policies, initiatives and programs. Also, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key individuals/organisations, mainly at a European level, but also including pertinent global and national tourism organisations. Moreover, an online survey was also conducted and circulated to a wide range of organisations from all 28 EU Member States. Nvivo was used to analyse the documents as well as to conduct a content and thematic analysis of the interviews. Findings This paper identifies five trends associated with the future of tourism in Europe. Those main trends are: evolving visitor demand; marketing; stakeholders and tourism governance; new technologies; and sustainable and responsible tourism. Originality/value This trends paper provides five useful recommendations for the future of tourism in Europe, including: sustainable tourism development, investment in technology, effective tourism governance, enhance Europe's overall destination brand and marketing strategy, and the need for new skills and training.

scholarly journals UK end-of-life care services in dementia, initiatives and sustainability: results of a national online survey

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Amador ◽  
Claire Goodman ◽  
Louise Robinson ◽  
Elizabeth L Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Symptom Control ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
National Council ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Wide Range

BackgroundPeople living and dying with non-cancer diagnoses, including dementia, have poorer access to generalist and specialist palliative care than people with cancer, and experience worse outcomes in terms of pain and symptom control, and quality and experience of care. In the UK, the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) ran a national survey of services for end-of-life care for people with dementia (2008) in which 16 services were identified, and reported on case studies and examples of good practice. We updated the NCPC survey to review progress in previously identified services, identify factors that lead to sustainable services and identify new initiatives in this area of care.MethodsAn online survey was developed and piloted before use. Initiatives were contacted via targeted (N=63) and open call invitations. The survey was made up of 5 sections. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results15 services responded. They engaged in a wide range of activities predominately providing direct care (80%) and workforce development/advisory or educational activities (87%). Results suggest that sustainability of services is reliant on clinicians with a leadership role and wider system support through funding mechanisms and a minimum level of integration within normal service provision.ConclusionsRecent initiatives are largely built on the expertise of the nursing profession (with or without input from medical consultants), and driven mainly by the charity and hospice sector. This has generated a potential new model of care provision in end of life dementia care, ‘Hospice-enabled Dementia Care’.

scholarly journals Putting a face to a name: Telephone contact as part of a blended approach to probation supervision

2021 ◽  
pp. 026455052110508
Author(s):  
Jane Dominey ◽  
David Coley ◽  
Kerry Ellis Devitt ◽  
Jess Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Telephone Contact ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Remote Supervision ◽  
Professional Discretion ◽  
Supervision Practice ◽  
Probation Supervision ◽  
Supervision Relationships

This article is about the experience of telephone supervision from the perspective of practitioners. It is set in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed and challenged the nature of probation supervision and required service users and supervisors to communicate remotely, using the telephone, rather than by meeting face-to-face. The article explores some of the impacts and consequences of telephone contact and examines the extent to which this approach has a part to play in future, post-pandemic, ways of working. The article draws on findings from a research project examining remote supervision practice during the pandemic. Fieldwork (comprising an online survey and a series of semi-structured interviews) was conducted between July and September 2020 in three divisions within an English community rehabilitation company. The article reinforces the importance of face-to-face work in probation practice but suggests that there is scope to retain some use of telephone supervision as part of a future blended practice model. Further thinking about telephone supervision might consider these three themes identified in the research: remote working limits the sensory dimension of supervision, relationships remain at the heart of practice, and good practice requires professional discretion.

scholarly journals Use of the Washington Group Questions in Non-Government Programming

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11143
Author(s):  
Alex Robinson ◽  
Liem Nguyen ◽  
Fleur Smith
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Staged Approach ◽  
Purposive Sample

The Washington Group questions (WGQ) on functioning have been widely promoted as the go-to tool for disability data collection. Designed for use by government, the WGQ have been adopted by non-government organizations (NGOs) for use in programming. However, little is known about how the WGQs are being used by NGOs or how use may be contributing to disability inclusion. Method: This paper describes exploratory research on the use of the WGQ in NGO programming. An online survey provided an overview of adoption followed by semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample to explore data collection, analysis, and use. Results: Thematic analysis showed limited inclusion outcomes directly attributable to use of the WGQ, adoption driven by individual champions rather than systematically across organizations, and challenges in data collection resulting in a wide range of prevalence rates. What information the WGQ can realistically contribute to programs was also overestimated. However, the process of using the WGQ was raising awareness on disability inclusion within program teams and communities. Conclusion: Acknowledging differences in emerging use by NGOs beyond the WGQ’s intended purpose, alongside promoting a flexible and staged approach to adoption and use in programming, may improve utility and disability inclusion outcomes over time.

scholarly journals Tolerance Management in Construction: A Conceptual Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Talebi ◽  
Lauri Koskela ◽  
Patricia Tzortzopoulos ◽  
Michail Kagioglou
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Engineering Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Tolerance Management ◽  
Insight Into

Defects associated with dimensional and geometric tolerance variability (tolerance problems) are often dealt with during the construction phase of projects. Despite the potentially severe consequences of those defects, tolerance management (TM) is a perennial challenge, and the construction industry lacks a systematic and practical process to provide insight into avoiding the reoccurrence of tolerance problems. The aim of this research is to present a conceptual framework to proactively reduce the reoccurrence of tolerance problems at stages preceding on site construction. The research uses an exploratory case study approach exploring TM in a civil engineering consultancy. Evidence was collated from semi-structured interviews and document analysis, and validated in a group interview. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study contributes to knowledge in engineering management by providing new insights into drawbacks of existing TM guidelines. It also describes a good practice application of TM by a civil engineering consultancy, and proposes a conceptual framework to improve TM, which provides a basis to develop more effective practical solutions for TM.

scholarly journals The United Kingdom Field Epidemiology Training Programme: meeting programme objectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (36) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Dey ◽  
Jeremy Brown ◽  
John Sandars ◽  
Yvonne Young ◽  
Ruth Ruggles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Process Measures ◽  
Field Epidemiology ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Training Programmes

Introduction Most evaluations of field epidemiology training programmes (FETP) are limited to process measures, but stakeholders may need evidence of impact. Objective To ascertain if the United Kingdom (UK) FETP met its objectives to: (i) strengthen capacity and provision of national epidemiology services, (ii) develop a network of highly skilled field epidemiologists with a shared sense of purpose working to common standards and (iii) raise the profile of field epidemiology through embedding it into everyday health protection practice. Methods The evaluation consisted of: (i) focus groups with training site staff, (ii) individual interviews with stakeholders and (iii) an online survey of FETP fellows and graduates. Findings were synthesised and triangulated across the three evaluation components to identify cross-cutting themes and subthemes. Findings Eight focus groups were undertaken with 38 staff, ten stakeholders were interviewed and 28 (76%) graduates and fellows responded to the survey. Three themes emerged: confidence, application and rigour. FETP was perceived to have contributed to the development, directly and indirectly, of a skilled workforce in field epidemiology, increasing stakeholders’ confidence in the service. Graduates applied their learning in practice, collaborating with a wide range of disciplines. Fellows and graduates demonstrated rigour by introducing innovations, supporting service improvements and helping supervisors maintain their skills and share good practice. Conclusion The UK FETP appears to have met its three key objectives, and also had wider organisational impact. FETPs should systematically and prospectively collect information on how they have influenced changes to field epidemiology practice.

scholarly journals Faculty’s Use of Social Media in Flipped Classrooms: A Mixed-Method Investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-410
Author(s):  
Majed Alharthi ◽  
Ke Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flipped Classrooms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper reports a sequential mixed-method study on Saudi Arabian (SA) faculty’s use of social media (SM) in flipped classrooms (FC). The study also examined SA faculty’s related attitudes and identified factors that had limited faculty use of SM in Saudi higher education. In particular, the study explored how SA faculty used SM to address students’ needs and preferences as per the Read, Reflect, Display and Do (R2D2) framework. 391 eligible SA faculty members (199 male and 192 female) participated in the online survey, among which 8 (4 male and 4 female) were also selected for individual, semi-structured interviews afterwards. A wide range of factors were identified to understand what may have prevented or limited faculty’s SM uses in teaching. Research and practical implications were discussed, as well as suggestions to promote the use of SM for teaching in SA and countries with similar cultures.  

In-situ electrical-resistivity measurements in the high-voltage electron microscope

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-69
Author(s):  
W. E. King
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
High Voltage ◽  
Resistivity Measurements ◽  
Voltage Electron ◽  
High Voltage Electron Microscope ◽  
High Voltage Electron ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Helium Gas

A side-entry type, helium-temperature specimen stage that has the capability of in-situ electrical-resistivity measurements has been designed and developed for use in the AEI-EM7 1200-kV electron microscope at Argonne National Laboratory. The electrical-resistivity measurements complement the high-voltage electron microscope (HVEM) to yield a unique opportunity to investigate defect production in metals by electron irradiation over a wide range of defect concentrations.A flow cryostat that uses helium gas as a coolant is employed to attain and maintain any specified temperature between 10 and 300 K. The helium gas coolant eliminates the vibrations that arise from boiling liquid helium and the temperature instabilities due to alternating heat-transfer mechanisms in the two-phase temperature regime (4.215 K). Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the liquid/gaseous helium transfer system. A liquid-gas mixture can be used for fast cooldown. The cold tip of the transfer tube is inserted coincident with the tilt axis of the specimen stage, and the end of the coolant flow tube is positioned without contact within the heat exchanger of the copper specimen block (Fig. 2).

Site specific agricultural soil management with the use of new technologies

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Digital Interface ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Soil Variation ◽  
Soil Information ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Agricultural Areas

<p>The Soil Science Institute of Thessaloniki produces new digitized Soil Maps that provide a useful electronic database for the spatial representation of the soil variation within a region, based on in situ soil sampling, laboratory analyses, GIS techniques and plant nutrition mathematical models, coupled with the local land cadastre. The novelty of these studies is that local agronomists have immediate access to a wide range of soil information by clicking on a field parcel shown in this digital interface and, therefore, can suggest an appropriate treatment (e.g. liming, manure incorporation, desalination, application of proper type and quantity of fertilizer) depending on the field conditions and cultivated crops. A specific case study is presented in the current work with regards to the construction of the digitized Soil Map of the regional unit of Kastoria. The potential of this map can easily be realized by the fact that the mapping of the physicochemical properties of the soils in this region provided delineation zones for differential fertilization management. An experiment was also conducted using remote sensing techniques for the enhancement of the fertilization advisory software database, which is a component of the digitized map, and the optimization of nitrogen management in agricultural areas.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document