scholarly journals Work-Based Learning and Research for Mid-Career Professionals: Two Project Examples from Australia

10.28945/3959 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 019-040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Fergusson ◽  
Timothy A Allred ◽  
Troy Dux ◽  
Hugo M. Muianga

Aim/Purpose: Most research on work-based learning and research relates to theory, including perspectives, principles and curricula, but few studies provide contemporary examples of work-based projects, particularly in the Australian context; this paper aims to address that limitation. Background: The Professional Studies Program at University of Southern Queensland is dedicated to offering advanced practice professionals the opportunity to self-direct organizational and work-based research projects to solve real-world workplace problems; two such examples in the Australian context are provided by this paper. Methodology: The paper employs a descriptive approach to analyzing these two work-based research projects and describes the mixed methods used by each researcher. Contribution: The paper provides examples of work-based research in (a) health, safety, and wellness leadership and its relation to corporate performance; and (b) investigator identity in the Australian Public Service; neither topic has been examined before in Australia and little, if anything, is empirically known about these topics internationally. Findings: The paper presents the expected outcomes for each project, including discussion of the ‘triple dividend’ of personal, organizational, and practice domain benefits; as importantly, the paper presents statements of workplace problems, needs and opportunities, status of the practice domain, background and prior learning of the researchers, learning objectives, work-based research in the practice domain, and lessons learned from research which can be integrated into a structured framework of advanced practice. Recommendations for Practitioners: This is a preliminary study of two work-based research projects in Australia; as these and other real-world projects are completed, further systematic and rigorous reports to the international educational community will reveal the granulated value of conducting projects designed to change organisations and concordant practice domains. Recommendation for Researchers: While introducing the basic elements of research methods and expected out-comes of work-based projects, examples in this paper give only a glimpse into the possible longer-term contributions such research can make to workplaces in Australia. Researchers, as a consequence, need to better understand the relationship between practice domains, research as a valuable investigative tool in workplaces, and organizational and social outcomes. Impact on Society: Work-based learning and research have been developed to not only meet the complex and changing demands of the global workforce but have been implemented to address real-world organizational problems for the benefit of society; this paper provides two examples where such benefit may occur. Future Research: Future research should focus on the investigation of triple-dividend outcomes and whether they are sustainable over the longer term.

2021 ◽  
pp. 237929812110345
Author(s):  
Scott Wysong ◽  
Sandra Blanke ◽  
Jude Olson ◽  
Rosemary Maellaro

This orientation session was designed to prepare students for their final MBA Capstone project, leverage lessons learned from graduates, transfer prior learning about teams and project management, and launch consulting projects with actual clients. Companies have used orientation sessions to onboard new employees for many years to improve productivity and innovation. Comparatively, the use of student orientation sessions is an understudied area. Our exploratory survey of 68 Capstone students on the completion of their course indicates that they benefit from this session, and subsequently have demonstrated marked improvement in teamwork and client deliverables according to their professors. This article addresses the elements of the orientation session that can be replicated and implemented by other professors teaching similar courses. We recommend that future research continue to examine this pedagogy.


Author(s):  
Paul F. Marty ◽  
Scott Sayre ◽  
Silvia Filippini Fantoni

Personal digital collections systems, which encourage visitors to museum websites to create their own personal collections out of a museum’s online collections, are the latest trend in personalization technologies for museums and other cultural heritage organizations. This chapter explores the development, implementation, and evaluation of different types of personal digital collection interfaces on museum websites, from simple bookmarking applications to sophisticated tools that support high levels of interactivity and the sharing of collections. It examines the potential impact of these interfaces on the relationship between museums and their online visitors, explores the possible benefits of involving users as co-creators of digital cultural heritage, and offers an analysis of future research directions and best practices for system design, presenting lessons learned from more than a decade of design and development of personal digital collections systems on museum websites.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Stanley Wells ◽  
Anne Sophie Haahr Refskou

In an interview given during a lecture tour in Scandinavia organized by the universities of Copenhagen, Bergen, and Aarhus in October and November, 2012, Stanley Wells talks about his own career in Shakespeare studies and discusses past and present major changes and issues within the field, including his own Oxford Complete Works of 1986, co-edited with Gary Taylor et al., revision and collaboration theories, global Shakespeare, and new challenges for Shakespearean scholars. He shares thoughts on his own current and future research projects, which include a new monograph on Shakespearean actors through time, and he also comments on the relationship between academic scholars and theatre practitioners, and ways in which to understand the ever-shifting concept of a Shakespearean play in relation to performance, reading, and personal and critical responses. Following a long career of many publications and editions, Stanley Wells is now Professor Emeritus of the University of Birmingham, and Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Anne Sophie Haahr Refskou is a Doctoral Fellow in English and Dramaturgy at Aarhus University, Denmark. She works with Shakespearean acting and dramaturgy, focusing on the relationship between text and performance, particularly in relation to the actor's body and physical expressions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paco Calvo ◽  
Monica Gagliano ◽  
Gustavo M Souza ◽  
Anthony Trewavas

Abstract Hypotheses The drive to survive is a biological universal. Intelligent behaviour is usually recognized when individual organisms including plants, in the face of fiercely competitive or adverse, real-world circumstances, change their behaviour to improve their probability of survival. Scope This article explains the potential relationship of intelligence to adaptability and emphasizes the need to recognize individual variation in intelligence showing it to be goal directed and thus being purposeful. Intelligent behaviour in single cells and microbes is frequently reported. Individual variation might be underpinned by a novel learning mechanism, described here in detail. The requirements for real-world circumstances are outlined, and the relationship to organic selection is indicated together with niche construction as a good example of intentional behaviour that should improve survival. Adaptability is important in crop development but the term may be complex incorporating numerous behavioural traits some of which are indicated. Conclusion There is real biological benefit to regarding plants as intelligent both from the fundamental issue of understanding plant life but also from providing a direction for fundamental future research and in crop breeding.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claes H de Vreese

In a world where attitudes towards immigration and the European Union are at the forefront of political and economic agendas across the continent, this Special Issue is highly relevant and well timed. This Forum article reviews the Special Issue and summarizes lessons learned and identifies open, remaining and new, questions. As a future research agenda, it is advised to pay attention to (a) differentiation in EU attitudes, (b) the role of national political elites, (c) the changing communications environment, and (d) the role of religion and religious attitudes.


Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. DeCou ◽  
Monica C. Skewes

Abstract. Background: Previous research has demonstrated an association between alcohol-related problems and suicidal ideation (SI). Aims: The present study evaluated, simultaneously, alcohol consequences and symptoms of alcohol dependence as predictors of SI after adjusting for depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption. Method: A sample of 298 Alaskan undergraduates completed survey measures, including the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire, the Short Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory – II. The association between alcohol problems and SI status was evaluated using sequential logistic regression. Results: Symptoms of alcohol dependence (OR = 1.88, p < .05), but not alcohol-related consequences (OR = 1.01, p = .95), emerged as an independent predictor of SI status above and beyond depressive symptoms (OR = 2.39, p < .001) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.08, p = .39). Conclusion: Alcohol dependence symptoms represented a unique risk for SI relative to alcohol-related consequences and alcohol consumption. Future research should examine the causal mechanism behind the relationship between alcohol dependence and suicidality among university students. Assessing the presence of dependence symptoms may improve the accuracy of identifying students at risk of SI.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Meessen ◽  
Verena Mainz ◽  
Siegfried Gauggel ◽  
Eftychia Volz-Sidiropoulou ◽  
Stefan Sütterlin ◽  
...  

Abstract. Recently, Garfinkel and Critchley (2013) proposed to distinguish between three facets of interoception: interoceptive sensibility, interoceptive accuracy, and interoceptive awareness. This pilot study investigated how these facets interrelate to each other and whether interoceptive awareness is related to the metacognitive awareness of memory performance. A sample of 24 healthy students completed a heartbeat perception task (HPT) and a memory task. Judgments of confidence were requested for each task. Participants filled in questionnaires assessing interoceptive sensibility, depression, anxiety, and socio-demographic characteristics. The three facets of interoception were found to be uncorrelated and interoceptive awareness was not related to metacognitive awareness of memory performance. Whereas memory performance was significantly related to metamemory awareness, interoceptive accuracy (HPT) and interoceptive awareness were not correlated. Results suggest that future research on interoception should assess all facets of interoception in order to capture the multifaceted quality of the construct.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-111
Author(s):  
Fong-Yi Lai ◽  
Szu-Chi Lu ◽  
Cheng-Chen Lin ◽  
Yu-Chin Lee

Abstract. The present study proposed that, unlike prior leader–member exchange (LMX) research which often implicitly assumed that each leader develops equal-quality relationships with their supervisors (leader’s LMX; LLX), every leader develops different relationships with their supervisors and, in turn, receive different amounts of resources. Moreover, these differentiated relationships with superiors will influence how leader–member relationship quality affects team members’ voice and creativity. We adopted a multi-temporal (three wave) and multi-source (leaders and employees) research design. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 227 bank employees working in 52 departments. Results of the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis showed that LLX moderates the relationship between LMX and team members’ voice behavior and creative performance. Strengths, limitations, practical implications, and directions for future research are discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peizhen Sun ◽  
Jennifer J. Chen ◽  
Hongyan Jiang

Abstract. This study investigated the mediating role of coping humor in the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and job satisfaction. Participants were 398 primary school teachers in China, who completed the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, Coping Humor Scale, and Overall Job Satisfaction Scale. Results showed that coping humor was a significant mediator between EI and job satisfaction. A further examination revealed, however, that coping humor only mediated two sub-dimensions of EI (use of emotion and regulation of emotion) and job satisfaction. Implications for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 143-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoming Zheng ◽  
Jun Yang ◽  
Hang-Yue Ngo ◽  
Xiao-Yu Liu ◽  
Wengjuan Jiao

Abstract. Workplace ostracism, conceived as to being ignored or excluded by others, has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. One essential topic in this area is how to reduce or even eliminate the negative consequences of workplace ostracism. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the current study assesses the relationship between workplace ostracism and its negative outcomes, as well as the moderating role played by psychological capital, using data collected from 256 employees in three companies in the northern part of China. The study yields two important findings: (1) workplace ostracism is positively related to intention to leave and (2) psychological capital moderates the effect of workplace ostracism on affective commitment and intention to leave. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for organizations and employees, along with recommendations for future research.


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