ISM-MICMAC approach for analysis of project-based learning barriers

Purpose This paper aims to identify and model the key barriers to implementation of project-based learning (PjBL) in higher educational institution. Design/methodology/approach Using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique, the study has developed a hierarchical-based model, depicting the mutual relationships amongst the key barriers to implementation of PjBL. Additionally, the paper has performed Matrice d’ Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliqué an Classement (MICMAC) analysis to categorize the barriers in terms of their driving and dependence power. Findings The study has identified the key barriers to implementation of PjBL and presented an integrated model using ISM. Higher educational institutions need to pay attention to diagnose and overcome these hindrances for effective implementation of PjBL in their programmes. Research limitations/implications The study adopts a systematic way to model the relevant barriers to implementation of PjBL. The ISM-based model would help higher education institutions to prioritize the issues as the barriers are hierarchically structured. As the input to model development is based on the experts’ opinions, it may be biased, influencing the final output of the structural model. Originality/value The presentation of PjBL implementation barriers in the form of an ISM-based model is a new effort. The model would be useful to understand the barriers and overcome these for the successful implementation of PjBL in higher educational institutions.

Barriers to institutionalization of an IFRS-based model: perceptions of Portuguese auditors

Purpose In 2010, Portugal’s newly implemented Accounting Standardization System (SNC - Sistema de Normalização Contabilística) aligned Portuguese accounting standards for unlisted companies with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of the local context and the role of auditors in the institutionalization of this IFRS-based model in Portugal. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from an institutional theory framework, the authors interviewed 16 Portuguese auditors in 2017 (seven years after formal implementation of the SNC) to determine their perceptions on whether barriers to the IFRS-based model persisted. Findings The authors reveal that the code-law institutional logic embedded in the Portuguese context is hindering full institutionalization of the new accounting model. Some persisting barriers to implementation reflected a decoupling between formal requirements and actual practices. Despite these barriers, there has been an encouraging institutionalization of SNC. The authors reveal a high level of commitment of auditors. They draw attention to the engagement of auditors in the institutional work that is intended to assist in SNC implementation, and their role as promoters of a power-knowledge discourse in propagating IFRS institutional logics at the national level, namely, through the justification and rationalization of the reported institutional contradictions. Practical implications The highlighting the authors provide of problems related to accounting change should assist international regulators, the Portuguese standard-setter and professional accounting associations to devise appropriate strategies to promote IFRS-based accounting systems implementation. Originality/value The authors contribute to the skimpy literature on micro institutional analysis and encourage further exploration of the dynamics between the micro and macro levels of analysis in institutional research.

Facilitators and Barriers to Implementation of the EIT-4-BPSD Intervention

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of stakeholders (site champions, administrators, and front-line, social service, and activity staff) regarding the EIT-4-BPSD implementation strategy, including its utility, and the barriers and facilitators to implementation in real-world settings. A process evaluation included qualitative data from focus groups conducted with 93 stakeholders of 21 nursing homes (NHs) that implemented the EIT-4-BPSD strategy. Data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis. Emerging codes were sorted into categories then organized in meaningful clusters based on the domains of the RE-AIM framework. Challenges, facilitators, and contextual factors explain variability in implementation of EIT-4-BPSD strategy among NHs in six key categories: multi-stakeholder engagement, multi-level outcomes, process adaptations, uptake and utility of EIT resources, adoption barriers and facilitators, and future planning. Overall, stakeholders reported that the EIT-4-BPSD strategy can be successfully implemented in NHs and is helpful in improving staffs’ approach to BPSD.

Mobilizing Elders: An Interprofessional Effort

Older adults often experience functional decline during hospitalization as a result of immobility. Such decline has associated adverse outcomes, including gait instability, falls, pressure injuries, delirium, and new nursing home admissions. Our objective was to create an effective and sustainable in-hospital mobility program through enhanced interdisciplinary cooperation in an Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) unit. An interdisciplinary team at UNC’s 25-bed ACE unit planned and delivered enhanced patient mobility beginning in July 2020. We used an input-process-output model to design and analyze an intervention based on enhanced collaboration. Inputs included a mobility taskforce which was comprised of physicians, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and quality improvement specialists. Through regular meetings, each taskforce member contributed to the study design and were empowered to identify barriers to implementation. Outputs included stakeholder engagement and mobility rates. Early results show a doubling in mobility rates over a 6-month period with consistent and enthusiastic stakeholder engagement. Observations of such benefits include: a) stakeholder inclusion from each discipline ensured implementation that was pragmatic and easily incorporated into the daily workflow; b) mobility champions regularly disseminated information to their respective disciplines, leading to changes using a quality improvement process; and c) barriers to implementation were rapidly identified, and mobility champions were motivated to find solutions, allowing cohesive incorporation of a broad spectrum of priorities. An interprofessional team model is effective to mobilize hospitalized older adults, potentially reducing adverse hospital outcomes. Successful implementation of such programs is dependent on interprofessional collaboration.