An Exploratory Study of the Relationship between Knowledge Management and Performance Professionals

The transition of the workforce from brawn‐power to brain‐power has prompted organizations to fixate on the knowledge created by employees, managers and customers. Knowledge Management (KM) involves recognizing, documenting, and distributing the explicit and tacit knowledge resident in an organization. Although extracting, packaging, and distributing information is not new ground for human resources and training professionals, this preliminary study pursued the authors' curiosity regarding how far beyond job aids and documentation, precursors to KM, the profession has come. This initial study investigated the knowledge management practices reported by volunteer respondents and assessed readiness for knowledge management by teasing out evidence of the systems and goals associated with KM. Additionally, we sought to understand the roles professionals reported themselves to be playing in KM, with particular interest in the thought leadership provided by consulting firms and the implications of organizational culture and information technology.     

A Study of the Journey from Training to Performance

This is an exploratory study questioning progress in the shift from training to performance. A total of 62 training and performance professionals responded to a survey administered at two professional conferences, ISPI (International Society for Performance Improvement) and ASTD (American Society for Training and Development). The survey, constructed by two people admittedly keen on performance technology, queried respondents about concepts relevant to performance perspectives: analysis, solution systems, cross-functionality, customer and collegial expectations, and shared knowledge. We also inquired about perceptions of how to move their organizations beyond the status quo. Overall, organizations report that they are making progress in the transition from an emphasis on training to the concepts associated with performance technology, although room for progress remains. Bedrock human performance technology (HPT) concepts, such as analysis-first, data-driven decisions about solutions and collaboration with colleagues across the organization, are reported to be more typical aspects of organizational culture. On the other hand, customer and colleague perceptions lag, and measurement and boundarylessness are only occasionally components of the organizations described by respondents.     

They Really Wanna,But… The Aftermath of Professional Preparation in Performance Technology

Professional preparation for educational technologists cannot ignore change. Continually evolving social and business structures, complementary technologies, bottom-line demands and diverse and international populations exert influences that force reconsideration of the boundaries of the field. Human performance technology is just such an influence, pressing and enabling generalization of the traditionally specialized practice of educational technology. Performance technology puts topics like organizational development, change, and reengineering next to the more familiar topics of video, multimedia and instructional design. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of graduates from three iterations of an elective course in performance technology at San Diego State University. Fifty students were surveyed and asked about the skills and perspectives they most valued; their confidence regarding their knowledge and skill in performance technology; and the barriers to their practice in this area. Although they reported that the real-world practice of performance technology was often stymied, they persevered in their confidence and appreciation of the importance of these skills and perspectives.     

Innovation in Practice: Preparing Doulas to Support Cesarean Births

Despite growing initiatives to support patient-centered labor and birth care, implementation of this care in the operating room is still limited. Doulas can be utilized in the operating room to facilitate evidence-based practices such as skin-to-skin contact for patients and newborns during cesarean birth. This article evaluates a curriculum and training method that was developed to educate doulas to provide safe and effective care during the cesarean birth experience. This intervention was found to be effective at improving doulas'' self-perceived confidence in skills essential to support cesarean births and may serve as a model for other institutions to address barriers to the implementation of patient-centered evidence-based care in the operating room.     

Implementation of a relationship-based school readiness intervention: A multidimensional approach to fidelity measurement for early childhood

The implementation efforts of 65 early childhood professionals involved in the Getting Ready project, an integrated, multi-systemic intervention that promotes school readiness through parent engagement for children from birth to age five, were investigated. Digital videotaped records of professionals engaged in home visits with families across both treatment and comparison conditions were coded objectively using a partial–interval recording system to identify and record early childhood professionals’ implementation of intervention strategies and their effectiveness in promoting parent engagement and interest in their child. Adherence, quality of intervention delivery, differentiation between groups, and participant responsiveness were assessed as multiple dimensions of fidelity. Early childhood professionals in the treatment group relative to the comparison group demonstrated greater frequency of adherence to some intervention strategies, as well as higher rates of total strategy use. In addition, significant positive relationships were found between years of experience, education and quality of intervention delivery. Quality of intervention delivery was different by program type (Early Head Start versus Head Start). Adherence in the treatment group was correlated with the rate of contact between parent and early childhood professional during the home visit.     

Linkages between child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls: behavioral and social correlates

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to examine whether girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of having histories of abuse and to assess whether the presence of an abuse history may constitute a distinct subgroup of youth with ADHD. METHOD: We examined rates and correlates of child abuse in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n=140) and a matched comparison sample of girls without ADHD (n=88), all aged 6-12 years. A thorough chart review reliably established documented rates of physical and sexual abuse in both samples. RESULTS: There were significantly higher rates of abuse for girls with ADHD (14.3%) than for the comparison sample (4.5%), with most of the abuse found in girls with the Combined as opposed to the Inattentive type. Higher rates of externalizing behaviors (including objective observations in a research summer camp) and peer rejection (indexed through peer sociometric nominations) characterized the subgroup of girls with ADHD with abuse histories compared to the subgroup without such histories, with moderate to large effect sizes. Subgroup differences regarding internalizing problems and cognitive deficits did not emerge. Findings regarding peer rejection were explained, in part, by higher rates of observed aggressive behavior in the abused subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The findings raise important questions about the possible etiologic and/or exacerbating role of abusive trauma in a subgroup of children with ADHD.     

Mandated Disciplinary Counseling: Working Effectively With Challenging Clients

Mandated disciplinary counseling has been a long‐established practice for many college and university counseling centers. Although the practice is well established, practitioners continue to raise questions about its appropriateness and effectiveness. Student dynamics and other issues influencing the efficacy of mandated counseling are explored. Counseling readiness interventions are recommended to mitigate the types of reactance issues that can be barriers to effective counseling outcomes.     

Influence of buoyancy-driven flow on mass transfer in a two-stream microfluidic channel: Introduction of cryoprotective agents into cell suspensions

A variety of methods have been used to introduce chemicals into a stream or to mix two or more streams of different compositions using microfluidic devices. In the following paper, the introduction of cryoprotective agents (CPAs) used during cryopreservation of cells in order to protect them from freezing injuries and increase viability post thaw is described. Dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) is the most commonly used CPA. We aim to optimize the operating conditions of a two-stream microfluidic device to introduce a 10% vol/vol solution of DMSO into a cell suspension. Transport behavior of DMSO between two streams in the device has been experimentally characterized for a spectrum of flow conditions (0.7 < Re < 10), varying initial donor stream concentrations, (1% vol/vol < C_o < 15% vol/vol) and different flow rate fractions (0.23 < f_q < 0.77). The outlet cell stream concentration is analyzed for two different flow configurations: one with the cell stream flowing on top of the DMSO-rich donor stream, and the other with the cell stream flowing beneath the heavy DMSO-laden stream. We establish a transition from a diffusive mode of mass transfer to gravity-influenced convective currents for Atwood numbers (A_t) in the range of (1.7 × 10⁻³ < A_t < 3.1 × 10⁻³) for the latter configuration. Flow visualization with cells further our understanding of the effect of A_t on the nature of mass transport. Cell motion studies performed with Jurkat cells confirm a high cell recovery from the device while underscoring the need to collect both the streams at the outlet of the device and suggesting flow conditions that will help us achieve the target DMSO outlet concentration for clinical scale flow rates of the cell suspension.