More Than Just Gaze: An Experimental Vignette Study Examining How Phone-Gazing and Newspaper-Gazing and Phubbing-While-Speaking and Phubbing-While-Listening Compare in Their Effect on Affiliation

Gaze direction is a cue that regulates feelings of affiliation in social interactions. Phubbing research suggests that phone-gazing during a copresent interaction hampers the development of affiliation in interactions by signaling that one is not fully attentive. Because the phone represents the “virtual other,” phone-gazing may be more detrimental than gazing at another object. This experimental vignette study explores whether phone-gazing during a conversation harms affiliation more than newspaper-gazing. Additionally, it examines whether the harmful impact of phubbing can be mitigated or aggravated by the phone gazer’s interlocutor role—namely, that of speaker versus listener. The results reveal that phone-gazing during an interaction harms affiliation more than newspaper-gazing. Also, phone-gazing hampers affiliation more while listening than while speaking. These findings suggest that phone-gazing incurs unique judgments of relational devaluation in the interaction partner. The activation of these judgments, however, is contingent upon interlocutor role.     

A cross-cultural investigation of the use of teaching styles

Teacher beliefs are a major influence on teacher actions. Because context influences beliefs, it was the purpose of this study to explore teachers' beliefs about Mosston's Spectrum of Teaching Styles from an international perspective. Over 1,400 teachers from 7 countries completed a survey related to their self-reported use of and beliefs about various teaching styles. Data suggested a shared core of reproduction teaching style use. The use of and beliefs about the production styles of teaching were more varied. Teachers' use of styles was significantly related to their beliefs about the styles.     

Managing knowledge to support the patient journey in NHS Scotland: strategic vision and practical reality

BACKGROUND: The strategy for NHS Scotland Knowledge Services is set in the context of a global transition to a networked model of management within health services. OBJECTIVES: Development planning for NHS Scotland aims to establish strategic vision and operational delivery systems which meet the needs of this changing health environment. METHODS: Analysis of knowledge needs at strategic organizational level and through consultation with healthcare staff form the basis of a vision of seamless knowledge support throughout all stages of the patient journey, based on a hybrid model of complementary human- and technology-based knowledge networks. RESULTS: The central role of the NHS Scotland e-library as a system-wide technology infrastructure facilitating management of both explicit and tacit knowledge is described. The implementation pathway and approaches to evaluation are outlined, based on practical steps to translate the concept of knowledge networks into a working reality. CONCLUSIONS: The model emerging is that of a knowledge matrix, with the primary delivery system comprising inter-dependent human, organizational and technology-based networks focused on the overriding common purpose of improving patient care.