Walking The Talk: from theory to practice in delivering community based design education

This paper discusses the model of ‘walking the talk’, when running design studios based on the ‘live projects’ model within a university setting for vulnerable communities. This model is examined through exploring emerging humanitarian and community‐based design approaches in architectural education. It is tested through two case studies of design studios in Mostar and Beirut, led by the author between 1998 and 2002. Lessons from these community‐engagement studios are applied through a third case study, a design project for a disability day‐care centre in Hoi An, Vietnam. The project was led by RMIT University students and staff between 2009‐2011 and built in April 2012.     

Intervening with care – varying outcomes of a training and development programme in elderly care in Sweden

Awareness of the mechanisms underlying training and development (T&D) programmes is crucial in creating sustainable learning conditions in organisations. The organisational and psychosocial aspects of the work environment in Swedish elderly care is the focus of this longitudinal study, and the relation between process and results of a T&D programme is investigated. A mixed-methods design enabled exploration of the content of the quality improvement efforts, followed by an examination of how aspects of the work environment are influenced. The perceived learning climate, workload and resource adequacy are shown to be influenced differently by different contents. Insights into the complexity surrounding T&D programmes are then offered. It is concluded that even if a seemingly sound method of quality improvement is implemented, this is not enough to guarantee success. Also, it is apparent that changes may sometimes be at the expense of employees’ work environment, which may hamper continuous learning.