Communication in a shared governance hospital: Managing emergent paradoxes

Shared Governance (SG) is a model of employee participation that is increasingly being implemented in hospitals. This paper examines communication processes that occur in SG by providing a case study of a Nursing Department at Western Hospital A review of literature related to SG in professional nursing provides a background for introducing a chronology of implementation in Western Hospital. Data was collected in long interviews conducted with 15 bedside/staff nurses. Nurse accounts revealed paradoxes that paralyze the SG process. Forms of paradox are discussed and examples of paradox are identified. Leaders must determine priorities in managing on‐site paradox and suggestions are offered for working within paradoxes to enhance organizational functioning.     

JointZone: users' views of an adaptive online learning resource for rheumatology

This paper describes an online learning resource for rheumatology that was designed for a wide constituency of users including primarily undergraduate medical students and health professionals. Although the online resources afford an informal learning environment, the site was pedagogically designed to comply with the general recommendations of the Standing Committee on Training and Education of EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) for a rheumatology core curriculum. Any Internet user may freely browse the site content with optional registration providing access to adaptive features that personalize the user's view, for example, providing a reading history and targeted support based on scores from completed case studies. The site has now been available since early 2003, and an online survey of site registrants indicates that well structured pedagogical materials that reflect a learners' dominant ‘community of practice’ appear to be a successful aid to informal learning.     

Resistance Amongst Faculty Women in Academe

The subject of this article is gender prejudice and the various ways in which women faculty members in various higher education and research organizations in Ireland resist it. Different types of resistance are presented as mini case studies set in a continuum ranging from the least organizationally transformative to the most transformative. It is hard to gauge the results of such resistance; at least it generates an ongoing awareness of the situation.     

A Comparison between Two Kinds of Response, Interpretive and Skill-based, to a Y6 Story: 'Three Wishes'

This article compares the exemplar commentary put forward in the KS2 Mark Scheme, 2001, for a pupil's story produced in response to the invitation to “Write a traditional tale with the title ‘Three Wishes’” with the more interpretive response offered by Pat D'Arcy, in order to demonstrate the extent to which the meaning of the story is largely ignored when the SATs criteria are used.     

High School Student Perceptions of the Utility of the Engineering Design Process: Creating Opportunities to Engage in Engineering Practices and Apply Math and Science Content

Research and policy documents increasingly advocate for incorporating engineering design into K-12 classrooms in order to accomplish two goals: (1) provide an opportunity to engage with science content in a motivating real-world context; and (2) introduce students to the field of engineering. The present study uses multiple qualitative data sources (i.e., interviews, artifact analysis) in order to examine the ways in which engaging in engineering design can support students in participating in engineering practices and applying math and science knowledge. This study suggests that students better understand and value those aspects of engineering design that are more qualitative (i.e., interviewing users, generating multiple possible solutions) than the more quantitative aspects of design which create opportunities for students to integrate traditional math and science content into their design work (i.e., modeling or systematically choosing between possible design solutions). Recommendations for curriculum design and implementation are discussed.     

RESEARCHERS AND THEIR INFORMATION NEEDS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

This literature review was prepared as an exercise during the co-authorship of the book Providing Effective Library Services for Research. The intention was to explore what was already known about researchers from the literature, and the exercise was conducted prior to interviews with researchers worldwide to develop case studies for the book. In the event, the literature review did not appear in the book although it informed the text and the case studies. The methodology used in preparing the review is discussed and then some of the retrievals are discussed. It is hoped that this review will help information professionals to identify some resources that may help them in their role of supporting researchers in their own disciplines, institutions and countries.     

Curriculum Change in Norway: Thematic approaches,active learning and pupil cooperation - from curriculum design to classroom implementation

Laerplan 97 (L97) is a substantial programme of educational reform in Norway. It includes a subject-based, centrally determined curriculum more detailed than its predecessor, M87 (Monsterplan). L97 combines the compulsory delivery of a core of centrally determined knowledge with the flexibility for teachers to plan and teach with the local environment and resources in mind and in relation to topical issues and learners' interests. Teacher decision making in the selection of content and mode of delivery will be crucial aspects in the successful implementation of L97. This paper takes three key constructs within L97 and examines them more closely: thematic approaches to curriculum delivery, the active and independent learner and the cooperating learner, constructs traditionally associated with pupil autonomy and meaningful learning. Drawing on interviews with those responsible for designing the subject-related curricula and on teacher questionnaires, the study reveals how the journey from educational policy making to effective classroom practice would benefit from a continuing interface with all parties striving to understand links between the origins of ideological underpinnings and the reality of practice. Insights are drawn from curriculum development trends in England where a centrally determined curriculum has now been in place for over a decade and where debates about a learner-centred curriculum seem to have diminished.