A Model for Managing Performance Improvement Projects From Concept to Sustainable Implementation

This article presents a systematic process, or model, that will assist the practicing professional to manage new performance improvement ideas from introduction to sustainable implementation. The model identifies vetting steps that must be addressed for implemented projects to be sustainable over time. The paper concludes with 10 vital performance improvement project management lessons.     

Technology,Learning Communities and Young People: The Future Something Project

The Future Something Project (FSP), a two‐year action research project, was devised to nurture the creative and technological talent of small groups of young people at risk by creating a structured network, mentored and driven by creative professionals exploring innovative ways for the two distinct target groups to work together. The project practice is located within the new field of interaction design and takes a social and critical approach to art and design pedagogy. The external research team found that one valuable way of looking at the FSP enterprise was through the social theory of communities of practice (CoPs) developed in the 1990s by Lave and Wenger. The creation of a learning community as a pedagogical strategy is central to the conception and practice of this project. This article, therefore, sets out to apply an existing theory to a new art and design context together with more general thoughts on learning communities. It explores the potential of new technologies and different settings to effect learning within structured networks and local and virtual communities of practice.     

Using affordances and constraints to evaluate the use of information and communications technology in teaching and learning

Abstract

Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of information and communications technology (ICT) on the quality of learning is highly problematic, owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in settings for teaching and learning. Yet, for those responsible for allocating large sums of money to the development of ICT in education, it is important to identify, characterise, measure and model more precisely the features and processes through which technology impacts upon teaching and learning activities. This article offers a framework for analysing the effects of ICT in combination with the other factors which may enhance or ameliorate the positive impact of ICT in the classroom and beyond. This framework is applicable to different levels of evaluation, including large scale curriculum development programmes, curriculum and pedagogical change in particular schools, and individual teachers' planning and reflection. Its use in evaluating new ICT-based teaching approaches at classroom level is illustrated and analysed in the context of an in-service teacher education programme in the United Kingdom, and suggestions are made concerning the development of evaluation tools based on the framework     

E-mail is Not Private

What we write is not private even if it is never published or mailed.¹Once we type, scan, or dictate information it is subject to being read by persons unknown to us. What is on our computer disks may be read locally and remotely. If we e-mail a file it will likely be scanned and analysed while in transit. Once the file arrives at its destination, as long as it is available to be read by the intended receiver it may also be available to others. The general conclusion is that e-mail is not private.     

Virtuality and the Television Audience: The Case of Futurama

This essay examines the impact of Internet-based discourse on television audiences by examining the specific case of the recent program Futurama. Futurama has inspired the development of a vast and diverse virtual community dedicated to discussions of the program and the production of a variety of secondary discourses. .     

Editors' Perspectives on Current Topics in Serials

Periodical Radio is a podcast interview program with the editors of journals and magazines. This article presents editors' diverse perspectives on topics including title changes, peer review, Open Access, the business of sustaining magazines, and the future of print versions of periodicals.     

Testing the persuasiveness of evidence: Combining narrative and statistical forms

This study provides an experimental test for the conclusions of the Allen and Preiss (1997) meta‐analysis that statistical evidence is more persuasive than narrative evidence. This investigation extends that finding to consider the case where a message combines statistical and narrative evidence to determine if a combination of evidence is more effective than a single form of support. This investigation using 15 messages and 1,270 participants finds that a message combining narrative and statistical evidence is more persuasive than a message using either narrative or statistical evidence alone.     

Two studies concerning the predictive validity of the personal report of communication apprehension in employment interviews

Two studies were conducted to provide evidence concerning the predictive validity of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension in Employment Interviews (PRCAEI). The first study, conducted in a laboratory setting, indicated that those who scored relatively high on the PRCAEI were recommended to be hired less often than those with relatively low PRCAEI scores. High PRCAEIs were also seen as less trustworthy, less task oriented, and less socially attractive than low PRCAEIs. The second study, conducted in the field, found a negative relationship (‐.84) between candidates’ scores on the PRCAEI and the rank they were given by an interviewer. That is, the higher one's PRCAEI score, the lower interviewers ranked him or her relative to others interviewing for the position. These studies offer strong support for the predictive validity of the PRCAEI and suggest CA is an extremely important variable in job interviews.     

ACADEMIC LIBRARIES AND LEARNING SUPPORT IN COLLABORATION

This article begins with an overview of Bournemouth University's pioneering Peer Assisted Learning Scheme (PAL) and describes how in 2005/06 the library became involved, collaborating with the PAL Coordinator to develop materials for use by PAL Leaders. PAL is intended to foster cross-year support between students on the same course. It encourages students to support each other and learn cooperatively under the guidance of trained students from the year above—called PAL Leaders. Two documents were produced to support and empower these leaders. The first, Using the Library for Your Research, provides leaders with key guidance information on the University Library, its resources and the services it provides. The second, Citing References Using the Harvard System, aims to explain and demystify the Harvard referencing system and to encourage good referencing habits in students from an early stage of their course through a practical hands-on exercise. Feedback from PAL Leaders continues to inform the development of these guidance materials, in particular the referencing exercise that was reworked to better suit the needs of the leaders delivering it.