Collaborative Audio Transcription and Repair as a Method for Novice Pilots to Learn Approach Briefing Crew Resource Management (CRM) Skills

The growth of aviation in scope, scale, and complexity increases the demands for student learning, including crew resource management (CRM) skills. Instructor facilitated methods have proven effective for CRM skill learning. This study investigated a method of collaborative audio transcription and repair based learning (CTRBL) offering the potential for reduced demand upon instructor resources for CRM learning. The theorybased CTRBL method was used in this study as a way for novice pilots to learn the CRM skill of conducting a crew approach briefing with a focus on risk mitigation. Learning methods used to develop the CTRBL method were drawn from facilitated scenario-based training in aviation, instructional methods in language learning, and discourse analysis in aviation. The CTRBL method effectiveness was evaluated by a quasi-experimental method using 42 participants formed into 21 dyadic groups. The results suggest that CTRBL is a manageable, independent student activity that is perceived by learners to be nearly as enjoyable as comparable ground-based CRM learning methods. Participants self-rated their post-treatment crew briefings higher than their pre-treatment briefings, and subject matter experts rated post-treatment crew briefings higher than pre-treatment briefings, suggesting the CTRBL method resulted in learning. Recommendations are made for future applications and research of CTRBL

Communications

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article The Georgia Confederate Flag Dispute, by J. Michael Martinez in the summer 2008 issue along with the response of the author

Towards computer supported cooperative design

This thesis first reviews the literature about the nature of cooperative design activity and its technological support. It is noted that knowledge of how designers work together in real-world settings is less than complete. Moreover, after over a decade of developments in Computer Supported Cooperative Work, the state-of-the-art in collaborative technology does not fully support such activities. Two substantial case studies are presented. The first draws upon fieldwork with designers at a large, distributed engineering design company, where a pilot study of collaborative technologies was carried out, focusing on the organisational context for such interventions and the reasons behind the qualified success of the experimental technology. In the light of the lack of use of synchronous tools in particular, a second case study was carried out. This was a complementary analysis of face-to-face co-working in a series of meetings held by a small design group. The results of both pieces of fieldwork are analysed in the context of existing studies of designers in both real-world and laboratory settings. This leads to the identification of a number of important characteristics of cooperative design, some newly identified, others confirming or extending the results of existing work. They include the identification of tension between traditional engineering design culture and the underlying assumptions of new technology; the intrinsic difficulties in sharing some types of design artefacts; and the way in which design entails an interweaving of individual and group activity, with consequences for resource exploitation, distributed cognition and workspace navigation in group sessions. The findings are integrated into an organising framework for cooperative design, with emphasis on the support of coworking designers distributed across multiple sites. Current technologies are reviewed against scenarios based on the framework and recommendations are made for further work

ICTs in Education: an Evaluation of the Dublin Inner City Schools\u27 Computerization (DISC) and HP Managed Learning Environment (MLE) Projects

The Dublin Inner-City Schools Computerization (DISC) Projects initiative was established with the aim of achieving equality of access, opportunity and training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in thirty-eight inner-city schools and innovative use of ICT in the classroom. This report seeks to evaluate the project to include the ICT projects Initiative and a pilot Managed Learning Environment (MLE) called LearningNI (LNI) currently being run by C2k in Northern Ireland (NI). This report finds that while the DISC project overall has been broadly welcomed by many schools, some schools are not engaging with the programme and the objective of integrating ICT into the curriculum has still not been met. The ICT Projects Initiative has been enthusiastically embraced by some schools but it needs to be more curriculum-relevant in order to achieve ICT integration. The MLE had some success but issues of internet connectivity; bandwidth; and school participation need to be addressed. The DISC initiative has now ceased and been replaced by Computers in Learning Communities (CLiC). Suggestions made for the future of DISC/CLiC (CLiC 2011) include reducing the number of schools involved; developing an MLE to support, train and encourage participating teachers; facilitating increased technical support to schools similar to C2k in NI; increased liaison with the Department of Education and Skills (DES) to develop curriculum-relevant software; and a re-launch of the DISC/CLiC programme. This report uses Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a theoretical framework for research design and analysis

Improving GPs' knowledge of the benefits and harms of treatment to support decision making in multimorbidity: qualitative research and co-design of a novel electronic information resource

Background General practitioners (GPs) regularly prescribe prolonged treatments for long-term conditions. However, GPs may benefit from further understanding of the absolute benefits and harms of these treatments, enhancing their ability to engage in shared decision-making and manage multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Aim To produce and evaluate a website to provide information on the benefits and harms of treatments for long-term conditions in a way that can be understood by GPs and potentially integrated into their practice. Methods The study consisted of three parts. First, a qualitative interview study and framework analysis with GPs exploring their attitudes to and understanding of the quantitative benefits and harms of treatments. Second, a participatory co-design process to design the website, coupled with a pragmatic approach to evidence collation to provide clinical content. Finally, an exploratory evaluation study of the website using online focus groups. Results The interview study reported findings on GPs’ understanding of quantitative information on the benefits and harms of treatments which informed the co-design research. The co-design research resulted in the creation of a website, www.gpevidence.org, which presents complex scientific information on treatment effect sizes and the nature and quality of the relevant clinical evidence. The evaluation study showed that participating GPs were able to understand the clinical information on GP Evidence, and that in hypothetical scenarios this might change their prescribing practice. Some participants found some information confusing. There was limited evidence that this new information could be integrated into complex decision-making for multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Conclusion The aim of producing a website able to deliver information on the benefits and harms of treatments for long-term conditions to GPs was achieved. Further research is needed to evaluate the effect of GP Evidence in real-world practice