4,540 research outputs found
NURSING AND MIDWIFERY STUDENTSâ LENS: CONNECTING THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE WITH CLINICAL PRACTICE: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
Aim: To explore and critically analyse the strategies employed by final-year BSc pre-registration nursing and midwifery students at an inner London university to connect theoretical knowledge with clinical practice, to promote their learning and professional development. Background: Navigating the theory-practice gap has been a significant challenge for nursing and midwifery students. While there are many perspectives from academics and clinicians, how theoretical knowledge is connected with clinical practice is rarely discussed and studied from the studentsâ perspectives. Design: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to understand nursing and midwifery students' experiences in connecting theoretical knowledge with clinical practice. Rather than attempting to establish objective truth, this thesis focused on participantsâ subjective experiences. Method: This study employed a qualitative research design. The data was obtained using semi-structured interviews and analysed using an inductive approach. The study population included (n=12) pre-registration nursing and midwifery students enrolled on a Bachelor of Science programs. Findings: Four themes emerged (1) Complexity of embodied knowledge; (2) Sensing the meaning of personal and professional learning; (3) Demographic attributes and self-understanding; (4) Sense-making of COVID-19. Conclusion: The process by which pre-registration nursing and midwifery students connect theoretical knowledge with clinical practice is complex and multifaceted. It intersects with other factors and cannot be understood in isolation. This interconnectedness necessitates a thorough examination of all the variables involved
The end of probation:Successful transition of female ex-offenders with mental impairments who have served long term imprisonment
The successful transition from prison into the community and off probation licence for female ex-offenders can be a difficult time, even more so for those with mental impairments, due to the added barriers they face (Bakken & Visher, 2018; Baillargeon et al., 2009). The aim of this study was to explore this particular group of female ex-offenders with mental impairments and identify how they have been successful in their transition out of probation supervision and towards desistance from crime. This research is important because it focuses on âwhat worksâ for long term support of female ex-offenders and moving towards desistance. Through the use of 20 semi structured interviews with, 10 successful female ex-offenders with mental impairments and, 10 professionals who support female offenders, the current research was able to identify the factors that are needed for successful transitions. Female ex-offender participants were recruited from two women centres as were the professionals that work there. The results identified that whilst the basic needs being met were important in achieving successful transition, it was the emotional support and preparedness that was unavailable and was necessary to further achieve desistance. Housing was a priority for the participants as this provided the foundation for all other support. Strengthening the positive family relationships was a key motivator for the women. However, it was not just the practical factors that were important, it was the meanings that the women had attached to things that made them important factors for their desistance. The findings indicated that services supporting reintegration need to build on long term support that not only considers basic needs provision but also supports resilience and change-management through self-agency and empowerment. However, desistance is a dynamic personal process that can change and adapt overtime and therefore, supporting desistance and what is understood as important may be understood differently at the time in retrospect and so provides recommendations for future research
UNPUBLISHING THE NEWS: AN ASSESSMENT OF U.S. PUBLIC OPINION, NEWSROOM ACCOUNTABILITY, AND JOURNALISTSâ AUTHORITY AS âTHE FIRST DRAFT OF HISTORYâ
Unpublishing, or the manipulation, deindexing, or removal of published content on a news organizationâs website, is a hotly debated issue in the news industry that disrupts fundamental beliefs about the nature of news and the roles of journalists. This dissertationâs premise is that unpublishing as a phenomenon challenges the authority of journalism as âthe first draft of history,â questions the assumed relevance of traditional norms, and creates an opportunity to reconsider how news organizations demonstrate their accountability to the public. The study identifies public opinions related to unpublishing practices and approval of related journalistic norms through a public opinion survey of 1,350 U.S. adults. In tandem, a qualitative analysis of 62 editorial policies related to unpublishing offers the first inventory and assessment of emerging journalistic practices and the normative values journalists demonstrate through them. These contributions are valuable to both the academy and the news industry, as they identify a path forward for future research and provide desired guidance to U.S. news organizations. Findings suggest that in response to the unpublishing phenomenon, American journalists defend their professionalism primarily through the traditional professional paradigm of accuracy, invoking it to legitimize new guidelines whether those policies permitted or denounced unpublishing as a newsroom practice. Findings also show newsrooms are pledging increased levels of accountability to their communities and society at large, but how they might demonstrate that accountability more tactically was absent from policy discourse. In addition, both American adults and news organizations place a high value on the accuracy of previously published news content, yet the groupsâ temporal conceptions of accuracy must be reconciled. Ultimately, the unpublishing phenomenon presents an opportunity for journalists to redefine their notions of accountability to their communities. Based on these findings, the study concludes with a call for American news organizations to abandon claims as the âfirst draft of historyâ in the digital era and assume the role of information custodians, proactively establishing and managing the lifecycle of content.Doctor of Philosoph
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The impact of enterprise social networking on knowledge sharing between academic staff in higher education
This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonHigher education institutions have always considered knowledge sharing critical for research excellence and finding proper methods for sharing knowledge across academic staff has therefore been a major issue for universities and knowledge management research. Recent evidence shows that many universities have embraced enterprise social networking tools to improve communication, relationships, partnerships, and knowledge sharing. To date, there is little understanding of the critical factors for online knowledge sharing behaviour between academic staff, and the impact of these factors on work benefits for academic staff which differ between consumptive users and contributive users in higher education. This study employed the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to examine factors affecting knowledge sharing about the consumptive use and contributive use of enterprise social network (ESN) behaviour. The study adopts a critical realism philosophical approach and employed a grounded theory mixed methods. The conceptual model was validated through structural equation modelling based on an online survey of 254 academic staff using enterprise social networking as a part of their work in the United Kingdom. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for researchers and policy makers. The research has developed a cohesive ESN use model by extending and modifying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. The findings indicate significant differences around factors affecting consumptive and contributive usage patterns within ESNs. Due to advances in communication technologies, this research argues that a previous model suggested by Venkatesh et al. (2003) is no longer fit for purpose and the new communication tools can lead to improved knowledge in higher education. This research also makes valuable contributions to universities from a managerial viewpoint, suggesting that universities could help their scholars find a more comprehensive range of funding sources matching scholars' ideas
Mapping the Focal Points of WordPress: A Software and Critical Code Analysis
Programming languages or code can be examined through numerous analytical lenses. This project is a critical analysis of WordPress, a prevalent web content management system, applying four modes of inquiry. The project draws on theoretical perspectives and areas of study in media, software, platforms, code, language, and power structures. The applied research is based on Critical Code Studies, an interdisciplinary field of study that holds the potential as a theoretical lens and methodological toolkit to understand computational code beyond its function. The project begins with a critical code analysis of WordPress, examining its origins and source code and mapping selected vulnerabilities. An examination of the influence of digital and computational thinking follows this. The work also explores the intersection of code patching and vulnerability management and how code shapes our sense of control, trust, and empathy, ultimately arguing that a rhetorical-cultural lens can be used to better understand code\u27s controlling influence. Recurring themes throughout these analyses and observations are the connections to power and vulnerability in WordPress\u27 code and how cultural, processual, rhetorical, and ethical implications can be expressed through its code, creating a particular worldview. Code\u27s emergent properties help illustrate how human values and practices (e.g., empathy, aesthetics, language, and trust) become encoded in software design and how people perceive the software through its worldview. These connected analyses reveal cultural, processual, and vulnerability focal points and the influence these entanglements have concerning WordPress as code, software, and platform. WordPress is a complex sociotechnical platform worthy of further study, as is the interdisciplinary merging of theoretical perspectives and disciplines to critically examine code. Ultimately, this project helps further enrich the field by introducing focal points in code, examining sociocultural phenomena within the code, and offering techniques to apply critical code methods
Openness in Education as a Praxis: From Individual Testimonials to Collective Voices
Why is Openness in Education important, and why is it critically needed at this moment? As manifested in our guiding question, the significance of Openness in Education and its immediate necessity form the heart of this collaborative editorial piece. This rather straightforward, yet nuanced query has sparked this collective endeavour by using individual testimonies, which may also be taken as living narratives, to reveal the value of Openness in Education as a praxis. Such testimonies serve as rich, personal narratives, critical introspections, and experience-based accounts that function as sources of data. The data gleaned from these narratives points to the understanding of Openness in Education as a complex, multilayered concept intricately woven into an array of values. These range from aspects such as sharing, access, flexibility, affordability, enlightenment, barrier-removal, empowerment, care, individual agency, trust, innovation, sustainability, collaboration, co-creation, social justice, equity, transparency, inclusivity, decolonization, democratisation, participation, liberty, and respect for diversity. This editorial, as a product of collective endeavour, invites its readers to independently engage with individual narratives, fostering the creation of unique interpretations. This call stems from the distinctive character of each narrative as they voice individual researchersâ perspectives from around the globe, articulating their insights within their unique situational contexts
An empirical investigation of the relationship between integration, dynamic capabilities and performance in supply chains
This research aimed to develop an empirical understanding of the relationships between integration,
dynamic capabilities and performance in the supply chain domain, based on which, two conceptual
frameworks were constructed to advance the field. The core motivation for the research was that, at
the stage of writing the thesis, the combined relationship between the three concepts had not yet
been examined, although their interrelationships have been studied individually.
To achieve this aim, deductive and inductive reasoning logics were utilised to guide the qualitative
study, which was undertaken via multiple case studies to investigate lines of enquiry that would
address the research questions formulated. This is consistent with the authorâs philosophical
adoption of the ontology of relativism and the epistemology of constructionism, which was considered
appropriate to address the research questions. Empirical data and evidence were collected, and
various triangulation techniques were employed to ensure their credibility. Some key features of
grounded theory coding techniques were drawn upon for data coding and analysis, generating two
levels of findings. These revealed that whilst integration and dynamic capabilities were crucial in
improving performance, the performance also informed the former. This reflects a cyclical and
iterative approach rather than one purely based on linearity. Adopting a holistic approach towards
the relationship was key in producing complementary strategies that can deliver sustainable supply
chain performance.
The research makes theoretical, methodological and practical contributions to the field of supply
chain management. The theoretical contribution includes the development of two emerging
conceptual frameworks at the micro and macro levels. The former provides greater specificity, as it
allows meta-analytic evaluation of the three concepts and their dimensions, providing a detailed
insight into their correlations. The latter gives a holistic view of their relationships and how they are
connected, reflecting a middle-range theory that bridges theory and practice. The methodological
contribution lies in presenting models that address gaps associated with the inconsistent use of
terminologies in philosophical assumptions, and lack of rigor in deploying case study research
methods. In terms of its practical contribution, this research offers insights that practitioners could
adopt to enhance their performance. They can do so without necessarily having to forgo certain
desired outcomes using targeted integrative strategies and drawing on their dynamic capabilities
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Openness in Education as a Praxis: From Individual Testimonials to Collective Voices
Why is Openness in Education important, and why is it critically needed at this moment? As manifested in our guiding question, the significance of Openness in Education and its immediate necessity form the heart of this collaborative editorial piece. This rather straightforward, yet nuanced query has sparked this collective endeavour by using individual testimonies, which may also be taken as living narratives, to reveal the value of Openness in Education as a praxis. Such testimonies serve as rich, personal narratives, critical introspections, and experience-based accounts that function as sources of data. The data gleaned from these narratives points to the understanding of Openness in Education as a complex, multilayered concept intricately woven into an array of values. These range from aspects such as sharing, access, flexibility, affordability, enlightenment, barrier-removal, empowerment, care, individual agency, trust, innovation, sustainability, collaboration, co-creation, social justice, equity, transparency, inclusivity, decolonization, democratisation, participation, liberty, and respect for diversity. This editorial, as a product of collective endeavour, invites its readers to independently engage with individual narratives, fostering the creation of unique interpretations. This call stems from the distinctive character of each narrative as they voice individual researchersâ perspectives from around the globe, articulating their insights within their unique situational contexts
Futures of Data Ownership: Defining Data Policies in Canadian Context
The importance of data is increasing along with its inflation in our world today. In today's world, data is becoming the primary source for innovation, knowledge, insight, and a competitive and financial advantage in the race of information procurement. This interest in acquiring and exploiting data and the current concerns regarding the privacy and security of information raises the question of who should own the data and how policies can preserve data ownership. There is a growing awareness that companies benefit disproportionately from collecting and selling personal information, driving the desire for greater individual control of personal data. As technology progresses exponentially, there is a dire need to regulate Tech organizations.
With the increasing use of personal data by tech companies, data privacy and ownership concerns have become more significant in today's society. Although governments worldwide have introduced privacy regulations to protect citizens' data, there is still a need for policies and legislation that safeguard citizens' rights, allow consumers to control their data, and implement strict measures in case of data breaches or violation of data rights.
The research project "Futures of Data Ownership - Informing Data Policies in Canadian Context" aims to explore emerging technological shifts and promote ethical use and data protection by developing data policies that consider the Canadian context. The research will employ primary and secondary research methods, including horizon scanning, semi-structured interviews, and a literature review, to inform policy and strategy development. In conclusion, the research project informs potential policies and legislation that regulate tech organizations and protect data ownership, ensuring a secure and trustworthy digital future for all
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