Using auto ethnography as a learning tool within the social work class-room: the experience of delivering an ‘immersive’ module

This paper explores the first delivery of an introductory module, ‘What is Social Work’ to a Year 1 cohort of students on a B.A Social Work programme. Unusually, this module is delivered in an immersive format. Delivery of teaching via the vehicle of an ‘immersive module’ lies under an umbrella term for shortened, intensive courses. The immersive module is constructed with an aim of achieving double/triple loop learning via auto ethnographic practice. Specifically, with relation to Social Work education, auto ethnography is utilized within this accelerated teaching space to assist students to assimilate a rigorous form of critical reflection. Auto ethnography also provides the educator with a form of data collection and method of analysis. My findings reveal how this method of teaching provides an opportunity to model practice that is contextualised and relationship-based. This is in contrast to a current U.K practice background of largely statutory based de-politicized, individualistic Social Work

Psychometric Properties of the Questionnaire “Demands and Potentials of ICT and Apps for Assisting People with Autism” (DPTIC-AUT-Q)

Background: In education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has gone from being a convenient option to a permanent necessity. For students and people with functional diversity, it is of seminal importance. It is therefore worth learning how professionals perceive digital tools and apps for people and students with functional diversity and autism: its requirements and potential. As no instrument to measure this exists, we have designed a questionnaire on the requirements and potentials of ICT and apps for assisting people with autism (DP-TIC-AUT). Methods: Our questionnaire has been subjected to content validity using a panel of experts, and construct validity, using Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha and Composite Reliability. Results: Optimal results were obtained in the above values, thus confirming the validity of DP-TIC-AUT for use in the contexts of its validation. Conclusions: DP-TIC-AUT is a valid instrument. This opens up a range of possibilities for research, firstly descriptive, then of other kinds, and for the adaptation of the instrument to other contexts. This is the first step in improving the creation and use of ICT for people with autism.Vice-Rector’s Office for Equality, Inclusion and Sustainability of University of Granada (aid for the Support and Promotion of Research on Inclusion 2020 [INVINC108-2020])Spanish Ministry of Education, Innovation and Universities (aid for university teacher training [FPU19/00026]

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 2 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division 9 Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 12 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 14 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 16 Advertisements IEEE

Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of strengths model case management (SMCM) with Chinese mental health service users in Hong Kong

Introduction Strengths-based approaches mobilise individual and environmental resources that can facilitate the recovery of people with mental illness. Strengths model case management (SMCM), developed by Rapp and Goscha through collaborative efforts at the University of Kansas, offers a structured and innovative intervention. As evidence of the effectiveness of strengths-based interventions come from Western studies, which lacked rigorous research design or failed to assure fidelity to the model, we aim to fill these gaps and conduct a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of SMCM for individuals with mental illness in Hong Kong. Methods and analysis This will be an RCT of SMCM. Assuming a medium intervention effect (Cohen’s d=0.60) with 30% missing data (including dropouts), 210 service users aged 18 years or above will be recruited from three community mental health centres. They will be randomly assigned to SMCM groups (intervention) or SMILE groups (control) in a 1:1 ratio. The SMCM groups will receive strengths model interventions from case workers, whereas the SMILE groups will receive generic care from case workers with an attention placebo. The case workers will all be embedded in the community centres and will be required to provide a session with service users in both groups at least once every fortnight. There will be two groups of case workers for the intervention and control groups, respectively. The effectiveness of the SMCM will be compared between the two groups of service users with outcomes at baseline, 6 and 12 months after recruitment. Functional outcomes will also be reported by case workers. Data on working alliances and goal attainment will be collected from individual case workers. Qualitative evaluation will be conducted to identify the therapeutic ingredients and conditions leading to positive outcomes. Trained outcome assessors will be blind to the group allocation. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Hong Kong has been obtained (HRECNCF: EA1703078). The results will be disseminated to service users and their families via the media, to healthcare professionals via professional training and meetings and to researchers via conferences and publications

Teaching telecommunication standards: bridging the gap between theory and practice

©2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Telecommunication standards have become a reliable mechanism to strengthen collaboration between industry and research institutions to accelerate the evolution of communications systems. Standards are needed to enable cooperation while promoting competition. Within the framework of a standard, the companies involved in the standardization process contribute and agree on appropriate technical specifications to ensure diversity and compatibility, and facilitate worldwide commercial deployment and evolution. Those parts of the system that can create competitive advantages are intentionally left open in the specifications. Such specifications are extensive, complex, and minimalistic. This makes telecommunication standards education a difficult endeavor, but it is much demanded by industry and governments to spur economic growth. This article describes a methodology for teaching wireless communications standards. We define our methodology around six learning stages that assimilate the standardization process and identify key learning objectives for each. Enabled by software-defined radio technology, we describe a practical learning environment that facilitates developing many of the needed technical and soft skills without the inherent difficulty and cost associated with radio frequency components and regulation. Using only open source software and commercial of-the-shelf computers, this environment is portable and can easily be recreated at other educational institutions and adapted to their educational needs and constraints. We discuss our and our students' experiences when employing the proposed methodology to 4G LTE standard education at Barcelona Tech.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Human resource allocation to multiple projects based on members’ expertise, group heterogeneity and social cohesion

Project managers regularly allocate human resources to construction projects. This critical task is usually executed by fulfilling the minimum project staffing requirements normally based around the quantity and competence of project members. However, research has shown that team performance can increase by up to 10% and 18%, respectively, as a consequence of the group members’ heterogeneity and social cohesion. Also, there is currently no practical quantitative tool which incorporates these aspects to allow project managers to achieve this task efficiently and objectively. A new quantitative model for the effective allocation of human resources to multiple projects, which takes into account group heterogeneity and social cohesion is proposed. This model is easy to build, update and use in real project environments with the use of a spreadsheet and a basic optimization engine (e.g. Excel Solver). A case study is proposed and solved with a Genetic Algorithm to illustrate the model implementation. Finally, a validation example is provided to exemplify how group heterogeneity and social cohesion condition academic achievement in an academic setting

Cross-cultural comparisons of consumer satisfaction ratings : a perspective from Albert Hirschman’s theory.

Purpose This paper seeks to propose Albert Hirschman’s theory of “exit, voice and loyalty” as a complementary conceptual framework to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and use them in conjunction to compare consumer satisfaction with services across cultures. Design/methodology/approach A model of satisfaction with complex services (higher education) is developed and then tested in two different cultures, Colombia and Spain, with a sample of 879 students. Structural equation modeling based on the partial least squares algorithm is used to test the proposed model. Findings Colombian students are more satisfied with the educational system than Spanish ones. This is explained by cultural and contextual differences that pose greater restrictions on accessibility to higher education, provide fewer choice alternatives and present more switching costs for the Colombian student. Originality/value This study applies the conditions of Hirschman’s theory in an international setting, offering a rich basis for understanding differences in consumer satisfaction that accounts for intra national diversityCustomer satisfaction; National cultures; Higher education; Students; Colombia; Spain;

Business Process Management Education in Academia: Status, challenges, and Recommendations

In response to the growing proliferation of Business Process Management (BPM) in industry and the demand this creates for BPM expertise, universities across the globe are at various stages of incorporating knowledge and skills in their teaching offerings. However, there are still only a handful of institutions that offer specialized education in BPM in a systematic and in-depth manner. This article is based on a global educators’ panel discussion held at the 2009 European Conference on Information Systems in Verona, Italy. The article presents the BPM programs of five universities from Australia, Europe, Africa, and North America, describing the BPM content covered, program and course structures, and challenges and lessons learned. The article also provides a comparative content analysis of BPM education programs illustrating a heterogeneous view of BPM. The examples presented demonstrate how different courses and programs can be developed to meet the educational goals of a university department, program, or school. This article contributes insights on how best to continuously sustain and reshape BPM education to ensure it remains dynamic, responsive, and sustainable in light of the evolving and ever-changing marketplace demands for BPM expertise

Information Systems in University Learning

The authors of this article are going to bring into light the significance, the place and the role of information systems in the university education process. At the same time they define the objectives and the target group of the subject named Economic Information Systems and state the competence gained by students by studying this subject. Special attention is given to the curriculum to be taught to students and to a suggestive enumeration of a series of economic applications that can be themes for laboratory practice and for students’ dissertation (graduation thesis).Information System, Academic Partnership, Curriculum, General Competence, Specific Competence, Open Systems

THE EFFECTS OF PEER TRAINING AND COACHING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AIDED LANGUAGE MODELING WITH AN AAC USER WITH EXTENSIVE SUPPORT AND COMPLEX COMMUNICATION NEEDS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of training peers at a middle school in aided language modeling. The peers were trained and then coached as they implemented the strategy during a social break time in the resource classroom when communicating with an AAC user with extensive support and complex communication needs (ESCCN). A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the peer training and coaching program. The results showed that the implementation of a peer training and coaching program were effective in increasing the frequency of aided language modeling and the diversity of communicative intents of the peers