Participatory Instructional Design: a contradiction in terms?

This dissertation is an inquiry into the apparent absence of participatory approaches in instructional design (ID). It explores the question what happens when ID becomes participatory? with the help of three articles. The first article proposes a new approach in ID called Participatory ID, which incorporates principles and techniques of participatory design (PD), a software design approach that calls for genuine user involvement in the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of educational technology. Article 2 explores the feasibility of such an approach in higher education by studying an authentic case of participatory design and development of an electronic portfolio system by its users, namely, by Ph.D. students and faculty members. The design team consisted of 8 Ph.D. students, 1 faculty member, and 1 systems analyst at a large Midwestern US university. The study used qualitative methods to identify activities and processes invented by the design team members to satisfactorily complete their design task. The study also explored ways in which these activities reflected PD principles. Findings indicated five key factors that characterized the design process: (1) maintaining transparency of work processes, (2) continued invoking of the design ethos, (3) maintaining a sense of community, (4) embedding design in user context, and (5) recursive design. Article 3 presents a microanalysis of the participatory ID process described in article 2. It studies the use of language in user-designer conversation during design work. The goal of this article was to understand how design team members used language to negotiate power differences that typically arise when multiple stakeholders participate in a design project. The study used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1995), a research approach from sociolinguistics and influenced by critical theory, to examine user-designer conversation from the first year of the electronic portfolio design project. Analysis indicated a strong use of modality (words such as would, could, need to ), cohesion ( and, therefore, then ), and intertextuality (repeating or revoicing other people\u27s utterances), which seems to have helped create a non-threatening atmosphere and support a critical, democratic, and constructive environment for creative design work

Disability, values and quality : a case study in Derbyshire

Cultural representations of disability reveal a cultural value system which characterises the disadvantage experienced by disabled people in terms of personal tragedy, the impaired body and otherness. The reproduction of these disabling values in the dominant discourses of British policy making have resulted in a mode of welfare production based on 'care', individualism and segregation. More recently, implementation of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act has tended to consolidate rather than challenge this policy tradition. By contrast, the emergence of a strong disabled peoples' movement offers significant forms of resistance to dominant policy discourses through the development of social models of disability. In particular, Centres for Independent/Integrated Living have promoted an alternative agenda for enabling community support systems based on the values of participation, social integration and equality. Disabled people's organisations in Derbyshire were at the forefront of these developments in Britain. Their attempts to implement integrated living solutions within the policy framework of community care demonstrate significant conflicts over the definition of quality in service processes and outcomes. The study employs co-participatory methods to involve local service users and disabled people's organisations in exploring these issues within an emancipatory research paradigm. The data from this research highlights specific barriers to policy change and suggests that effective self-organisation within a cohesive social movement is a necessary pre-requisite for the liberation of disabled people. Ultimately, the agenda for change promoted by the disabled peoples' movement challenges not only attitudes and values but also the social relations of production and reproduction within a capitalist economy

Disability, access and design: a study of wheelchair access.

The aim of this study is to determine wheelchair user's views about access and ascertain whether designers are able to contribute to issues pertaining to inclusion through design solutions. Popular constructions of disability have established a relatively powerless and deviant status for the disabled population when compared to their able bodied peers. Regulatory controls and legislation require that builders and designers are sensitised to the needs of disabled people, but there is no legislative process to endorse disabled peoples request for a fully inclusive and accessible lifestyle. The enquiry is divided into two phases. The first phase considers access issues from a sample of wheelchair users via the use of focus groups and individual interviews. The data attained and information collated for the literature review leads the author to conclude that designers should consult with end users throughout the design process. During the second phase of the study the author proposes a model of inclusive design and an associated design resource. The author advocates that this is to be used by designers and development professionals to ensure inclusion within society is attained for all sectors of the community. The study concludes that, historically, society has responded to the needs of the disabled by providing separate and special services based on each individual's impairment, as opposed to the promotion of an equitable lifestyle for all. Inclusive design focuses on the design of the environment and not individual impairments. It is a process that promotes inclusivity for all sectors of society regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality or disability. Its principles consider diversity, and provides for an inclusive environment that can help break down barriers and exclusion as everyone will benefit from the end result

A qualitative study of public involvement in the national cancer research network.

Contemporary health policy places increasing emphasis on involving the public In healthcare and health research. This thesis Is an empirical Investigation of public Involvement in the National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) In England, and draws upon emergent themes in the literature relating to quality, epistemic, democratic, accountability and empowerment claims for public Involvement In research, as well as Habermas' concepts of system and lifeworld. Research alms were to explore professional and public accounts of motivations and rational isations for public Involvement In research, consider how public (lifeworld) voices may be Integrated into health research (system) spaces and, explore what counts as credible expertise In health research settings. A qualitative approach was adopted and data were collected from selected case studies (a local research panel and national Clinical Studies Groups within the NCRN). The methods included participant and nonparticipant observations, Interviews with group members (professional and public) and documentary analysis. Analysis of data revealed an inherent ambiguity In relation to public involvement In health research. Involvement served multiple purposes for the public, Including the provision of social/support functions and opportunities to reconstruct illness/caring Identities, through the development of research skills and active roles within health research. Case studies revealed Inherent tensions as the Involved public and professionals attempted to demarcate their roles and Importantly the foundations of their credibility within the group. The identification of professional and public members' attempts to prevent the Integration of the public voice casts doubt on possible empowerment claims. Furthermore, the observation that many public members were highly deferential to certified expertise calls Into question their ability to bring a different perspective to research. Ultimately, public involvement In health research may be less the potential to re-couple system and lifeworld but rather a further colonisation of the public lifeworld by professional system knowledge and expertise

Feathers and Thorns: the politics of participation in mental health services

A key development in mental health service planning and delivery in the UK over the last fifteen years has been the introduction of user participation. Alongside this development has been the growth and expansion of the service user/survivor movement. Research in Canada and Australia has documented the 'unsettling relations' created by these demands for participation and power sharing. Research in the UK has also raised questions about the ability of user participation to create the cultural change some believe is required to prevent services from being disempowering. Feathers and Thorns explores the 'unsettling relations' and the conflict and power dynamics of user participation in mental health services, in a UK context, to address the lack of systematic research in this area. The study uses qualitative methods to investigate user participation in two statutory mental health settings in England, between 1997 and 1999. Feathers and Thorns found that the uncritical adoption of the consumerist approach has led to a 'business as usual' model of participation and a consequent lack of discernible organisational and cultural change. The influence of user groups within statutory mental health services rarely extends to setting agendas, with the 'rules of the game' of participation still firmly controlled by statutory partners. There was evidence of professional and organisational resistance, as user participation destabilised the roles of both users and professionals and boundaries became increasingly blurred. It is suggested that this destabilising of traditional roles provides evidence of a shift in power relations, despite continued organisational and professional resilience to change. Although user participation was considered to be an effective strategy to legitimate existing power relationships and give the illusion of change: there was evidence that user groups and individuals have also gained from these processes, particularly in terms of raised consciousness, increased activism and self-assurance

Design models for multimedia learning environments based on interactive drama

Interactive multimedia offers a degree of richness that lies outside the scope of conventional design methods for computer based learning. This research seeks to develop an interdisciplinary approach to design, that recognises the ways in which the combination and integration of different media forms can be exploited to stimulate experiential, intuitive, perceptual, and social/communicative aspects of learning. The goal of the project has been to develop a conceptual design model for the development of multimedia learning environments (MLEs), for humanistic learning applications, by using interactive drama. The models and methods developed though a practical design project have been founded upon theory from the realms of psychology, social sciences, learning and education, the arts and media, and software design. They address the cognitive and social aspects of learning, the use and interpretation of interactive media, the creation of learning environments, and the activities involved in design. As a vehicle to test the theoretical perspective, a design project has been undertaken, that has involved: 0 learning needs analysis and subject matter development; 9 development of a structural model for the MLE; 9 information structure, navigation and interface design; scripting, design and development of media materials for the development of interactive drama; formative evaluation. The subject area chosen for the design project is that of pregnancy and childbirth. The primary reasons for this choice was a desire to address the issues of design for informal learning experiences (that do not fit in the remit of institutional curricula) and an interest in finding ways to represent the social and interpersonal dimension to learning. Such learning processes have been described as `humanistic learning' for the purposes of this research project. To help fulfil these goals, it was decided to work with playwright Simon Turley to develop a number of interactive drama scenes. Not only did this enable some of the more sensitive and personal issues of pregnancy to be addressed, but it also gave an opportunity to explore the world of drama, film and theatre as a means to create interactive learning experiences. The research has shown the benefits of interdisciplinary design practice, produced a framework of the theoretical issues that inform designers, and developed an approach to the design of MLEs for humanistic learning applications. These elements have been brought together to form the conceptual design model.The Higher Education Funding Council For Englan

Proceedings of the operations research training workshop for program managers and researchers, January 15-21, 1996

This document contains the proceedings of the training workshop on operations research (OR) for program managers and researchers held January 15-21, 1996, in Mindoro, Philippines. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Family Planning Service of the Department of Health and the Family Planning Operations Research and Training Program of the Population Council, Manila. Representatives from the health and population offices of ten local government units (LGUs) worked with a select group of researchers to evolve a list of relevant topics for operations research (OR) and develop a concept paper on a chosen OR topic. The LGUs represented in the workshop were selected from a group of local governments participating in the LGU Performance Program of the Department of Health. A series of lectures and paper presentations on three major modules comprised the training workshop. Workshop sessions provided program managers and researchers the opportunity to put all these new learnings into practice by working together on their concept papers. The training workshop was capped by the individual LGU presentations of concept papers to a review panel which provided its critique and comments

An ethic for flourishing in mental health practice : a philosophical and sociological study

The relevant literature suggests that ethical codes regulating mental health care are ‘more honoured in the breach than in the observation’ (Pritchard, 2001) and that current codes of good practice may, paradoxically, be bad for this. Patient-centred medicine with its emphasis on user autonomy and participation in care plans has provoked harsher questioning of traditional deontological codes and renewed interest in those based on neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics and the ethic of care. However, much recent work has claimed the latter as “essentially feminine”, whilst mental health practice itself is considered by feminists to be paternalistic in ideology and attitude. This dissertation asks, therefore, which type of ethic is best suited to flourishing mental health practice and what are the gender considerations relevant to answering this question? Ethical practice can be understood only in the context of its interpretation by the relevant players. This, in turn, requires an investigative approach true to the precepts of the relatively new discipline of empirical ethics, which combines sociological grounded theory and fieldwork, informed by philosophical ethics. This is, therefore, the theoretical and methodological framework of this thesis. Analysis of the data collected suggests that claims of gender differences in approaches to caring cannot be substantiated. Mental health professionals of both sexes practice either caring or emotional labour, or both, or neither. Ethical codes are widely disregarded by both male and female carers, who claim to act upon intuition and ‘common sense’ in addressing ethical dilemmas. Most users believe codes of good practice to be generally respected by healthcare professionals, but describe poor communication, disempowerment, a lack of “genuine” caring and, above all, adverse discrimination. Whereas practitioners echo their views, they blame poor care on a lack of resources. Both consider adverse discrimination in both clinical and social settings to reduce all chance of flourishing in mental health care today. Values are inherent to the recurring theme of stigmatisation, and to ethics and codes of good practice. Their influence is all-pervading, yet until recently they have not been considered central to ethics education curricula. Although all codes of ethics, regardless of their orientation, are regularly reviewed, revised and extended, until practitioners and policy-makers become fully aware of the essential role of values in practice and make education in these an a priori condition to training in ethics, such codes, lacking a solid base of understanding, will continue to be bad for good practice and the flourishing which should result from this

Disability, access and design : a study of wheelchair access

The aim of this study is to determine wheelchair user's views about access and ascertain whether designers are able to contribute to issues pertaining to inclusion through design solutions. Popular constructions of disability have established a relatively powerless and deviant status for the disabled population when compared to their able bodied peers. Regulatory controls and legislation require that builders and designers are sensitised to the needs of disabled people, but there is no legislative process to endorse disabled peoples request for a fully inclusive and accessible lifestyle. The enquiry is divided into two phases. The first phase considers access issues from a sample of wheelchair users via the use of focus groups and individual interviews. The data attained and information collated for the literature review leads the author to conclude that designers should consult with end users throughout the design process. During the second phase of the study the author proposes a model of inclusive design and an associated design resource. The author advocates that this is to be used by designers and development professionals to ensure inclusion within society is attained for all sectors of the community. The study concludes that, historically, society has responded to the needs of the disabled by providing separate and special services based on each individual's impairment, as opposed to the promotion of an equitable lifestyle for all. Inclusive design focuses on the design of the environment and not individual impairments. It is a process that promotes inclusivity for all sectors of society regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality or disability. Its principles consider diversity, and provides for an inclusive environment that can help break down barriers and exclusion as everyone will benefit from the end result.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo