Distributed collaboration between industry and university partners in HE

Over the past three years the School of Design has been experimenting with an innovative curriculum design and delivery model named ‘the Global Studio’. The Global Studio is a cross-institutional research informed teaching and learning collaboration conducted between Northumbria University and international universities and industry partners based in the UK, USA, Netherlands and Korea. The aims of the Global Studio are directly linked with current and future industry needs that are related to changes in the organisation of product and service development. These changes highlight the importance of equipping design students with skills for working in globally networked organisations particularly the development of skills in intercultural communication and collaboration. In this paper we will focus on the Global Studio conducted in 2008 which included Northumbria University (UK), Hongik University (Korea), Auburn University (USA), Intel (USA), Motorola design studios located in the UK and Korea and Great Southern Wood (USA). These projects will be used to illustrate challenges and benefits of international collaborative industry-based projects undertaken in distributed settings

Institutionalising future geographies of financial inclusion: national legitimacy versus local autonomy in the British credit union movement.

This paper provides a critical overview of recent developments in British credit union development, and contributed to the broader analysis of alternative financial/economic spaces and (the geographies of) alterity. The paper was underpinned by a wide range of local, national and international conference presentations including the National Association of Credit Union Workers, Birmingham, 2001; Combating Financial Exclusion, Salford, 2001; Association of American Geographers, New York, 2001, New Orleans, 2003; Alternative Economic Spaces, Hull, 2005; and discussions with local user communities throughout the UK (including through non-academic publishing, such as SCCD news and New Start articles)

Multi-agency training and the artist (Sharing our experience, Practitioner-led research 2008-2009; PLR0809/032)

The Multi-Agency Team Project approached issues of multi-agency training indirectly by using an artist as a catalyst in a group exercise examining movement and sound in relation to early childhood. The aim of the research was to run an experiential non-traditional training programme based on using an artist as a catalyst to promote inter-agency dialogue in one setting, Woodlands Park Nursery and Children’s Centre, and to analyse the findings. Eleven participants used this common experiential focus to frame collective research both as a focus group and as individual fieldworkers. The research demonstrated shared professional discourse but also collected judgements relevant to policy issues based on collaborative professional reflection triggered by the exercise. The findings are presented theoretically in terms of critical discourse analysis using the interpretation-supporting software ATLASti. We next take a further look at the role play exercise in which the group constituted itself as a ‘House of Commons Select Committee’ before summarizing what theoretical insights might be brought to bear and attempting to draw some provisional conclusions. Some evidence is presented suggesting there is a degree of tension and ambiguity between alterative models of multi-agency working

Evaluation of the ICT Test Bed project: final report, June 2007

The report describes three strands of evaluation used in the review of the 2006 outcomes from ICT Test Bed and the findings from each strand. a) Quantitative data: Benchmarking of changes in performance on national tests against matched comparator schools and national averages; b) Qualitative data: Site visits including classroom observations, interviews with local authority managers, head teachers, teachers, administrative staff, technicians and students; and c) Document analysis

Emerging patterns of leadership: co-location, continuity and community

"Local leaders have taken hold of the opportunity created by co-location not just to deal with an immediate problem, but also to transcend that with an even better offer to children and their families." - Page 1

Researching mobile learning: overview, September 2006 to September 2008

This is the summary of the report, which brought together the findings from the third phase of a two-year development and research project that focused on the impact of one-to-one personal ownership of mobile devices. Two areas emerged from the analysis as important in relation to impact, namely students' use of and attitudes to their mobile devices and the professional development of teachers