When Normal is Not Normal: A Theory of the Non-Linear and Discontinuous Process of Desired Change and its Managerial Implications

Desirable change may appear chaotic, slow, or not sustainable. We may expect linear, continuous change, but it eludes us. Measurement and statistical analysis about behavior change often requires data showing continuity and having normal (i.e., Gaussian) distributions. When we encounter phenomenon that does not fit this expectation, we seek to transform the data to render it compatible with our method of analysis. We move from actual behavior to perception of it through surveys or transformations of the data. We believe this ignores “naturally” occurring data and what it says. Such techniques are convenient for statistics but may hide important features of the real phenomenon. Furthermore, desired behavior change is often nonlinear with a power curve distribution of the data. We explain why this occurs. We suggest how research and practice would be improved by using theories and methods that incorporate properties of non-normal distributions and discontinuous emergence

Open educational practices for curriculum enhancement

Open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) are relatively new areas in educational research. How OER and OEP can help practitioners enhance curricula is one of a number of under-researched topics. This article aims to enable practitioners to identify and implement appropriate open practices to enhance higher education curricula. To that aim, we put forward a framework of four open educational practices based on patterns of OER reuse (‘as is’ or adapted), mapped against the processes of curriculum design and delivery. The framework was developed from the in-depth analysis of 20 cases of higher education practitioners, which revealed patterns of OER reuse across disciplines, institutions and needs. For each open practice we offer evidence, examples and ideas for application by practitioners. We also put forward recommendations for institutional policies on OER and OE

Fostering Emotional and Social Intelligence in Organizations

This paper integrates diverse research to provide a theoretical model of the process whereby emotional and social intelligence (ESI) is fostered in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to provide: (1) an overview of the theory of ESI, including the historical contributions and current conceptualizations; (2) the impact of ESI on performance, including the research evidence and examples of organizations using ESI; (3) developing ESI competencies and a model for desirable, sustainable change; and (4) a call to action for education and management, including guidelines for fostering ESI in organizations. Unlike general intelligence or personality, the key assumption and rationale for the current paper is that ESI can be developed. Increasing ESI competences through the learning process can guide program design, implementation, and measurement for scholars and practitioners. Research has demonstrated that ESI competencies may be developed through a process of desirable, sustainable change called Intentional Change Theory (ICT)

Attitudes to weight and weight management in the early teenage years : A qualitative study of parental perceptions and views

© 2014 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: As most young teenagers grow up in families, parents might be well situated to facilitate and support their weight management and thereby prevent or manage obesity prior to adulthood. Aim: This paper explores parents’ perceptions of, and views about, their teenage children’s weight and the factors that influence parents’ weight management strategies. Design, setting and participants: We conducted two qualitative studies in Scotland, UK, involving in-depth interviews with the parents of overweight/obese and ‘normal’ weight 13-15 year olds (n=69). Findings: Parents’ concerns about their own weight provided useful context for understanding their attitudes or actions with regards to their teenage child. Some parents described their teenager’s weight as being of concern to them, although puberty often introduced confusion about a child’s weight status. Genetic explanations were very often put forward as a way of making sense of teenage weight or body size. Frustration about advising teenagers about weight management was expressed and some parents worried about giving their growing child a ‘problem’ if they directly raised concerns about weight with them. Discussion: Parents’ views about their own weight as well as social and moral norms about labelling a teenager as overweight or as needing help with their weight could usefully inform patient-centred service development. Parent/teenage partnerships and supporting parents to create a healthy home in which teenagers can make healthier choices are suggestions for intervention development. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of taking parents’ perceptions into account when developing family-based interventions to address teenage overweight and obesity.Peer reviewe

Fostering Emotional and Social Intelligence in Organizations

This paper integrates diverse research to provide a theoretical model of the process whereby emotional and social intelligence (ESI) is fostered in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to provide: (1) an overview of the theory of ESI, including the historical contributions and current conceptualizations; (2) the impact of ESI on performance, including the research evidence and examples of organizations using ESI; (3) developing ESI competencies and a model for desirable, sustainable change; and (4) a call to action for education and management, including guidelines for fostering ESI in organizations. Unlike general intelligence or personality, the key assumption and rationale for the current paper is that ESI can be developed. Increasing ESI competences through the learning process can guide program design, implementation, and measurement for scholars and practitioners. Research has demonstrated that ESI competencies may be developed through a process of desirable, sustainable change called Intentional Change Theory (ICT)

Development and evaluation of an intervention to improve further education students' understanding of higher education assessment criteria: three studies

Three studies about helping Further Education students prepare for study at universityThis paper reports three studies about preparing Further Education (FE) students for the transition to Higher Education (HE) by improving their understanding of HE assessment criteria. In study 1, students and tutors in both FE and HE were interviewed for a qualitative analysis of their understandings and expectations about assessment criteria. In study 2, students in FE and HE completed questionnaires measuring self-rated understanding and ability about assessment criteria, and beliefs about essay writing. Studies 1 and 2 both showed that FE students were more confident than HE students about their understanding and ability in relation to assessment criteria, but FE students’ understandings suggested more surface approaches to learning and more naïve epistemological beliefs. In study 3, a workshop intervention to improve FE students’ understandings of HE assessment criteria was evaluated in a comparative longitudinal trial. The intervention reduced FE students’ self-rated understanding and ability, and promoted more sophisticated beliefs about essay writing, by comparison with students who received standard tuition. We concluded that interventions to develop more realistic understandings of what is required in academic writing could be used to prepare FE students more effectively for the transition to HE

Developing transferable management skills through Action Learning

There has been increasing criticism of the relevance of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) in developing skills and competencies. Action learning, devised to address problem-solving in the workplace, offers a potential response to such criticism. This paper offers an insight into one university’s attempt to integrate action learning into the curriculum. Sixty-five part-time students were questioned at two points in their final year about their action learning experience and the enhancement of relevant skills and competencies. Results showed a mixed picture. Strong confirmation of the importance of selected skills and competencies contrasted with weaker agreement about the extent to which these were developed by action learning. There was, nonetheless, a firm belief in the positive impact on the learning process. The paper concludes that action learning is not a panacea but has an important role in a repertoire of educational approaches to develop relevant skills and competencies