Instructional Communication Strategies for Adapting to a Multicultural Introductory Course

No educator is surprised to hear that college enrollment for members of racial and ethnic groups is continuing to rise (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1990). However, this increase was particularly striking for us after we began teaching in the southwestern United States. We had moved from Minnesota, where the proportion of college students who are minority-group members is only 4%, to New Mexico where the proportion of college students who are minority-group members is 35%, the highest for any state in the continental United States (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1990). We now look out into multicultural classrooms that will increase in cultural diversity year after year. As a result of this increase in cultural diversity, one question facing those responsible for teaching communication courses is: What changes, if any, are needed in the instructional strategies for teaching in a multicultural introductory communication course? Many of us often forget that our teaching is also grounded in a theoretical perspective. Exploring and making our theoretical perspective explicit functions to help us deal with problems and changes occurring in the classrooms and allows us to respond to changes in a systematic manner. For us, the best way to answer the question about how to adapt to multicultural classrooms is to take a theoretical perspective that is grounded in the ethnographic literature. An ethnographic approach to communication education focuses on the use of situationally grounded studies and the comparative analysis of cultures. The concepts, methods, and resources that take an ethnographic perspective on communication will prove fruitful for improving our courses and help us deal with the multicultural classrooms we now face or will face in the near future. To begin to answer the question about teaching in the multicultural introductory communication course, we examined current literature, analyzed situations occurring in our own classrooms, and surveyed students about their perceptions of the courses in which they were enrolled. Based on our investigations, we will describe several instructional communication strategies we argue may be used to adapt communication courses to an increasingly diverse student population. We will present strategies in four general areas of teaching in the introductory communication course: a) Expanding the parameters of culture, b) Language, c) Assignments, and d) Resources. Finally, we will discuss issues of evaluation of teaching effectiveness in the multicultural classroom

Review of \u3ci\u3eHistoric Photos of Nebraska\u3c/i\u3e text and captions by Ted Stryker

One of the salient features of Great Plains Quarterly is its inclusion of an extensive array of illustrations, maps, and photographs along with most articles. These images are meant to enhance their essays and enrich the reader\u27s understanding of their contexts. Occasionally, pictures say so much that one wishes for more photographs and less text. That\u27s not a weakness of Historic Photos of Nebraska, which contains 192 photographs in its 216 pages. This is Turner Publishing\u27s second book focused on the region\u27s photographs; the first was Jeffrey Spencer\u27s Historic Photos of Omaha (2007). Using images selected from the Boys Town Hall of History, the Denver Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Nebraska State Historical Society, and photos from the collections of Frederick Bandholtz and Solomon D. Butcher, Ted Stryker presents a broad panorama of the visual history of Nebraska from the 1850s to the 1970s: Standing Bear and Buffalo Bill; Kosher butchers and Irish farmers; Willa Cather and Johnny Carson; sod houses and main streets; politicians and tornadoes

Review of \u3ci\u3eHistoric Photos of Nebraska\u3c/i\u3e text and captions by Ted Stryker

One of the salient features of Great Plains Quarterly is its inclusion of an extensive array of illustrations, maps, and photographs along with most articles. These images are meant to enhance their essays and enrich the reader\u27s understanding of their contexts. Occasionally, pictures say so much that one wishes for more photographs and less text. That\u27s not a weakness of Historic Photos of Nebraska, which contains 192 photographs in its 216 pages. This is Turner Publishing\u27s second book focused on the region\u27s photographs; the first was Jeffrey Spencer\u27s Historic Photos of Omaha (2007). Using images selected from the Boys Town Hall of History, the Denver Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Nebraska State Historical Society, and photos from the collections of Frederick Bandholtz and Solomon D. Butcher, Ted Stryker presents a broad panorama of the visual history of Nebraska from the 1850s to the 1970s: Standing Bear and Buffalo Bill; Kosher butchers and Irish farmers; Willa Cather and Johnny Carson; sod houses and main streets; politicians and tornadoes

Monte Carlo Director Modeling and Display, Using the CERN Laboratory

Detectors for high energy nuclear physics experiments are being modeled using programs developed and maintained at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. These programs include data handling and display routines, as well as those using random-sampling Monte Carlo techniques to calculate energy depositions for high energy particles as they pass through the various parts of the detector system. The complete CERN library has been imported for use with our Workstation computers in a multiple user environment. The enormous CERN Monte Carlo program GEANT(French for GIANT) tracks the progress of a particle through a detector on a simulated event-by-event basis. GEANT is being used to predict energy loss in materials using several different energy-loss assumptions. The energy loss in a silicon slab is calculated for charged particles at moderately relativistic momenta. The response of these calculations is known to result in an asymmetric energy deposition in silicon. Predicted responses are scheduled for examination using test beams at two different accelerator facilities

Time Projection Chamber\u27s Efficiency, Obtained Using CERN\u27s GEANT Code

Geometrical acceptance and reconstruction of tracks have been carried out for a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) used in Experiment NA35: the 35th experiment in the North Area of the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). NA35 used the SPS at CERN to produce 6.4 TeV beams of 32S for central collisions with Au nuclei. The TPC modeling effort used a modified version of CERN\u27s Monte Carlo program GEANT, which simulates the response of the NA35 TPC to output from CERN\u27s primary event generators. GEANT was used to simulate three-dimensional pixel data in the same format as data taken by direct readout of the TPC. These simulated data were stored on magnetic tape and processed using the TPC analysis and reconstruction program TRAC. Analysis of these simulated data allowed a calculation of the efficiency of the TPC, to within about 1%, by comparing the output of TRAC with the known input from GEANT. Also, reconstructed events from GEANT were used to eliminate false tracks and to determine systematic errors in track position and momentum in data taken by NA35 in the Spring of 1992

A multilevel neo-institutional analysis of infection prevention and control in English hospitals: coerced safety culture change?

Despite committed policy, regulative and professional efforts on healthcare safety, little is known about how such macro-interventions permeate organisations and shape culture over time. Informed by neo-institutional theory, we examined how inter-organisational influences shaped safety practices and inter-subjective meanings following efforts for coerced culture change. We traced macro-influences from 2000 to 2015 in infection prevention and control (IPC). Safety perceptions and meanings were inductively analysed from 130 in-depth qualitative interviews with senior- and middle-level managers from 30 English hospitals. A total of 869 institutional interventions were identified; 69% had a regulative component. In this context of forced implementation of safety practices, staff experienced inherent tensions concerning the scope of safety, their ability to be open and prioritisation of external mandates over local need. These tensions stemmed from conflicts among three co-existing institutional logics prevalent in the NHS. In response to requests for change, staff flexibly drew from a repertoire of cognitive, material and symbolic resources within and outside their organisations. They crafted 'strategies of action', guided by a situated assessment of first-hand practice experiences complementing collective evaluations of interventions such as 'pragmatic', 'sensible' and also 'legitimate'. Macro-institutional forces exerted influence either directly on individuals or indirectly by enriching the organisational cultural repertoire

Investigating organizational quality improvement systems, patient empowerment, organizational culture, professional involvement and the quality of care in European hospitals: the 'Deepening our Understanding of Quality Improvement in Europe (DUQuE)' project

BACKGROUND: Hospitals in European countries apply a wide range of quality improvement strategies. Knowledge of the effectiveness of these strategies, implemented as part of an overall hospital quality improvement system, is limited. METHODS/DESIGN: We propose to study the relationships among organisational quality improvement systems, patient empowerment, organisational culture, professionals' involvement with the quality of hospital care, including clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient involvement. We will employ a cross-sectional, multi-level study design in which patient-level measurements are nested in hospital departments, which are in turn nested in hospitals in different EU countries. Mixed methods will be used for data collection, measurement and analysis. Hospital/care pathway level constructs that will be assessed include external pressure, hospital governance, quality improvement system, patient empowerment in quality improvement, organisational culture and professional involvement. These constructs will be assessed using questionnaires. Patient-level constructs include clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient involvement, and will be assessed using audit of patient records, routine data and patient surveys. For the assessment of hospital and pathway level constructs we will collect data from randomly selected hospitals in eight countries. For a sample of hospitals in each country we will carry out additional data collection at patient-level related to four conditions (stroke, acute myocardial infarction, hip fracture and delivery). In addition, structural components of quality improvement systems will be assessed using visits by experienced external assessors. Data analysis will include descriptive statistics and graphical representations and methods for data reduction, classification techniques and psychometric analysis, before moving to bi-variate and multivariate analysis. The latter will be conducted at hospital and multilevel. In addition, we will apply sophisticated methodological elements such as the use of causal diagrams, outcome modelling, double robust estimation and detailed sensitivity analysis or multiple bias analyses to assess the impact of the various sources of bias. DISCUSSION: Products of the project will include a catalogue of instruments and tools that can be used to build departmental or hospital quality and safety programme and an appraisal scheme to assess the maturity of the quality improvement system for use by hospitals and by purchasers to contract hospitals

Does accreditation stimulate change? A study of the impact of the accreditation process on Canadian healthcare organizations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One way to improve quality and safety in healthcare organizations (HCOs) is through accreditation. Accreditation is a rigorous external evaluation process that comprises self-assessment against a given set of standards, an on-site survey followed by a report with or without recommendations, and the award or refusal of accreditation status. This study evaluates how the accreditation process helps introduce organizational changes that enhance the quality and safety of care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used an embedded multiple case study design to explore organizational characteristics and identify changes linked to the accreditation process. We employed a theoretical framework to analyze various elements and for each case, we interviewed top managers, conducted focus groups with staff directly involved in the accreditation process, and analyzed self-assessment reports, accreditation reports and other case-related documents.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The context in which accreditation took place, including the organizational context, influenced the type of change dynamics that occurred in HCOs. Furthermore, while accreditation itself was not necessarily the element that initiated change, the accreditation process was a highly effective tool for (i) accelerating integration and stimulating a spirit of cooperation in newly merged HCOs; (ii) helping to introduce continuous quality improvement programs to newly accredited or not-yet-accredited organizations; (iii) creating new leadership for quality improvement initiatives; (iv) increasing social capital by giving staff the opportunity to develop relationships; and (v) fostering links between HCOs and other stakeholders. The study also found that HCOs' motivation to introduce accreditation-related changes dwindled over time.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the accreditation process is an effective leitmotiv for the introduction of change but is nonetheless subject to a learning cycle and a learning curve. Institutions invest greatly to conform to the first accreditation visit and reap the greatest benefits in the next three accreditation cycles (3 to 10 years after initial accreditation). After 10 years, however, institutions begin to find accreditation less challenging. To maximize the benefits of the accreditation process, HCOs and accrediting bodies must seek ways to take full advantage of each stage of the accreditation process over time.</p