Unseen and unheard? Women managers and organizational learning

This paper aims to use (in)visibility as a lens to understand the lived experience of six women managers in the headquarters of a large multinational organization in the UK to identify how “gender” is expressed in the context of organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers take a phenomenological approach via qualitative data collection with a purposeful sample – the six female managers in a group of 24. Data were collected through quarterly semi-structured interviews over 12 months with the themes – knowledge, interaction and gender. Findings: Organizations seek to build advantage to gain and retain competitive leadership. Their resilience in a changing task environment depends on their ability to recognize, gain and use knowledge likely to deliver these capabilities. Here, gender was a barrier to effective organizational learning with women’s knowledge and experience often unseen and unheard. Research limitations/implications: This is a piece of research limited to exploration of gender as other, but ethnicity, age, social class, disability and sexual preference, alone or in combination, may be equally subject to invisibility in knowledge terms; further research would be needed to test this however. Practical implications: Practical applications relate to the need for organizations to examine and address their operations for exclusion based on perceived “otherness”. Gendered organizations cause problems for their female members, but they also exclude the experience and knowledge of key individuals as seen here, where gender impacted on effective knowledge sharing and cocreation of knowledge. Social implications: The study offers further evidence of gendered organizations and their impacts on organizational effectiveness, but it also offers insights into the continues social acceptance of a masculinized normative model for socio-economic practice. Originality/value: This exploration of gender and organizational learning offers new insights to help explain the way in which organizational learning occurs – or fails to occur – with visibility/invisibility of one group shaped by gendered attitudes and processes. It shows that organizational learning is not gender neutral (as it appears in mainstream organizational learning research) and calls for researchers to include this as a factor in future research

Influence of temperature on the physiological performance of zoochlorellae in two intertidal hosts (Anthopleura elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica)

The ability of a symbiotic organism to tolerate and respond to stress is dependent on a complex integration of the physiological processes of both host and symbiont. In the intertidal zone, where organisms are exposed to numerous environmental stressors, physiological tolerance limits of algae and animals are often within 1°C - 3°C of the body temperatures they experience there. To understand the association between intertidal sea anemones and their photosymbionts, and how these associations may change with increasing climatic stress, I examined two spatially dominant species in the genus Anthopleura (A. elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica) in symbiotic associations with their relatively sensitive chlorophyte photosymbiont, Elliptochloris marina. Anemones hosting E. marina were exposed to an increasing thermal regime from 10 - 28°C, under two light treatments, over the course of 10 weeks to establish the upper thermal tolerance limit of E. marina in each host, while examining the response of the anemones themselves to the thermal stress. Of the two hosts, A. xanthogrammica was less tolerant of high temperatures. A contraction response was triggered for A. xanthogrammica at temperatures above 18°C, but A. elegantissima showed no contraction until temperatures reached 24°C. To determine how the E. marina were responding to the temperature increases, I examined the photochemical efficiency of PS II by measuring photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) and photosynthetic capacity (rETRmax) of symbionts within each anemone host at each temperature interval. Photochemical efficiency was strongly affected by temperature; however, there were no apparent host-specific differences. From 10 - 22°C, Fv/Fm remained stable, averaging 0.6 ± 0.1 (SD) for both species. At temperatures above 22°C, photochemical efficiency steadily declined, indicating photoinhibition and the upper thermal tolerance limit of E. marina. This relatively low thermal tolerance may influence the competitive balance of symbionts under conditions of increasing global temperatures. Increasing temperatures may cause anemones to adaptively expel symbionts to switch to a more tolerant species. In this study, both A. elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica expelled symbionts as the temperatures rose. By 28°C, both Anthopleura species had expelled the majority of their symbionts; however, A. xanthogrammica was able to retain a higher percentage (A. elegantissima: 96.7 ± 4.6 % loss; A. xanthogrammica: 84.0 ± 18.1 % loss), indicating that they may have an increased ability to buffer temperature changes and maintain algal symbioses during prolonged periods of high temperatures. Field measurements of the internal body temperatures of A. xanthogrammica indicated that the anemone has a moderate ability to buffer its symbionts from thermal stress, as the internal body temperatures of lower intertidal anemones remained 6.2 ± 1.1°C cooler than ambient temperatures. This ability to moderate the internal temperature is likely due to host-specific morphological traits, such as a large body size and thick host tissues, which may ultimately provide a more favorable environment for their symbionts under periods of high stress. The relative abilities of A. elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica to buffer their symbionts, as well as the physiological tolerances of E. marina, may have important ecological implications, controlling the range of zoochlorellae at both latitudinal and microhabitat scales

Communicable disease screening for asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland: an analysis of professional stakeholders’ insights into knowledge into action

Introduction Numerous countries employ migrant communicable disease screening programmes and initial health assessments (IHAs). Although the evidence base under-pinning screening policies has been criticised, relatively little is known about the extent to which screening policies, guidelines and programmes are implemented and practice is evidence-informed. Methods A case study design was employed to examine the development of communicable disease screening guidelines for asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland and the enacting of the guidelines and programme in practice. A national mapping study of screening service provision was undertaken, alongside a document review. Three sets of in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants involved in the guideline development, the related broader policy context, either current or past screening service provision or the provision of services relating to HIV/AIDS, TB or depression, for example referral services. Results Screening service coverage was decentralised and fragmented nationally, and concerns were raised regarding access and continuity of care. Where screening services existed the national guidelines were broadly implemented, but there was variation in implementation and barriers were particularly identified to Mantoux testing and polio screening. Adaptation of the screening service and guidelines was evident, with some screening health care providers (sHCPs) adopting a more holistic perspective. The findings demonstrated the importance of the adaptable elements of the intervention in understanding the enacting of the guidelines, programme and services, for example, the provision of screening through a dedicated screening service or mainstream General Practitioners (GPs). Conceptual and theoretical insights were gained from the critical use of a conceptual framework, based on an adapted version of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and the Normalisation Process Theory (NPT). The use of the adapted CFIR highlighted the multiple interacting barriers to implementation and normalisation. These included the characteristics of the intervention, the multiple stakeholders involved and the process, including the development of the guidelines. Contextual factors were also influential, for example, the lack of national level responsibility for the screening programme and the historic decentralised establishment of the screening service. The use of the NPT in the conceptual framework particularly highlighted the dynamic and social nature of implementation, including the individual and collective responses to implementation. Conclusions The findings illustrate the value of a more bottom-up perspective in order to understand the enacting of the screening guidelines and programme, and provide support for an alternative view to a simple top-down conceptualisation of an implementation gap. Through the use of the conceptual framework these findings could have broader applicability to understanding and getting knowledge into action in other contexts. Screening service provision needs to be evidence-informed, rather than determined by the implementation barriers identified in this thesis. Ensuring evidence informs guideline and programme development, and is subsequently enacted in practice, is necessary in order to provide equitable, high quality and sustainable health services, including screening, which contribute towards public health. This is also essential if the services are to meet the needs of vulnerable populations, including asylum seekers and refugees

The “Space Between”: Situated Professional Development to Enhance 4-H Educators’ Pedagogical Design Capacity for Effective Curriculum Enactment

Curricula are planned and written by curriculum developers; they serve as instructional guides for educators. Educators make adaptations to written curricula to meet learners’ needs and achieve intended learning outcomes. The efficacy of curriculum adaptations is enhanced when educators have a high pedagogical design capacity, which can be improved through effective professional development. Lesson study is a model of situated professional development centered around ongoing improvement of curriculum enactment. Educators work collaboratively to make curriculum modifications and data-driven decisions to improve their teaching practices. Lesson study occurs at regular intervals over an extended duration

Youth digital participation:Measuring social impact

Current scholarly debate around digital participatory youth projects and approaches to their evaluation are examined in this article. The analysis of the literature presented here reveals (1) an over-reliance on traditional evaluation techniques for such initiatives, and (2) a scarcity of models for the assessment of the social impact of digital participatory youth projects. It is concluded that the challenges and limitations of social impact evaluation practice in digital participatory youth projects should be addressed through the adoption of alternative, participant-centred approaches. These issues are discussed in reference to a current ongoing study that seeks to identify solutions for enhancing social impact evaluations of participatory digital initiatives by young people.<br/

Staff experiences in paediatric trauma services:Exploring perceptions of resilience when dealing with distress

Understanding how health professionals manage distress in paediatric health settings represents an area that has been understudied. The current study aimed to explore resilience amongst staff working in a paediatric trauma health setting. Seven health professionals were recruited and the data analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA). The findings highlight the importance of self-awareness in understanding resilience amongst professionals working in this context. This was particularly in considering the professional and physical limitations of the individual. Further research is recommended in further developing a theoretical understanding of resilience in this context. Recommendations for supporting professionals in maintaining and developing resilience are made