The Transfer of Learning from the Classroom to the Workplace: a New Zealand Case Study

The transfer of training and learning from the classroom to the workplace has been an area of interest to researchers in a number of different fields of study, including psychology (Baldwin & Ford, 1988; Collinson & Brook, 1997; Cormier & Hagman, 1987, McSherry & Taylor, 1994; Tracey, Tannenbaum & Kavanagh, 1995), education (Bereiter, 1995; Gass, 1989; Marini & Genereux, 1995) and management (Analoui, 1993; Broad & Newstrom, 1992; Garavaglia, 1993; Holton, 1996; McGraw, 1993; Xiao, 1996). Of particular interest have been the long-term effect training has once back in the workplace, the avoidance of the 'fade-out' effect and the identification of factors which facilitate transfer. Within the context of this research the focus has been on the management of the transfer process as it pertains to service management, and in particular case management services delivered by the Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation in New Zealand. The purpose of this research was to identify the factors, which facilitated the transfer of learning from an adult learning environment, using action learning methods of instruction, to the workplace. The research also sought to develop a model which optimises the transfer of learning from the classroom to the workplace for adult learners. The forty-seven participants in this research were graduates of the first three cohorts of students from the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies. A phenomenological paradigm was adopted, within which a longitudinal case study method linked with grounded theory was employed as the research methodology. The methods of data collection included semi-structured and unstructured, face-to-face and telephone interviews, as well as focus groups. The data collection took place at six monthly intervals post course - at twelve months, eighteen months and twenty-four months. By the third time interval the number of research participants had diminished to thirty-eight. The findings suggest that there was a relationship between the educational process adopted, the personal development of the participants and the desired organisational objective of improved service delivery. The transfer model which emerged from the data indicated that the educational process is the foundation upon which to build, if the transfer of learning back to the workplace is to be achieved. The role of the organisation in this process is also discussed. It is suggested that an experiential/action learning approach is the key component of the educational process, coupled with a combination of personal and professional development components. In addition, the use of a supervised work-based practicum following the university-based modules, appears to have facilitated the transfer process. The increase in confidence indicated by the participants is associated with the educational process and has subsequently enabled them to adopt case management practices, learned on the VUW Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies, as part of their daily personal practice as Case Managers. This in turn has been linked to the participants' perception of improved service delivery to their clients. The positive relationship between the various elements in the emergent transfer of learning model was strongest twelve months post course. Two further theoretical models are also presented - the Task/Setting/Risk Matrix and the Setting/Task/Risk/Competence model. The results of the ACC funded evaluation of the VUW Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies (Collinson & Brook, 1997) further strengthen the conclusions of this research. Their research focussed on both participant's and supervisor's perceptions of the transfer of training back to the corporate environment up to six months post course and made similar inferences to those made in this research. There are a number of managerial implications related to the conclusions of this research. These have been divided into those pertinent to general management, professional practice and educational providers. The key implications are summarised below: the importance of linking training to organisational strategic planning; the need for training to be regarded as a process involving all the key stakeholders of the organisation; the value of experiential and action learning to adult learners; the significance of combining personal and professional development opportunities in training programmes; the potential benefit to both the educational provider and the organisation; and finally that the transfer of training and learning should be regarded as an integral component of an organisation's service management strategy

The nature of the pandemic:Exploring the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon recreation visitor behaviors and experiences in parks and protected areas

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected parks and protected areas and overall recreation visitation across the United States. While outdoor recreation has been demonstrated to be beneficial, especially during a pandemic, the resulting increase in recreation visitation raises concerns regarding the broader influence of social, situational, ecological, and behavioral factors upon overall visitor experiences. This study investigated the extent to which recreation visitors’ behaviors and experiences have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic within the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF). A modified drop-off pick-up survey method was employed to collect population-level data from WMNF visitors from June to August of 2020 (n=317), at the height of the pandemic. Results from this mixed-method study suggest social factors (e.g., crowding and conflict), situational factors (e.g., access and closures), ecological factors (e.g., vegetation damage), behavioral factors (e.g., substitution), and sociodemographic factors (e.g., gender and income) significantly influenced overall visitor decision-making and experience quality within the WMNF. For example, more than one-third of visitors indicated the pandemic had either a major or severe impact upon their WMNF recreation experience. A more nuanced investigation of qualitative data determined that the majority of pandemic-related recreation impacts revolved around the themes of social impacts, general negative recreation impacts, situational and ecological impacts, and behavioral adaptation impacts. Moreover, historically marginalized populations (e.g., low-income households and females) within the sample reported significantly higher recreation experience impacts during the pandemic. This study demonstrates the influence of the pandemic upon outdoor recreation visitor experiences and behaviors and considers outdoor recreation as a central component within the broader social-ecological systems framework. This study demonstrates the influence of the pandemic upon outdoor recreation visitor experiences and behaviors and considers resource users a central component within the broader social-ecological systems conceptual framework. MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS: This study found that during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, social, situational, ecological, behavioral, and sociodemographic factors significantly influenced overall visitor decision-making andexperience quality: · Social and general recreation impacts were most common, with approximately 56% of the sample reporting these issues. · Results suggest significant crowding and conflict impacts stemmed from interactions between in-state and out-of-state visitors, largely based upon perceived violations of pandemic protocols. · Moreover, historically marginalized populations stated unique recreation impacts during the pandemic. For instance, visitors from low-income households reported significantly less substitution options as opposed to high-income visitors. · Female visitors perceived significantly more pandemic-related conflict than male visitors. Study findings suggest visitor crowding and conflict should be prioritized by resource managers, especially amongst historically marginalized populations. Resource managers should consider adopting a broader social-ecological systems approach to parks and protected areas management, particularly during a global pandemic

Directed Assembly of Soft Anisotropic Nanoparticles by Colloid Electrospinning.

Directed assembly of triblock copolymer worms to produce nanostructured fibers is achieved via colloid electrospinning. These copolymer worms are conveniently prepared by polymerization-induced self-assembly in concentrated aqueous dispersion. Addition of a second water-soluble component, poly(vinyl alcohol), is found to be critical for the production of well-defined fibers: trial experiments performed using the worms alone produce only spherical microparticles. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm that the worm morphology survives electrospinning and the worms become orientated parallel to the main axis of the fibers during their generation. The average deviant angle (θdev ) between the worm orientation and fiber axis decreases from 17° to 9° as the worm/PVA mass ratio increases from 1.15:1 to 5:1, indicating a greater degree of worm alignment within fibers with higher worm contents and smaller fiber diameters. Thus triblock copolymer fibers of ≈300 ± 120 nm diameter can be readily produced that comprise aligned worms on the nanoscale

Qualitative Research on Work-Family in the Management Field: A Review

Despite a proliferation of work-family literature over the past three decades, studies employing quantitative methodologies significantly outweigh those adopting qualitative approaches. In this paper, we intend to explore the state of qualitative work-family research in the management field and provide a comprehensive profile of the 152 studies included in this review. We synthesize the findings of qualitative work-family studies and provide six themes including parenthood, gender differences, cultural differences, family-friendly policies and non-traditional work arrangements, coping strategies, and under-studied populations. We also describe how findings of qualitative work-family studies compare to that of quantitative studies. The review highlights seven conclusions in the current qualitative literature: a limited number of qualitative endeavours, findings worth further attention, convergent foci, the loose use of work-family terminology, the neglect of a variety of qualitative research approaches, quantitative attitudes towards qualitative research, and insufficient reporting of research methods. In addition, implications for future researchers are discussed

Specificity of LTR DNA recognition by a peptide mimicking the HIV-1 integrase α4 helix

HIV-1 integrase integrates retroviral DNA through 3′-processing and strand transfer reactions in the presence of a divalent cation (Mg2+ or Mn2+). The α4 helix exposed at the catalytic core surface is essential to the specific recognition of viral DNA. To define group determinants of recognition, we used a model composed of a peptide analogue of the α4 helix, oligonucleotides mimicking processed and unprocessed U5 LTR end and 5 mM Mg2+. Circular dichroism, fluorescence and NMR experiments confirmed the implication of the α4 helix polar/charged face in specific and non-specific bindings to LTR ends. The specific binding requires unprocessed LTR ends—i.e. an unaltered 3′-processing site CA↓GT3′—and is reinforced by Mg2+ (Kd decreases from 2 to 0.8 nM). The latter likely interacts with the ApG and GpT3′ steps of the 3′-processing site. With deletion of GT3′, only persists non-specific binding (Kd of 100 μM). Proton chemical shift deviations showed that specific binding need conserved amino acids in the α4 helix and conserved nucleotide bases and backbone groups at LTR ends. We suggest a conserved recognition mechanism based on both direct and indirect readout and which is subject to evolutionary pressure

Senior Law Class University of Texas 1948

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