Model Building in Planning Programs: Blending Theory and Practice1

The purpose of this paper is to explore the two major sources upon which one of program planning models used in our field, the Interactive Model of Program Planning, is grounded. These two sources include: the approaches or ways of thinking about program planning and the voices of practitioners

Training of Vancouver 2010 volunteers: a legacy opportunity?

The successful delivery of a mega-sport event depends upon a volunteer workforce. It is often asserted that the training of event volunteers contributes to the creation of a social legacy via the transfer of learning to other volunteer contexts; thereby creating an enhanced volunteer pool after the event that will support the tourism and events industries in the host communities. This article reflects upon the reality of that assertion and argues that in order to achieve legacy both training and development strategies are required. As such an analysis of data collected at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games around training and legacy is discussed. A Legacy Training and Development Model is offered and subsequently, applied to the case study. The article concludes by suggesting that training at Vancouver 2010 was a missed opportunity in achieving legac

Sustainable development and hospitality education : employers’ perspectives on the relevance for graduate employability

This paper examines hospitality employers’ perspectives of sustainable development and the implications for hospitality education, particularly graduate employability. An exploratory approach is used in this research where semi-structured interviews were conducted with employers of hospitality graduates. The results established that respondents had mixed understandings of the meaning and relevance of sustainable development. These employers are, however, gradually recognising the value of sustainability for their business. Though it is not currently a priority in terms of a critical employability skill specifically for the hotel sector, related industries seem more mindful of the implications of sustainability credentials. Thus, hospitality educators need to take appropriate actions in subject specific areas where sustainable development is critical to employment opportunities, creating more industry ready graduates who are also globally aware citizens

The development of a familyresilience-strengthening programme for familiesin a South African rural community

The aim of this study was to develop a contextually based family resilience program. Also presented here is a literature review of family resilience interventions suggesting that these 3 processes are the basis for effective family functioning. A close collaboration with the community ensured an adequate understanding of the presenting family challenges and this article describes the process in developing a program based on these challenges. A 3-round Delphi design was used for the study with international and local experts (n = 10) in the field of family and resilience studies and community stakeholders (n = 5). The program has three main aims: to increase family connectedness, family communication processes and social and economic resources. Based on the findings of this study, 4 modules will be presented to participants, “about family,” “talking together,” “close together,” and “working together.” A description is provided of the program content and decisions regarding logistical program concerns

Globalisation and MA TESOL programs in the UK

This article reports the results of a mixed-methods approach to investigating the association between globalisation and MATESOL in UK universities. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from academic staff through eight emails, four interviews and 41 questionnaires indicate that the globalised context of higher education have affected these programmes in a number of ways including an increasing interest in recruiting more international students and a growing awareness about the need for curriculum and content modifications. The analysis of the data suggests that although change has been an inherent characteristic of these MAs over the past decade, it has been implemented gradually and conservatively, often relying on a dialectic relationship between academic staff and universities’ policies. The results imply that factors other than globalisation have also been at work. Many of the participants contend that globalisation has not lowered the quality of these MAs or standards of good practice

Diversity in collaborative research communities: a multicultural, multidisciplinary thesis writing group in public health

Writing groups for doctoral students are generally agreed to provide valuable learning spaces for Ph.D. candidates. Here an academic developer and the eight members of a writing group formed in a Discipline of Public Health provide an account of their experiences of collaborating in a multicultural, multidisciplinary thesis writing group. We consider the benefits of belonging to such a group for Ph.D. students who are operating in a research climate in which disciplinary boundaries are blurring and where an increasing number of doctoral projects are interdisciplinary in nature; in which both academic staff and students come from enormously diverse cultural and language backgrounds; and in which teamwork, networking and collaboration are prized but not always proactively facilitated. We argue that doctoral writing groups comprising students from diverse cultural and disciplinary backgrounds can be of significant value for postgraduates who wish to collaborate on their own academic development to improve their research writing and communication skills; at the same time, such collaborative work effectively builds an inclusive, dynamic research community.Cally Guerin, Vicki Xafis, Diana V. Doda, Marianne H. Gillam, Allison J. Larg, Helene Luckner, Nasreen Jahan, Aris Widayati and Chuangzhou X