Extending, broadening and rethinking existing research on transfer of training

Research on transfer of training has a long history, with thousands of empirical studies since the 1950s investigating whether, and under which conditions, knowledge and skills acquired during training are subsequently used in the work environment (see reviews by Baldwin and Ford, 1988, Blume et al., 2010 and Burke and Hutchins, 2007). The generation of such an abundance of research can be linked to organisations’ fundamental and ongoing concern to ensure that their employees possess the necessary knowledge and skills from their employer to maintain a competitive advantage and thrive economically. Training and development is, however, extremely costly to organisations, which has created the need to determine the effectiveness of training, and the conditions under which transfer of training is optimal. A recent overview of “what really matters” for successful transfer of training (Grossman & Salas, 2011), aimed at a training and development readership, summarized the most influential variables emerging from this vast body of research. Based on the expectation that the list of factors which may contribute to influence transfer could always be extended and that it would be impractical to incorporate every single factor in research designs, the authors recommended a shift in future research towards deeper investigations of the conditions under which selected variables are more or less influential in their relationship with training. This Special Issue contributes to this important research agenda and extends it further through the inclusion of a diverse collection of conceptual contributions and reviews, from several scientific disciplines, a plurality of theoretical perspectives and a range of methodological approaches. Expanding the theoretical grounding underpinning empirical work on transfer of training and scrutinizing existing conceptualizations of the notion of transfer is timely in light of widespread concerns from organisations about minimal return on investment in training, and repeated evidence in the transfer of training literature of an enduring “transfer problem”. The aim of this article is to explore the value of extending, broadening and rethinking existing research on transfer of training. The benefits of extending research on transfer of training is considered first, through examining how the contributions of this Special Issue add to the existing literature on transfer of training, and the implications of the new insights for addressing the “transfer problem”. How transfer of training research could be broadened, thus enriched, through incorporating ideas from recent literature on transfer of learning is considered next. Finally, proposals to rethink transfer as boundary crossing from an activity theory perspective are scrutinized for their potential to better understand the learning that takes place at the boundaries of training and work environments. The article concludes by elaborating on the conceptual value of a refocus on ‘transfer of learning from training’ within a perspective of adaptive learning, and a call for cross-fertilisation with the extensive theory grounded literatures on transfer of learning and boundary crossing

Strength through diversity? Learning outcomes and student satisfaction with group projects in marketing

Undergraduate students majoring in Marketing are required to engage in group projects throughout their study. The main educational rationale behind requiring students to work on group projects as an integral part of their study in marketing is that the experience of group projects is a good preparation for working in teams and managing work teams in the future. Little research has been conducted which examines the individual differences of learning outcomes with group projects. Results from a principles of marketing class (n=61) suggest that older students (>21 years) reported learning more about subject matter covered in group assignments, than younger students (<21 years). Students from non-Australian ESB and multilingual backgrounds reported gaining greater knowledge of working in teams than students from non-Australian ESB who were monolingual. Results also showed a number of interactions between age, gender and hours of work govern the degree of satisfaction students have with group learning

Interactivity in professional online learning: A review of research based studies

Over the last few years, the higher education and the vocational education and training sectors have increased the number of online learning courses available for professionals. Yet, research on e-learning opportunities for professionals has not developed at the same pace. This paper describes the results of a systematic search for research based, empirical studies on professional online learning that examined interactivity and other forms of social learning. Based on four selection criteria (online learning course, professionals, interactivity and research study), the search yielded 18 articles. These were examined first in relation to the characteristics and context of the professional online courses under scrutiny, and second in relation to four levels of interactivity focus in the research. The highest level represents studies where the interactivity was planned, supported and implemented successfully, and the lowest level studies where minimal opportunities for interactivity were available. Overall, although some studies were of a high academic and educational quality, there was little evidence of pedagogical innovations that would give this field of educational research and practice a clear direction for the future

Pathways to apprenticeships and traineeships for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Western Australia is experiencing a substantial shortage of skilled labour. The State Government is committed to increasing participation in the workforce across the board, through schemes such as the Plans 4 Jobs, especially because of the current severe skills shortage in the economy. The State Government is also committed, through the four principles of civic values, fairness, equality, and participation enshrined in the WA Charter of Multiculturalism, to promoting the full participation of all groups in all aspects of our community – social, economic, and civil – and to removing any systemic barriers to full participation. This commitment is also embodied in the multi‐departmental Policy Framework for Substantive Equality. Aside from equity, denying equal opportunity also engenders resentment and hostility within our community, diminishes human value, and denies the state the full benefits of all its members’ talents. The cost of discrimination accrues to those who are denied opportunity and to the society which tolerates discrimination. Members of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) communities in this state, in particular those from new and emerging communities, do not currently participate in apprenticeships and traineeships in significant numbers; this is regrettable and it is recommended that measures be taken to remedy this. The Western Australian Department of Education and Training (DET) commissioned this report to investigate barriers to apprenticeships and traineeships confronting people from CaLD backgrounds, and to recommend strategies to improve their participation in apprenticeships and traineeships. The project was undertaken by the Australian Academy of Race Relations (AARR) at Murdoch University, for DET, during the period July – November 2005. DET has many good programmes to promote apprenticeships and traineeships, including to members of CaLD communities. However, the array and complexity of these can be daunting, resulting in a lack of awareness of all the programmes available

Simulated learning in musculoskeletal assessment and rehabilitation education: Comparing the effect of a simulation-based learning activity with a peer-based learning activity

Background Musculoskeletal disorders and diseases are leading causes of pain, physical disability, and doctor visits throughout the world. Health professionals must be trained to assess, treat through rehabilitation and monitor patients with these disorders. Yet, due to overcrowded curricula, some health education programs struggle to accommodate more than minimal training in musculoskeletal conditions. Consequently, educators in these professions must consider how traditional instruction could be complemented effectively to enhance students’ preparation for the diverse musculoskeletal disorders and pathologies they may encounter. The purpose of this study was to explore the benefits that can be obtained from laboratory practice in musculoskeletal conditions with a standardised patient, rather than a peer patient, in a condensed time frame. Methods Two groups of students were assigned to either a standardised or a peer patient condition for 2 × 2 hours musculoskeletal assessment and rehabilitation lab sessions. All students completed a pre-post matched questionnaire measuring their clinical knowledge, confidence in clinical skills and motivation for further learning. Their clinical skills were tested at the end. Students and standardised patients’ perceptions of the simulated learning environment to practise musculoskeletal assessment and rehabilitation were also elicited. Results A t-test for independent samples revealed that students working with standardised patients displayed significantly higher standards of practical clinical skills than those working with peer patients (p=0.018). Using MANOVAs with repeated measures, no interaction effect for clinical knowledge, confidence in clinical skills, and motivation for future learning were found, both groups displaying significantly enhanced cognition and motivation. Three positive and two negative themes emerged from the analysis of students’ perceptions of the simulated learning environments. These were consistent with the simulated patients’ perceptions. Conclusions The findings of this study provide support for the value of using standardised patients to enhance clinical skills in musculoskeletal assessment and rehabilitation when the timeframe for laboratory practice is limited. Students’ perceptions of their experience contributed to explain why confidence in clinical skills might not necessarily improve when practising with standardised patients. Suggestions are made for optimising learning with standardised patients and for addressing the economic challenge on health education programs of hiring standardised patients

Uptake of reconstituted Na,K-ATPase vesicles by isolated lymphocytes measured by FACS, confocal microscopy and spectrofluorometry

Na,K-ATPase (EC, 3.6.1.37, Na,K-ATPase) is a fundamental vital membrane transport and receptor system which, after biosynthesis, is exported to the plasma membrane in inside-out vesicles. Na,K-ATPase can be extracted form the natural membrane and inserted into artificially formed phosphatidylcholine vesicles (liposomes). The ultrastructure of the reconstituted vesicles has been fully described. In the present work, the Na,K-ATPase-vesicles were labeled with fluorescent tracers either in their water or membrane phase, incubated with freshly isolated human lymphocytes, and the resulting cellular fluorescence measured with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), confocal microscopy and spectrofluorometry. The FACS data show that all lymphocytes take up Na,K-ATPase-vesicles in a dose-and temperature-dependent fashion. Three-dimensional analysis of the fluorescence by confocal microscopy reveals that the fluorescence is contained within the cells. Quantitative determination by spectrofluorometry indicates that depending on the vesicle/cell ratio, a single lymphocyte takes up 650 to 36,500 vesicles within 30 min at 37°C together with up to about 200,000 renal Na,K-ATPase molecule

Соотношение спроса и предложения на российском рынке труда

Проанализировано состояние российского рынка труда на современном этапе. Выявлен дисбаланс между спросом и предложением на рынке труда. Сделан вывод о том, что для достижения равновесия на рынке труда необходимо усиление государственной политики занятости с целью повышения ее эффективности

Emotion and Time Perception: Effects of Film-Induced Mood

Previous research into emotion and time perception has been designed to study the time perception of emotional events themselves (e.g., facial expression). Our aim was to investigate the effect of emotions per se on the subsequent time judgment of a neutral, non-affective event. In the present study, the participants were presented with films inducing a specific mood and were subsequently given a temporal bisection task. More precisely, the participants were given two temporal bisection tasks, one before and the other after viewing the emotional film. Three emotional films were tested: one eliciting fear, another sadness, and a neutral control film. In addition, the direct mood experience was assessed using the Brief Mood Introspective Scale that was administered to the participants at the beginning and the end of the session. The results showed that the perception of time did not change after viewing either the neutral control films or the sad films although the participants reported being sadder and less aroused after than before watching the sad film clips. In contrast, the stimulus durations were judged longer after than before viewing the frightening films that were judged to increase the emotion of fear and arousal level. In combination with findings from previous studies, our data suggest that the selective lengthening effect after watching frightening films was mediated by an effect of arousal on the speed of the internal clock system

The Developmental Emergence of the Mental Time-Line: Spatial and Numerical Distortion of Time Judgement

International audienceThe perception of time is susceptible to distortion by factors such as attention, emotion, or even the physical properties of the stimulus to be timed. In adults, there is now evidence for a left-right spatial representation of time or " mental time-line " , in which short durations map to the left side of space, whereas long durations map to the right. We investigated the developmental trajectory of the mental time-line, by examining how spatial and numerical stimulus properties affect temporal bisection judgements in 3 groups of children (5, 8 or 10 year olds), as well as in adults. In contrast to previous developmental studies of the spatial representation of time, we manipulated spatial position (left-right) rather than spatial magnitude (distance) so as to pinpoint the age at which the mental time-line begins to influence the judgement of time. In addition, we manipulated spatial position symbolically, either directly, using left-or right-pointing arrows, or indirectly, using low (1) or high (9) digits. In adults and older children (10 year olds), the rightward arrow and the higher digit were judged to last longer. However, time judgements were unaffected by arrow direction and digits in the younger children. Therefore, the temporal distortions induced by symbolic representations of space (arrows) or number (digits) emerged with development, suggesting that the mental time-line is not derived from a primitive spatial representation of time but, rather, is the fruit of learning and is acquired around the age of 8-10 years old

Passage of Time Judgments Are Not Duration Judgments: Evidence from a Study Using Experience Sampling Methodology

International audienc