The Impact of Training and Staff Attributions on Staff Practice in Learning Disability Services: A Pilot Study

The present study examines the impact of a training course which has previously been found to significantly increase the knowledge of staff working in learning disability services on staff attributions and practice. No significant changes were found in staff (n = 39) attributional dimensions following training. However, a decrease in the use of the attributional category ‘communication deficit’ was found 8 weeks after training. Staff rated their knowledge levels as higher both immediately following training and 8 weeks later. The subgroup (n = 14) of staff who were examined in relation to staff practice were found to change their practice significantly from baseline to follow-ups 4 and 5 months later. Methodological limitations and implications of the study are discussed

Retaining the authentic self in the workplace: Authenticity and work engagement in the mass-service industries

This research explored the association between authenticity and work engagement within the customer service context of mass-service industries. Authenticity in customer service workers is usually considered detrimental to organisational aims for a consistent standard of good service. However, research which finds that acting the service-persona is associated with emotional exhaustion and cynicism in workers (Brotheridge & Lee, 2002), while authenticity is related to positive customer-outcomes (Bujisic, Wu, Mattila, & Bilgihan, 2014), suggests that authenticity may enhance the experience of service for workers, and their customers, to provide for sustained competitive advantage. In the present research, I sought to examine the relationship between the degree of authenticity that employees use in their interaction with customers, and their experience of work engagement. Mass-service refers to a sector of the service industry modelled on mass-production. Contrary to principles for work engagement, workers in customer service roles within mass-service, usually repeat a small range of tasks with very little variation or autonomy. One hundred and forty service employees in petrol stations, fast food outlets, supermarkets, and in general retail responded to a survey measuring the extent to which they felt authentic, used surface acting and deep acting, their state of self-efficacy, feelings of personal accomplishment, and work engagement. Results revealed a positive relationship between authenticity and work engagement. Surface acting emerged as a less authentic approach to service than deep acting, however, deep acting was not strongly related to authenticity. Personal accomplishment strongly moderated associations with work engagement. Overall, results suggest that an authentic approach to interaction with customers and a sense of personal accomplishment are important to work engagement in mass-service workers. Findings support the promotion of authenticity in the workplace, as well as providing opportunities for workers to obtain a sense of accomplishment. Practical implications for the integration of authenticity into the customer service context, such as greater job autonomy and training customer service employees in the beneficial use of personality within the service-role, are discussed

A three-dimensional finite-element thermal/mechanical analytical technique for high-performance traveling wave tubes

Current research in high-efficiency, high-performance traveling wave tubes (TWT's) has led to the development of novel thermal/ mechanical computer models for use with helical slow-wave structures. A three-dimensional, finite element computer model and analytical technique used to study the structural integrity and thermal operation of a high-efficiency, diamond-rod, K-band TWT designed for use in advanced space communications systems. This analysis focused on the slow-wave circuit in the radiofrequency section of the TWT, where an inherent localized heating problem existed and where failures were observed during earlier cold compression, or 'coining' fabrication technique that shows great potential for future TWT development efforts. For this analysis, a three-dimensional, finite element model was used along with MARC, a commercially available finite element code, to simulate the fabrication of a diamond-rod TWT. This analysis was conducted by using component and material specifications consistent with actual TWT fabrication and was verified against empirical data. The analysis is nonlinear owing to material plasticity introduced by the forming process and also to geometric nonlinearities presented by the component assembly configuration. The computer model was developed by using the high efficiency, K-band TWT design but is general enough to permit similar analyses to be performed on a wide variety of TWT designs and styles. The results of the TWT operating condition and structural failure mode analysis, as well as a comparison of analytical results to test data are presented

Northern New Hampshire Youth in a Changing Rural Economy: A Ten-Year Perspective

The Coös Youth Study was a ten-year research project about growing up in a rural county undergoing transformative economic and demographic changes. The study addressed how these changes affected youths’ well-being as well as their plans to stay in the region, pursue opportunities elsewhere, permanently relocate, or return to their home communities with new skills and new ideas. In this report, the authors describe their findings and point to specific areas for action to support and retain North Country youth. The study was sponsored by the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation as one component of the long-term research collaboration Tracking Change in the North Country

Improving Outreach & Collaboration

The module is designed to assist teachers and educational leaders in navigating resources that will aid in parent outreach. Henderson, Mapp, Johnson and Davies (2007) give four core beliefs to build strong partnerships between the home and school: 1. All families have dreams for their children and want what is best for them, 2. All families have the capacity to support their children’s learning, 3. Parents and school staff should be equal partners, 4. Responsibility for building and sustaining partnerships between school and home rests primarily with school staff, especially school leaders. The module, based on those four core principles, provides tools to provide outreach through the lens of partnership, interaction, and feedback to and from families. This module will help educators in learning how to develop trust and understand the families that make up their school communities in the effort to foster comprehensive involvement and improve the overall culture of the school. View professional learning module.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/improve/1015/thumbnail.jp