Pedagogic practices and Vocational Education and Training: a study of growing small firms

From an examination of pedagogic practices and vocational education and training (VET) in three categories of growing small firms, the results indicate on-the-job training provided by owner/managers is the most prevalent training method regardless of growth category. The results also show the proportion of firms adopting formal pedagogic practices increases with enterprise growth. Although there is an increase in the proportion of firms using the widely recognised providers of accredited VET with firm growth, only the minority of lower growth firms use these providers. Again, there is a positive association between firm growth and the implementation of VET; however, less than half of the firms in the three growth categories provide apprenticeship training and traineeships. Taken together, the results demonstrate small business engagement in structured VET, particularly at the lower end of the growth continuum, is, at best, minimal

Changing management development initiatives with firm growth: a comparison of family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprises

Using data available from Australia’s Business Longitudinal Surveys, this study examines how management development initiatives in family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprizes (SME) change with business growth. The results show the adoption of formal management development initiatives increase with SME growth in family and non-family SMEs. This increased commitment of resources to management development suggests SMEs may be adopting a more ‘strategic’ approach to management development as they progress through growth development pathways. The study also revealed a greater significant difference between low and moderate than moderate and high growth SMEs, in the proportion of non-family enterprises that implement management development practices, suggesting the transition toward more formal management development begins early in the growth process. In contrast, significant differences between both low and moderate and moderate and high growth family SMEs suggest this transition is more evolutionary in family SMEs

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: the implications of technological disruption for Australian VET

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2018. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Department’s logo, any material protected by a trade mark and where otherwise noted all material presented in this document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence.Much discussion has occurred about the impact that technological disruption will have on the Australian workforce. A recent paper by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Skilling for tomorrow (Payton 2017), examines the various ways by which the growth in technological advance is reshaping the labour market, workforce and jobs. Despite uncertainty about the scale and nature of the effect, there is a growing consensus that Australia’s tertiary education system needs to change to meet the requirements of a future labour force focused on innovation and creativity. This research examines the relationship between emerging ─ or disruptive ─ technologies and the skills required, with a focus on the anticipated necessary skills from the perspective of both the innovators (technology producers) and industry (technology users). In this research the term ‘disruptive technologies’ refers to large-scale technology/market changes occurring through technological advances such as automation, advanced robotics and virtualisation

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

Clinical outcomes and response to treatment of patients receiving topical treatments for pyoderma gangrenosum: a prospective cohort study

Background: pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon dermatosis with a limited evidence base for treatment. Objective: to estimate the effectiveness of topical therapies in the treatment of PG. Methods: prospective cohort study of UK secondary care patients with a clinical diagnosis of PG suitable for topical treatment (recruited July 2009 to June 2012). Participants received topical therapy following normal clinical practice (mainly Class I-III topical corticosteroids, tacrolimus 0.03% or 0.1%). Primary outcome: speed of healing at 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes: proportion healed by 6 months; time to healing; global assessment; inflammation; pain; quality-of-life; treatment failure and recurrence. Results: Sixty-six patients (22 to 85 years) were enrolled. Clobetasol propionate 0.05% was the most commonly prescribed therapy. Overall, 28/66 (43.8%) of ulcers healed by 6 months. Median time-to-healing was 145 days (95% CI: 96 days, ∞). Initial ulcer size was a significant predictor of time-to-healing (hazard ratio 0.94 (0.88;80 1.00); p = 0.043). Four patients (15%) had a recurrence. Limitations: No randomised comparator Conclusion: Topical therapy is potentially an effective first-line treatment for PG that avoids possible side effects associated with systemic therapy. It remains unclear whether more severe disease will respond adequately to topical therapy alone

Patterns of integration and growth in health services: an exploratory study

Adelaide, S

Training and development, and business growth: a study of Australian manufacturing small-medium sized enterprises

LONDON, THOUSAND OAKS, CA & NEW DELH

Integration and diversification in healthcare: Financial performance and implications for Medicare

Queenslan