The Impact of Total Employee Participation in an Experience-Based Training and Development Program, or Corporate Adventure Training Program, on the Corporation\u27s Work Climate

Experience-based Training and Development (EBTD) or Corporate Adventure Training (CAT) has had a short history of usage and a long history of problems· with its credibility. Proponents of EBTD/CAT have claimed it was an effective and appropriate way to build teams, develop individuals and improve companies. They stated their case on a moderate collection of personal anecdotes and testimonies. Opponents of EBTD/CAT have claimed it was a sham, like many of the group oriented encounter techniques of the sixties. They cemented their opinion by pointing to a clear lack of research evidence, failing to substantiate the impact of such programs. With the decreasing value of the development dollar, more companies have questioned the efficacy of EBTD/CAT programming and called for hard data to support its transfer of learning. This study examined changes, over a two year period, in the corporate climate of an Australian company, which chose total employee participation in an EBTD/CAT program. A major Australian government-owned corporation, primarily involved with public service delivery, chose EBTD/CAT as the sole means of training and development for its entire complement of (approximately) 5,000 employees. The main focus of this training was to alter the climate of the organization around the two new cultural concepts of teamwork and empowerment A sample of 100 employees, stratified for gender (male 65% and female 35%) and management level (upper 10%, middle 30% and lower 60% ), was randomly selected from the population of about 500 managers in a company of 5,000 employees. The sample of 100 were surveyed three times (before, during and after treatment), but all 5,000 employees underwent the treatment Treatment consisted of a five day residential EBTD/CAT program during the most recent year (between the dates of July 1, 1990 and June 30, 1991). No other training and development schemes were underway during the two year period of study (from December 1, 1989 to December 31, 1991 ). The EBTD/CAT program.was fairly standard in design, with the first day devoted to socialization activities, icebreakers and deinhibitizers. The next two days consisted of cooperation, communication and trust exercises followed by common group initiative activities and problem solving tasks. The fourth day consisted of a high ropes course, with choice of egress by rappelling or zip wire. The final day incorporated a great deal of personal reflection, solo time and group dialogue around action plans for future challenges. Evening were spent attending lectures by the company facilitators and presenting dramatic skits interpreting the daily events. Although attendance was mandated by the company, the program operated under a challenge by choice philosophy and, once in attendance, no employees were forced to participate in any activity against their will. Survey rounds, consisting of three instruments, were administered to subjects on three separate occasions, each approximately one year apart. Instrumentation included three surveys: section m of the Individual-Team-Organization (ITO) survey (Anderson, 1987); the short form of the Organizational-Health (OH) survey (Phillips, 1989): and the Motivational Analysis of Organizations-Climate (MAO-C) survey (Pareek, 1989). The 17% attrition over two years was likely due to employee turnover from company downsizing (estimated at 13% ), and yet attrition was proportionate across strata and reasonable (with a return rate over 80%, non-respondent bias was not an issue). Data met all normality requirements, therefore, two factor ANOVAs were conducted. Two main effects for management level were noted, indicating that in these two cases the three management levels differed on the average of their opinions. All, but a few, analyses showed main effect changes in means across the three times of surveying: before, during and after, indicating that opinions changed over the treatment period. Since the limited studies in EBTD/CAT have concentrated on benefits and changes to the group or to the employee, and have apparently ignored the bottom line of organizational benefit and change (a concern prevalent for many companies) the intent of this study was to track changes in the one aspect of corporate climate. This study does not claim that the EBTD/CAT program caused the changes discussed Regardless of the testimonials from the company executive, the EBTD/CAT program may have contributed to the improvements, but without a control company (almost impossible to obtain under most circumstances) the certainty of causality should not be stated Furthermore, these findings must not be generalized beyond the parameters of this study: changes in corporate climate for a major Australian company government-owned and primarily involved in public service delivery, with management response to the surveys and total employee participation in an EBTD/CAT program over the period 1989-1991. In summary, and in the opinion of three levels of management, but not necessarily all employees, this particular company successfully changed its corporate climate over a period of two years, during which all employees participated in an experience-based training and development or corporate adventure training program only. Overall, the company improved on its planning utility, structure flexibility, systems functioning ( upper managers were least pleased with systematic changes), sensible & supportive roles, positive relationships, excessive delays in workflow, reflection time, and mission and goal clarity during the first year; while concern for getting the job done (rather than accounting for time and cost), alignment, marketplace impact, and profit versus growth decreased over the same period, although decreases were not seen as necessarily detrimental in this case, since the company moved through a desired period of well­ needed readjustment. During the second year, reflection time decreased, but work enjoyment improved (lower managers enjoyed their work least), even though workloads increased over both years. Decreases in planning seriousness, crisis avoidance, purpose contribution, and responsiveness index; increases in stretch; and fluctuations in resource provision, strategic position, purpose clarity, and individual versus organizational goals, were all overshadowed by by complex interactions between the time of survey (before, during or after treatment) and the level of manager (upper, middle or lower) responding. Feedback from the company executive committee highlighted the expected influence of several extraneous environmental variables on.these interactions and attributed some interaction to the treatment of the EBTD/CAT program. Future research ought to broaden the base of knowledge concerning the impact of EBTD/CAT programs on other aspects of corporate climate (motivation, etc.) and deepen the base of knowledge by replicating or extending this study with companies from other nations, involved in other areas of business, and consider all types of employees, not just managers. Despite the inherent problems of controlling for environmental factors, either by formal control group or informal speculation, this type of research is valuable as companies seek evidence on the efficacy of this kind of outdoor learning

Research in Outdoor Education: Individual and Personal Growth

This article contains the text of a keynote presentation at the Inaugural Symposium at Bradford Woods, January 1992, which focused on research into individual and personal growth through outdoor education

A Research Summary for corporate Adventure Training (CAT) and Experience-Based Training and Development(EBTD)

This paper is a review of research in Corporate Adventure Training (CAT) and Experience-Based Training and Development (EBTD); a summary of a number of research studies in CAT and EBTD conducted through the Corporate Adventure Training Institute and other researchers; and, recommendations for future research in this growing field of outdoor education. The research results indicate corporate adventure training programs can be effective means of team building and other group development outcomes. The author gives a number of recommendations for future research including the need to investigate the pro­gram elements that contn\u27bute to overall program effectiveness

Outdoor Education Fatalities in Canada: A Comparative Case Study

The recent criminal negligence case against an Ontario teacher in the death of a student identified pertinent outdoor education administration and policy issues. This comparative case study examined this case and two additional high profile Canadian outdoor education fatalities, identifying common factors and issues. Using Accimaps to illustrate the multiple contributing factors for each event, the case studies all exhibited contributory administrative factors of undefined risk tolerance, risk creep, lack of oversight, and issues regarding parental consent. Conclusions were drawn as preventative lessons that can inform school or board-level outdoor education policy and practice

Factors underpinning student perceptions of laboratory experiences

Background Survey data gathered as part of the Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ASELL) project and its predecessors have been used previously to draw correlations between student perceptions of different aspects of laboratory-based activities and their perceived overall learning experience (Barrie, Bucat, Buntine, Burke da Silva, Crisp, George, Jamie, Kable, Lim, Pyke, Read, Sharma and Yeung, 2015). However, typical past analyses have involved the application of scoring techniques to ordered categorical response data, conflating student dependent and student independent contributions to student responses. Rasch modeling techniques provide an opportunity to control for the biases of individual students, revealing the more sample independent correlations in student perceptions which can be used to inform teaching practice. Particularly, the Linear Logistic Test Model (Fischer, 1995) is capable of expressing sample independent measures for each survey item as a linear combination of more basic factors of the experience. Aims The aim of this research was to derive a Linear Logistic Test Model for the ASELL Student Learning Experience (ASLE) survey, expressing “overall learning experience” as a linear combination of more basic factors of the learning experience. Methods A data set of 128,881 individual data points provided by over 9000 students in response to the ASLE survey, gathered from 29 practical activities run from 2011 to 2015 was input into a Rasch model, extracting student independent measures of quality for each experiment. These student independent measures were subjected to factor analysis, subsequently converting the results into a Linder Logistic Test Model of the ASLE survey data. Number of factors extracted was determined by balancing the parsimony of the model with the proportion of observed data variance explained, using the corrected Akaike Information Criterion (Burnham & Anderson, 2004). Results The final Linear Logistic Test Model reveals six major identifiable contributors to the laboratory learning experience. In descending order of impact on responses, these factors are the perceived connection to lecture theory, the quality of instructional material provided, understanding of theory through collaboration with others, the development of data interpretation skills, independent learning and the reliance on or appreciation for the demonstrator. A large component of “overall learning experience” appears to be due to aspects not addressed by ASLE survey items. The model yields equations for facets of the laboratory learning experience targeted by the ASLE survey, such as the equation for “overall learning experience” below (Equation 1). δ_(14 (overall learning experience)) = [■(-2@2@0@1@1@2@5)]⋅[■(〖 η〗_(theory focus)@〖 η〗_instructions@η_(collaborative understanding)@η_(data interpretation)@η_(independent learning)@η_demonstrators@η_(unexplained overall) )] (1) Similar equations are also obtained for other items of the survey, revealing models for fostering aspects of the experience such as student interest, increased understanding and development of technical skills. Conclusions Equations comprising the Linear logistic Test Model have a range of pedagogical implications for the structure of laboratory learning activities. Notably, increased understanding appears to be irrelevant to perceived “overall learning experience”, raising questions as to the consequential validity of using student response data to drive design of learning activities. A general theme of conflict between student preferences and attainment of learning objectives is recognized. References Barrie, S. C., R. B. Bucat, M. A. Buntine, K. Burke da Silva, G. T. Crisp, A. V. George, I. M. Jamie, S. H. Kable, K. F. Lim, S. M. Pyke, J. R. Read, M. D. Sharma & A. Yeung (2015). Development, Evaluation and Use of a Student Experience Survey in Undergraduate Science Laboratories: The Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory Student Laboratory Learning Experience Survey. International Journal of Science Education, 37(11), 1795-1814. Burnham, K. P. & Anderson, D. R. (2004). Multimodel Inference: Understanding AIC and BIC in Model Selection. Sociological Methods & Research, 33(2), 261-304. Fischer, G. H. (1995). The linear logistic test model. Rasch models (pp. 131-155): Springer

Using laboratory experience to investigate student learning trends in chemistry

Surveys commonly utilised as part of the Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ASELL) project have been used to investigate the perceptions of first year undergraduate chemistry students during their laboratory sessions at the University of Adelaide. From 2011, data from these surveys has provided insights into many facets of the learning experience. Quality of experiments and laboratory courses in first year undergraduate chemistry has been evaluated from the student perspective, and the effects of any revisions to past experiments and the overall laboratory course structure have been identified. Trends have been observed in the overall perception of experiments, with relation to macro, sub-micro and symbolic representations of concepts. Prominent factors contributing to the overall learning experience have been investigated, and cases in which these factors contribute most and least prominently have been observed. Reasons for relatively poor perception of experiments often appear related to effects generated by difficulty thinking beyond the macro domain of representation. Additionally, visual appeal has been seen to be a strong source of interest in experiments. The degree to which particular facets of the laboratory experience contribute to the perceived overall learning experience appears to be variable

Dislodgement resistance of modified resin-bonded fixed partial dentures utilizing tooth undercuts: an in vitro study

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Over the years, resin-bonded fixed partial dentures (RBFPDs) have gone through substantial development and refinement. Several studies examined the biomechanics of tooth preparation and framework design in relation to the success rate of RBFPDs and considered retention and resistance form essential for increase of clinical retention. However, these criteria required preparations to be more invasive, which violates not only the original intentions of the RBFPD, but may also have an adverse effect on retention due to loss of enamel, an important factor in bonding. PURPOSE: The object of this in vitro study was to compare the dislodgement resistance of the new types of RBFPDs, the conventional three-unit fixed partial denture, and conventional design of RBFPD (Maryland bridge). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty resin mandibular left second premolars and second molars were prepared on dentiforms, according to the RBFPD design. After model fabrication (five group, n = 10), prostheses were fabricated and cemented with zinc phosphate cement. After cementation, the specimens were subjected to tensile loading at a cross head speed of 4 mm/min in a universal testing machine. The separation load was recorded and analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance followed by Duncan's multiple range test. RESULTS: Group V, the pin-retained RBFPDs, had the highest mean dislodgement resistance, whereas specimens of group II, the conventional RBFPDs, exhibited a significantly lower mean dislodgement resistance compared to the other 4 groups (P .05). Group V had the highest mean MPa (N/mm(2)) (P .05). CONCLUSION: Within the limits of the design of this in vitro study, it was concluded that: 1. The modified RBFPDs which utilizes the original tooth undercuts and requires no tooth preparation, compared with the conventional design of RBFPDs, has significantly high dislodgement resistance (P .05). 3. The pin-retained FPDs showed a high dislodgement resistance compared to the conventional three-unit FPDs (P < .05).ope

Small scale energy release driven by supergranular flows on the quiet Sun

In this article we present data and modelling for the quiet Sun that strongly suggest a ubiquitous small-scale atmospheric heating mechanism that is driven solely by converging supergranular flows. A possible energy source for such events is the power transfer to the plasma via the work done on the magnetic field by photospheric convective flows, which exert drag of the footpoints of magnetic structures. In this paper we present evidence of small scale energy release events driven directly by the hydrodynamic forces that act on the magnetic elements in the photosphere, as a result of supergranular scale flows. We show strong spatial and temporal correlation between quiet Sun soft X-ray emission (from &lt;i&gt;Yohkoh&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;SOHO&lt;/i&gt; MDI-derived flux removal events driven by deduced photospheric flows. We also present a simple model of heating generated by flux submergence, based on particle acceleration by converging magnetic mirrors. In the near future, high resolution soft X-ray images from XRT on the &lt;i&gt;Hinode&lt;/i&gt; satellite will allow definitive, quantitative verification of our results

Arctic Seafloor Integrity Cruise No. MSM95 – (GPF 19-2_05)

The main aim of the MSM95 research expedition was to investigate and map physical impacts on the arctic seafloor in two distinct and contrasting Arctic areas (The Svalbard shelf edge and the HAUSGARTEN time series stations in the FRAM strait) with a range of research equipment. A ‘nested’ data approach was conducted in each research area, with broad seafloor mapping conducted initially with the R/V MARIA S. MERIAN onboard acoustic systems (The EM122 and EM712 bathymetric systems), followed by focused subsequent mapping conducted by PAUL 3000 automated underwater vehicle (AUV) sidescan and camera deployments, Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS) towed sidescan and camera trawls and finally with very high resolution investigations conducted with a new mini-ROV launched directly from the OFOBS for close seafloor visual analysis. These data will be used to produce spatial distribution maps of iceberg and fishery impacts on the seafloor at three locations to the north, south and west of the Svalbard Archipelago, as well as maps of drop stone and topography variations across several of the HAUSGARTEN stations