Illuminating and measuring personal development: the impact of this work on learning and teaching

This short article gives an overview of a small-scale case study research project based on a 2nd year cohort of students from the Business Information Systems area of the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences at Northumbria University. The aim of this employability module is to prepare students for the recruitment process for their placement year in industry and to inculcate proper professional attitudes and behaviour. The teaching strategy uses the precepts of PDP, and an eportfolio is the vehicle for learning and assessment

Citizenship: a multi-faceted concept?

The aim of this thesis is to challenge the universalistic concept of citizenship. Throughout the thesis it will be argued that citizenship is a multi- faceted concept irreducible to a singular explanation. Arguably, the universal nature of citizenship has been called into question by the process of globalisation from 'above' and by regionalism from 'below’. However, the belief that the nation-state is moribund is a fallacious assumption, and it will be shown that although the power of the nation-state has indeed been curbed - through, for example, the activities of 'Transnational Corporations' and 'Global Communications Networks' - it is still a key player in determining citizenship rights. To consider the nation-state to be irrelevant is to undermine the strong psychological influence it still exerts. Nevertheless, citizenship must begin to look beyond the universal to the particular, and begin to encompass the notion of 'difference', as arguably citizenship as well as being a legal status is also a source of identity. In its present state, citizenship is militating against certain groups, and if harmony is to be maintained within society then citizenship must be an inclusive category. This thesis does not pretend to provide the definitive answer to 'what is a citizen', it is an exploration of a highly complex concept, which is not reducible to one snappy sound-bite. However, ultimately, because of the complex nature of citizenship, there must be a reconsideration of the universality of citizenship, and 'difference' must be encompassed to fit with the diversity of cultures experienced within societies

The Incorporation of Evidence-Based Simulated Activities in an Existing Nurse Residency Program

As new graduate nurses are challenged with caring for patients with complex disease processes, nurse residency programs are designed to ease the transition into practice. A community based hospital, in the southern United States has recently implemented such a program. However, the organization continues to have problems with nursing turnover. This problem is especially evident in nurses with less than one year of clinical experience. Research has shown that nurse residency programs without simulative activities eliminate vital critical thinking activities which prepare novice nurses for clinical practice. The purpose of this project was to design evidence-based simulative activities to increase self-efficacy in new graduate Registered Nurses (RNs). A sample of 15 nurse residents received the education interventions and completed a pre and posttest designed to measure self-efficacy. The average pre-intervention test indicated that the new nurse graduates lacked confidence, critical thinking, and remaining calm in dealing with complex clinical situations. After the intervention, the average post-intervention test indicated that the new nurse graduates showed a statistically significant increase in problem-solving skills, clinical confidence in decision-making, confidence in patient education, handling unexpected results, remaining calm in complex situations, and finding solutions to clinical problems. As a result, the organization plans to add simulative activities permanently to the residency program

Weird/Black/Play: Turning Racial Authenticity and Professorial Performance on its Head in the Black Studies Classroom

This essay examines the expectations placed on black faculty to act as conduits of authentic blackness and black knowing even as they are undermined and undervalued in the classroom and other institutional settings. Paying special attention to the way that racial performance, engaged learning, and the role of the black instructor converge in the black studies classroom, I offer the black/weird as a framework (departure/positioning) from which students can engage in black/weird/play, a remedy that interrupts students’ desire for a particular hegemonic racial performance from black faculty while stimulating critical collective inquiry about black history, experience, culture, and the self. As black/weird/play engages possibility, pleasure, and play while taking cues from black nerd and black popular cultures, students learn to grapple with concepts, structures, subjecthood, and everything else, from the mundane to the fantastic, as they building knowledge and connections alongside and with black faculty who must constantly maneuver the already contested grounds of teaching while black

Mental fitness pilot project : a summary report

During the past five years, Century House has played a leadership role in supporting innovative community research projects in the area of lifelong learning for seniors, culminating in the mental fitness pilot project. Research and development work is divided into three phases: Phase I - Lifelong Learning Project (Needs Assessment); Phase II - Mental Fitness Research Project; Phase III - Mental Fitness Pilot Program. During this third phase, the consultants\u27 task was to develop, facilitate, and evaluate a series of 8 intensive all-day mental fitness workshops based on the components of mental fitness as outlined in the mental fitness research project; subsequently to offer a series of half-day workshops to introduce a second group of people to the fundamentals of mental fitness. This report focuses on the 8-week series of all-day workshops and provides an outline of the sessions, captures topics of interest, and recommends future directions for programming of a practical nature (e.g., memory skills) to help people keep mentally fit for life. Every attempt has been made to capture the experiences and voices of participants (actual quotes are italicized). The goal of the mental fitness program is a healthy mind in a healthy body. Objectives were: (1) to develop knowledge and skills of mental fitness; (2) to promote the attitudes of mental fitness (optimism, flexibility, confidence, self-esteem); and (3) to promote healthy lifestyles that sustain mental fitness

Australian pharmacists' understanding of their continuing professional development obligations

Background: Adoption of mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) for pharmacists in Australia is relatively new. Difficulties have been reported with the introduction of CPD frameworks in other countries. There is limited information on how Australian pharmacists have engaged with the CPD requirements for registration. Aim: To explore Australian pharmacists' understanding and engagement with the CPD requirements for renewal of registration. Method: The Pharmacy Board of Australia's CPD requirements for registration was used to design an online survey to explore the level of understanding and engagement Australian pharmacists have with the CPD framework. Results: 278 pharmacists responded to the survey - 66% were female, 30% were male and 4% did not disclose their gender. 63% of respondents noted that it would not be difficult to acquire 40 CPD credits annually. Respondents identified that Group 1 activities were a preferred way of acquiring CPD credits. Majority of pharmacists (91%) believed that they knew the CPD requirements for registration and 77% noted that there had been sufficient guidance provided. Despite this, 26% of participants had never used self-directed learning plans and 38% did not know how to undertake self-directed learning. 76% of participants were under the common misconception that CPD is synonymous with continuing education. Conclusion: The majority of pharmacists believe they understand and can engage in the acquisition of CPD credits for renewal of registration. Some aspects of the CPD framework was not understood, such as how it aims to develop a pharmacist's practice. This aspect of the CPD framework will need to be further developed

Mental fitness seminar series : highway to 2001, October 1998 to May 1999. Summary report.

During the past six years, the research and development of mentalfitness for seniors at Century House has proceeded in five phases:Phase I - Lifelong Learning Project (Needs Assessment)Phase II - Mental Fitness Research ProjectPhase III - Mental Fitness Pilot ProjectPhase IV - Mental Fitness: The Continuing ExperiencePhase V - Mental Fitness: Highway to 2001During the 1998/1999 season, Century House made a formal commitment through designation of funds for the seminar series to be continued through to the World Congress on Aging in July of 2001. All those who had participated in an introductory course were invited to travel the "Highway to 2001" together. The continuing series will be designed to:(1) deepen and extend understanding and practice of the seven skill components of mental fitness;(2) build on individual needs and interests of participants;(3) take maximum advantage of opportunities to develop and promote mental fitness that arise in the centre and wider community

Developing seniors as leaders : final report of a leadership and organizational development program for the Dogwood Pavilion Association, City of Coquitlam

During recent years, the Dogwood Pavilion Association, like many other seniors centres, has experienced a shortage of trained leaders willing to assist in the delivery of over 100 activities the centre provides to everyone over 50 in the community of Coquitlam (a district which became a city in December of 1993). In consultation with two leadership training consultants, the Coordinator in charge of the centre (Jill Rowledge), Past President (Crosby Johnston), and President (E.T. Cross) brought together a New Horizons Board to secure funding for a project, The Seniors Leadership Initiative, to develop more effective senior leadership at Dogwood Pavilion, the Town Centre Seniors Group, and throughout the City of Coquitlam. The project included two equally important aspects of leadership development: (1) a close examination of leadership in Dogwood Pavilion; and (2) a leadership and personal development program for members. This report includes: (1) Plan and time-frame of the project; (2) Ethnographic study of culture of Dogwood Pavilion; (3) Survey of membership regarding leadership training needs; (4) Description of the leadership and personal development training program for members; (5) Formal evaluation of the leadership training program; (6) Press release to inform the community about the training program and future opportunities for senior leadership; (7) Consultant\u27s recommendations for leadership development; and (8) Final recommendations arising from the Focus Group discussion with members of the New Horizons\u27 Board, the Advisory Board, training program participants, and staff

Mental fitness for life (September 2001 - May 2002) - Summary report submitted by Sandra Cusack, Ph.D. & Wendy Thompson, M.A.to the Mental Fitness Activity Committee, Century House, New Westminster, B.C.

Most people today have grown up and are growing old with a general view of old age as a period of inevitable decline, and of old people as useless and burdens on society. Such negative attitudes and assumptions continue to haunt them, even when people know better. If you ask people what they fear most about aging, the response usually is "losing it". What is "it" that people fear losing? "It" is mental fitness. The Mental Fitness program at Century House provides compelling evidence that the mind is indeed the new frontier of aging research, and the possibilities for continuous growth and development are unlimited. What does the research say about the impact of learning on health? What is mental fitness? How do we exercise it? What are the benefits and achievements? What is the value of learning? The program consists of a series of eight intensive workshops where participants learn how old attitudes and beliefs about declining mental abilities restrict their options for a vital, healthy old age. How to change negative to positive beliefs that reflect potential for growth, how to speak the language of possibility, how to think critically and creatively, how to appreciate diversity and different perspectives, how to take risks, and how to listen to each other with renewed respect are all aspects of the program. The challenge to participants is to become mentally fit for life. A theme throughout is -- out with the old and in with new: (1) Out with the old research and knowledge, and in with the new; (2) Out with the old beliefs, and in with the new; and (3) Out with the old person, and in with the new. This report will describe the program and its benefits. For the first time, a valid and reliable screening scale for depression was used with important results that have implications for future mental fitness research and program development (Special thanks to Dr. Norm O\u27Rourke for providing the CES-D and to Mary Rogers, a graduate student in the Gerontology Program, for assistance with the statistics.