Trusting neighbors : work-readiness and work-based learning project

Despite St. Paul's robust economic growth, many households and communities are not experiencing positive growth. Serious gaps show by ethnicity that impact family and community stability and the overall progress of the City's economy. In particular, African-American young people between the ages of 14-21, who live in the Summit-University Community, are lagging behind in becoming a productive and skilled labor force. In 1999, the City of St. Paul's Summer Employment Program employed 127 African-Americans young people but 2200 lived in Summit-University community; thereby, showing a need to provide more job/career opportunities. In addition, the lack of family stability and serious disparities by race and ethnic origin in family income and social outcomes add to the plight of African-American young people. Some examples of other negative local indicators are the following: 50% of African American students graduate from high school on time, over 40% percent drop-out, over 65% receive subsidized school meals, 47% are homelessness. Also, African-American young people disproportionately have higher teen-pregnancy, delinquency and incarceration rates than other racial and ethnic populations in St. Paul. Without appropriate prevention and intervention strategies, the conditions will grow worse as time goes on for African-American young people in St. Paul. As an effort to address some of the issues, Trusting Neighbors initiated a Work-Readiness Training and Work-Based Learning Project that incorporated the support of a cross-section of stakeholders. Trusting Neighbors is a community-based organization, comprised primarily of African-American residents, who live in the Summit-University community. The organization's mission is to provide community-based development and social service related activities that foster a sense of community support, empowerment and self-sufficiency for disadvantaged African American, children, youth, adults and families, As a result of implementing the new project, outcomes were improved for individual participants, families, Trusting Neighbors, businesses, the broader community and the City of St. Paul. (Author abstract)Alexander, S. A. (2001). Trusting neighbors: work-readiness and work-based learning project. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduMaster of Science (M.S.)School of Community Economic Developmen

The evolution of pedagogic models for work-based learning within a virtual university

The process of designing a pedagogic model for work-based learning within a virtual university is not a simple matter of using ‘off the shelf’ good practice. Instead, it can be characterised as an evolutionary process that reflects the backgrounds, skills and experiences of the project partners. Within the context of a large-scale project that was building a virtual university for work-based learners, an ambitious goal was set: to base the development of learning materials on a pedagogic model that would be adopted across the project. However, the reality proved to be far more complex than simply putting together an appropriate model from existing research evidence. Instead, the project progressed through a series of redevelopments, each of which was pre-empted by the involvement of a different team from within the project consortium. The pedagogic models that evolved as part of the project will be outlined, and the reasons for rejecting each will be given. They moved from a simple model, relying on core computer-based materials (assessed by multiple choice questions with optional work-based learning), to a more sophisticated model that integrated different forms of learning. The challenges that were addressed included making learning flexible and suitable for work-based learning, the coherence of accreditation pathways, the appropriate use of the opportunities provided by online learning and the learning curves and training needs of the different project teams. Although some of these issues were project-specific (being influenced by the needs of the learners, the aims of the project and the partners involved), the evolutionary process described in this case study illustrates that there can be a steep learning curve for the different collaborating groups within the project team. Whilst this example focuses on work-based learning, the process and the lessons may equally be applicable to a range of learning scenarios

Fluctuating demands and unexpected events: An action research approach to improving work-family interaction in project-based work

This research into work-family balance in project-based construction work aims to:determine the effect of a consultative approach to the identification and evaluation of work- family balance strategies on the work-family experiences of project-based construction workers;examine the relationship between workload fluctuations and work-family experiences (both positive and negative) on project-based construction workers; andinform the development of industry policy and organisational support for positive work-family interaction in the construction industry.The issue of work-family balance is of great importance to Australia. Driven by demographic changes, the aging workforce, low birth rates, dramatic increases in dual earner couples and the changing expectations of younger generations of Australian workers, there is an urgent need to find practical solutions to the work-family balance problem.In Australia, the longest average work hours are observed in blue-collar, traditionally male industries, including construction. Construction workers are expected to work non-standard work schedules, including regular weekend work.Project-based construction work is subject to varying levels of intensity. In projects, there are critical points at which components must be completed. Immediately prior to these critical points, the intensity of work is very high. During these periods work hours can be very long, impacting negatively upon work-family experiences. The impact of peaks and troughs in work intensity on the work-family experiences of construction workers is not well understood.The research evaluates the effect of a employer-worker consultation concerning work-family interaction and the implementation of selected project-specific work-family balance strategies in a series of case study construction projects. The research will inform the Victorian Government’s policy development and build a strong partnership between government and the construction industry, for the purpose of promoting positive work-family interaction among the construction workforce.Research teamRMIT University, School of Property, Construction and Project Management:Professor Helen LingardTel. +61 3 9925 3449Email: [email protected] University of Melbourne, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning:Valerie FrancisTel. +61 3 8344 8762Email: [email protected] TurnerTel. +61 3 8344 7256Email: [email protected]

Web Environments for Group-Based Project Work in Higher Education

We discuss problems confronting the use of group-based project work as an instructional strategy in higher education and describe two courses in which course-specific World Wide Web (Web) environments have evolved over a series of course sequences and are used both as tool environments for group-process support and as the product environment of the project work itself. In particular we describe the use of specific Web-embedded shared workspace, communication-management and evaluation tools and their contribution to the management and educational value of group-based project work. The integration of instructional principles and strategies with the Web-based tools is also of particular importance. The 1996-97 versions of the courses analysed in this article can be found at http://www.to.utwente.nl/ism/ism1-96/home.htm for the first-year course in educational media design, and at www.edu.cs.utwente.nl/~aitnlpbg/, for the first-year course in applications of information technology. Both courses, at the University of Twente, use group-based project work as a major organizational form, but integrate all aspects of the courses within cohesive Web environments

Riley v. Northern Commercial: Commercial Rationale Triumphs Over Statutory Interpretation

Earlier studies point at that the notion of working in a project brings with it expectations on several aspects of the work situation, expectations that are institutionally given by project theory and practice and re-constructed by the project workers in interaction. At the same time, working by projects and re-constructing organisational and institutional norms on how projects should be, they also successively constructed an image of themselves in relation to these norms. This points at that not only are individuals reinforcing established notions on project work while working by projects – they also at the same time construct their own identities, reinforcing notions about themselves as professional, committed and structured enough to endure the hardships of project work. In other words, a project is here seen as a process of co-construction of the project form and of project worker professional identity. In this paper, we will thus analyse how people in project-based operations socially construct projects and individual identities – i.e. what happens when something is labelled a project and/or a project-based firm. The analysis of the interviews from two theatres indicates that projects and project-based operations are co-constructed with individual identities in several ways simultaneously,  hrough discourses that may look internally consistent but not always easy to combine with each other. Even though most producers, directors and stage managers at the two theatres are most familiar with Gantt charts, project goal structures etc, they are not actively promoting Project Management as a distinct competence of neither themselves nor the organization. What they do promote is still a modernist notion of professionalism that is closely linked to the project form of work organization. What is co-constructed is a system of inter-subjectively held beliefs linking organizational poverty, legitimacy and success to individual identification with what are highstandard artistry, organizational loyalty and self-fulfilment. The single projects become arenas and critical incidents for such co-construction, for yet another confirmation of the current development or for experimenting with other forms for theatre production project work.QC 20111130</p

Managing Knowledge in Project Environments

Projects ought to be vehicles for both practical benefits and organizational learning. However, if an organization is designed for the long term, a project exists only for its duration. Project-based organizations face an awkward dilemma: the project-centric nature of their work makes knowledge management, hence learning, difficult

Supervision and Early Career Work Experiences of Estonian Humanities Researchers under the Conditions of Project-based Funding

We analyze a series of interviews with Estonian humanities researchers to explore topics related to the beginning of academic careers and the relationships with supervisors and mentors. We show how researchers strive to have meaningful relationships and produce what they consider quality research in the conditions of a system that is very strongly oriented towards internationalization and project-based funding, where their efforts are compromised by a lack of policies helping them establish a stable position in academia. Leaving researchers to face these obstacles alone places a great burden on them and may lead to a loss of talent in academia. Identifying and addressing these issues is thus important for both the well-being of early career researchers and the future of academia

RWU Students Continue Success in Student Advertising Competition

Interdisciplinary team scores second-place win for project-based course work

Impact of anaerobic digestion and centrifugation/decanting processes in bacterial communities fractions

The work upon which this paper is based on was co-financed by COGERSA, S.A.U. (Projects FUO-EM-138-15, FUO-139-16), IDEPA (Project IDE/2015/000245), Spanish MINECO (Project CTM2015-63864-R) and FEDER funds from European Union. Technical assistance from the Scientific-Technical Services of the University of Oviedo is gratefully acknowledged