An Examination of the Perceived Importance and Skills Related to Policies and Policy Making Among State Public Health Injury Prevention Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Liller, Karen D; Chapple-McGruder, Theresa; Castrucci, Brian; Wingate, Martha Slay; Hilson, Renata; Mendez, Dara; Cilenti, Dorothy; Raskind, Ilana

The purpose of this research is to use the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey to assess in greater detail state injury prevention staff perceptions of policy development and related skills and their awareness and perception of "Health in All Policies" (HiAP). The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey gauged public health practitioners' perspectives on workplace environment, job satisfaction, national trends, and training needs, and gathered demographics on the workforce. This study utilizes data from the state health agency frame only, focusing solely on those permanently employed, central office staff in injury prevention. Respondents were sampled from 5 paired Health and Human Services regions. Approximately 25 000 invitations were sent to central office employees. The response rate was 46% (n = 10 246). The analysis in this article includes only injury prevention employees with programmatic roles, excluding clerical and custodial staff, providing us with a total of 97 respondents. When weighted, this resulted in a weighted population size of 365 injury prevention workers. The main outcome measures include demographics, responses to understanding of and skill levels related to policy development, and perceptions of HiAP public health trend. State injury prevention workers reported lower policy-making skill but had an overall appreciation of the importance of policies. In general, state injury prevention workers heard of HiAP, thought there should be more emphasis on it, but did not think that HiAP would have an impact on their day-to-day work. Efforts are needed for all state injury prevention workers to become better skilled in policy development, implementation, and evaluation in order to become stronger injury prevention advocates and role models.

Suicide Intervention Training for College Staff: Program Evaluation and Intervention Skill Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Shannonhouse, Laura; Lin, Yung-Wei Dennis; Shaw, Kelly; Wanna, Reema; Porter, Michael

2017-01-01

Objective: Suicide remains a pressing issue for college communities. Consequently, gatekeeper trainings are often provided for staff. This study examines the effect of one such program, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). Participants: 51 college employees received ASIST in August of 2014 and were compared to 30 wait-list control…

Evaluating the Use of Behavioral Skills Training to Improve School Staffs' Implementation of Behavior Intervention Plans

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Hogan, Ashley; Knez, Nikki; Kahng, SungWoo

2015-01-01

Variations of behavioral skills training (BST) have been used to teach behaviorally oriented skills such as discrete trial teaching, guided compliance, the implementation of the picture exchange system, and safe guarding students with physical disabilities. One area that has not received much attention is evaluating school staff's correct…

The Client Company Marginally Utilises the Knowledge of Highly Skilled Temporary Staff

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Augustsson, Gunnar

2016-01-01

This study is based on the presumption that there is often an underuse of temporary staff in client companies (CC) with highly skilled professionals. The study combines theories of the flexible organisation and a sociocultural perspective on learning within the framework of an inter-organisational context. The data are based partly on 17…

Enhancing Training of Staff of the Agricultural Development

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF. MADUKWE

Effective Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria. Wahab, A. A. 1 ... from Annual Performance Survey (APS) report of NAERLS and NPAFS between ... strengthen the staff's skills, increase productivity and achieve higher organizational .... Production & processing. 2 .... technology and sourcing .... industry used for.

Staff and students' perceptions and experiences of teaching and assessment in Clinical Skills Laboratories: interview findings from a multiple case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Houghton, Catherine E; Casey, Dympna; Shaw, David; Murphy, Kathy

2012-08-01

The Clinical Skills Laboratory has become an essential structure in nurse education and several benefits of its use have been identified. However, the literature identifies the need to examine the transferability of skills learned there into the reality of practice. This research explored the role of the Clinical Skills Laboratory in preparing nursing students for the real world of practice. This paper focuses specifically on the perceptions of the teaching and assessment strategies employed there. Qualitative multiple case study design. Five case study sites. Interviewees (n=58) included academic staff, clinical staff and nursing students. Semi-structured interviews. The Clinical Skills Laboratory can provide a pathway to practice and its authenticity is significant. Teaching strategies need to incorporate communication as well as psychomotor skills. Including audio-visual recording into assessment strategies is beneficial. Effective relationships between education institutions and clinical settings are needed to enhance the transferability of the skills learned. The Clinical Skills Laboratory should provide an authentic learning environment, with the appropriate use of teaching strategies. It is crucial that effective links between educators and clinical staff are established and maintained. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Care and caring in the intensive care unit: Family members' distress and perceptions about staff skills, communication, and emotional support.

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Carlson, Eve B; Spain, David A; Muhtadie, Luma; McDade-Montez, Liz; Macia, Kathryn S

2015-06-01

Family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are sometimes highly distressed and report lower satisfaction with communication and emotional support from staff. Within a study of emotional responses to traumatic stress, associations between family distress and satisfaction with aspects of ICU care were investigated. In 29 family members of trauma patients who stayed in an ICU, we assessed symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during ICU care. Later, family members rated staff communication, support, and skills and their overall satisfaction with ICU care. Ratings of staff competence and skills were significantly higher than ratings of frequency of communication, information needs being met, and support. Frequency of communication and information needs being met were strongly related to ratings of support (rs = .75-.77) and staff skills (rs = .77-.85), and aspects of satisfaction and communication showed negative relationships with symptoms of depression (rs = -.31 to -.55) and PTSD (rs = -.17 to -.43). Although satisfaction was fairly high, family member distress was negatively associated with several satisfaction variables. Increased understanding of the effects of traumatic stress on family members may help staff improve communication and increase satisfaction of highly distressed family members. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Role of Live Video Capture Production in the Development of Student Communication Skills

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O'Donoghue, Michael; Cochrane, Tom A.

2010-01-01

Civil and natural resources engineering students at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, take specific courses requiring small group research projects and the presentation of findings to staff and peers. Although one of the aims of these presentations is to assist in the development of the students' communication skills, staff have raised…

Development of a supervisory skills course for hospital pharmacy workplaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Woloschuk, Donna M M; Raymond, Colette B

2010-07-01

Many Canadian hospital pharmacies are experiencing difficulties recruiting supervisory personnel. It was expected that, through a "learning-by-doing" course, pharmacy staff would learn to apply basic skills in the day-to-day supervision of pharmacy operations and human resources and to apply the principles of supervisory documentation. A supervisory skills course targeted to pharmacy staff members was developed and implemented by the pharmacy department of a large urban health region. The course was initially offered to practising pharmacy technicians. The course design emphasized a constructivist framework incorporating authentic learning and reflective practice during seminars, with experiential and self-directed learning in the workplace. Preceptors assisted learners to achieve the course goals. Learners and preceptors provided feedback about hours spent (as the course progressed) and about their satisfaction with the course itself (at the end of the course). Learners and preceptors completed a post-program evaluation 2 months after completing the course to help in the assessment of the transfer of learning (lasting impact) associated with the course. Overall performance in the course was assessed on a pass/fail basis. Eighteen pharmacy technicians were admitted to the program, but one withdrew because of a job change. All learners successfully completed the course. Two months after the course, learners and preceptors described enhanced organization, time management, leadership, communication, and conflict-resolution skills on the part of learners, as well as their increased confidence, maturity, and ability to supervise staff. Learners' evaluations revealed a broadened perspective of pharmacy. The preceptors valued the enhancement of learners' skills and their increased enthusiasm. At the time of writing, 6 of the participants had secured supervisory positions. Creating formal instruction that engages pharmacy staff to pursue management positions is challenging

Training Emotional Intelligence Related to Treatment Skills of Staff Working with Clients with Intellectual Disabilities and Challenging Behaviour

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Zijlmans, L. J. M.; Embregts, P. J. C. M.; Gerits, L.; Bosman, A. M. T.; Derksen, J. J. L.

2011-01-01

Background: Staff working with clients with intellectual disabilities (ID) who display challenging behaviour may contribute to the continuation of this behaviour, because it causes emotional reactions such as anxiety, anger and annoyance, which may prohibit adequate response behaviour. To enhance staff behaviour and treatment skills a training…

Sense of competence in dementia care staff (SCIDS) scale: development, reliability, and validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Schepers, Astrid Kristine; Orrell, Martin; Shanahan, Niamh; Spector, Aimee

2012-07-01

Sense of competence in dementia care staff (SCIDS) may be associated with more positive attitudes to dementia among care staff and better outcomes for those being cared for. There is a need for a reliable and valid measure of sense of competence specific to dementia care staff. This study describes the development and evaluation of a measure to assess "sense of competence" in dementia care staff and reports on its psychometric properties. The systematic measure development process involved care staff and experts. For item selection and assessment of psychometric properties, a pilot study (N = 37) and a large-scale study (N = 211) with a test-retest reliability (N = 58) sub-study were undertaken. The final measure consists of 17 items across four subscales with acceptable to good internal consistency and moderate to substantial test-retest reliability. As predicted, the measure was positively associated with work experience, job satisfaction, and person-centered approaches to dementia care, giving a first indication for its validity. The SCIDS scale provides a useful and user-friendly means of measuring sense of competence in care staff. It has been developed using a robust process and has adequate psychometric properties. Further exploration of the construct and the scale's validity is warranted. It may be useful to assess the impact of training and perceived abilities and skills in dementia care.

Skills Development for Poverty Reduction (SDPR): The Case of Tajikistan

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Wallenborn, Manfred

2009-01-01

Vocational education and training (VET) can contribute to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. A key to economic and social progress is the training of better-qualified individuals and skilled enterprise staff who will be more productive, improving goods, increasing incomes and adapting to changing markets. Experts…

Identifying needs to develop a PBL staff development program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prarthana Coffin

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Staff development is a crucial element for educational intervention. Recognizing the importance of staff development, this study aims to pin-point suitable methodologies in developing a Problem-Based Learning (PBL academic staff development program for a higher education institute where PBL has become an intervention alternative. The study aims to answer the following research questions 1 how can university academic staff be assisted to acquire pedagogical competences for an initiative of the implementation of PBL curriculum? 2 What kinds of support do university academic staff need in order to maintain PBL implementation? Through a combination of a literature review, interviews with 6 PBL experts which emphasize the importance of PBL facilitators, and document analysis of reflection notes from 18 trainees of a PBL workshop, this study will produce a guideline in developing a PBL Academic Staff Development Program for an institute wishes to implement and retain PBL as the education strategy.

Assessing and developing critical-thinking skills in the intensive care unit.

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Swinny, Betsy

2010-01-01

A lot of resources are spent on the development of new staff in the intensive care unit (ICU). These resources are necessary because the environment in the ICU is complex and the patients are critically ill. Nurses need an advanced knowledge base, the ability to accurately define and change priorities rapidly, good communication and teamwork skills, and the ability to work in a stressful environment in order to succeed and give their patients quality care. Critical thinking helps the nurse to navigate the complex and stressful environment of the ICU. Critical thinking includes more than just nursing knowledge. It includes the ability to think through complex, multifaceted problems to anticipate needs, recognize potential and actual complications, and to expertly communicate with the team. A nurse who is able to think critically will give better patient care. Various strategies can be used to develop critical thinking in ICU nurses. Nurse leaders are encouraged to support the development of critical-thinking skills in less experienced staff with the goal of improving the nurse's ability to work in the ICU and improving patient outcomes.

Institutionalizing Staff Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Shawl, William F.

Three years ago, Golden West College (GWC) decided to make a major commitment to staff development as a means of revitalizing the college. This commitment was evidenced through the creation of the position of Dean of Educational Development, who is responsible solely for serving faculty needs; the Educational Development Center, which houses the…

Experience from the development of Point Lepreau's training program for technical support staff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, S.; Scott, K.

2007-01-01

The Training Department at the Point Lepreau GS has been developing and improving its training for technical support staff. A generic set of objectives are being used as the basis for a systematic approach to training. The program covers general and job specific knowledge and skills using a mix of classroom instruction, mentoring and continuing training seminars. This paper describes experience, success and the challenges in the development, delivery and evaluation of the training program. (author)

Arts-based palliative care training, education and staff development: A scoping review.

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Turton, Benjamin Mark; Williams, Sion; Burton, Christopher R; Williams, Lynne

2018-02-01

The experience of art offers an emerging field in healthcare staff development, much of which is appropriate to the practice of palliative care. The workings of aesthetic learning interventions such as interactive theatre in relation to palliative and end-of-life care staff development programmes are widely uncharted. To investigate the use of aesthetic learning interventions used in palliative and end-of-life care staff development programmes. Scoping review. Published literature from 1997 to 2015, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, key journals and citation tracking. The review included 138 studies containing 60 types of art. Studies explored palliative care scenarios from a safe distance. Learning from art as experience involved the amalgamation of action, emotion and meaning. Art forms were used to transport healthcare professionals into an aesthetic learning experience that could be reflected in the lived experience of healthcare practice. The proposed learning included the development of practical and technical skills; empathy and compassion; awareness of self; awareness of others and the wider narrative of illness; and personal development. Aesthetic learning interventions might be helpful in the delivery of palliative care staff development programmes by offering another dimension to the learning experience. As researchers continue to find solutions to understanding the efficacy of such interventions, we argue that evaluating the contextual factors, including the interplay between the experience of the programme and its impact on the healthcare professional, will help identify how the programmes work and thus how they can contribute to improvements in palliative care.

Development and Evaluation of a Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Hong Kong Community Social Service Agency Staff.

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Zhou, Qianling; Stewart, Sunita M; Wan, Alice; Leung, Charles Sai-Cheong; Lai, Agnes Y; Lam, Tai Hing; Chan, Sophia Siu-Chee

2017-01-01

Capacity building approaches are useful in large-scale community-based health promotion interventions. However, models to guide and evaluate capacity building among social service agency staff in community settings are rare in the literature. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a 1-day (7 h) train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop for the "Enhancing Family Well-Being Project". The workshop aimed at equipping staff from different community agencies with the knowledge and skills to design, implement, and evaluate positive psychology-based interventions for their clients in Sham Shui Po, an over-crowded and low-income district in Hong Kong. The current TTT extended and improved on our previous successful model by adding research and evaluation methods (including the Logic Model, process evaluation, and randomized controlled trial), which are important to plan and evaluate the community interventions. Evaluation of the TTT was guided by the Integrated Model of Training Evaluation and Effectiveness (IMTEE), with quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data were collected from pretraining (T1), post-training (T2), and 6-month (T3) and 12-month (T4) follow-up surveys. Qualitative data were collected from four focus groups of agency staff after the intervention. Ninety-three staff from 30 community agencies attended the training, and 90 completed the baseline survey. Eighty-eight, 63, and 57 staff performed the evaluations at T2, T3, and T4, respectively. Agency staff were satisfied with the TTT. Immediate enhancement of knowledge, self-efficacy, and positive attitudes toward the training content was found at T2 (Cohen's d ranged from 0.24 to 1.22, all p  agency staff, and delivered to 1,586 participants. The agency staff indicated their intention to utilize the skills they had learned for other interventions (score ≥4 out of 6) and to share these skills with their colleagues. Qualitative feedbacks from 23 agency staff supported the

Training teachers to teach mental health skills to staff in primary care settings in a vast, under-populated area.

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Goldberg, D P; Gask, L; Zakroyeva, A; Proselkova, E; Ryzhkova, N; Williams, P

2012-12-01

Background The Arkhangelsk Oblast is an area the size of France with a sparsely distributed population. The existing primary care staff have had very little training in the management of mental health disorders, despite the frequency of these disorders in the population. They requested special teaching on depression, suicide, somatisation and alcohol problems. Methods An educational intervention was developed in partnership with mental health and primary care staff in Russia, to develop mental health skills using established, evidence-based methods. After a preliminary demonstration of teaching methods to be employed, a 5-day full-time teaching course was offered to trainers of general practitioners and feldshers. Results The findings are presented by providing details of improvements that occurred over a 3-month period in four areas, namely depression in primary care, somatic presentations of distress, dealing with suicidal patients, and alcohol problems. We present preliminary data on how the training has generalised since our visits to Archangelsk. Conclusions Teachers who are used to teaching by didactic lectures can be taught the value of short introductory talks that invite discussion, and mental health skills can be taught using role play. The content of such training should be driven by perceived local needs, and developed in conjunction with local leaders and teachers within primary care services. Further research will be needed to establish the impact on clinical outcomes.

Effectiveness of behavioral skills training on staff performance in a job training setting for high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Palmen, A.M.J.W.; Didden, H.C.M.; Korzilius, H.P.L.M.

2010-01-01

Few studies have focused on improving staff performance in naturalistic training settings for high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Behavioral skills training, consisting of group instruction and supervisory feedback, was used to improve staff performance on (a) providing

Ameliorating Patient Stigma Amongst Staff Working With Personality Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial of Self-Management Versus Skills Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Sue; Taylor, Georgina; Bolderston, Helen; Lancaster, Joanna; Remington, Bob

2015-11-01

Patients diagnosed with a personality disorder (PD) are often stigmatized by the healthcare staff who treat them. This study aimed to compare the impact on front-line staff of a self-management Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based training intervention (ACTr) with a knowledge- and skills-based Dialectical Behaviour Training intervention (DBTr). A service-based randomized controlled trial was conducted comparing the effects of 2-day ACTr (N = 53) and DBTr (N = 47) staff workshops over 6 months. Primary outcome measures were staff attitudes towards patients and staff-patient relationships. For both interventions, staff attitudes, therapeutic relationship, and social distancing all improved pre- to postintervention, and these changes were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Although offering different resources to staff, both ACTr and DBTr were associated with an improved disposition towards PD patients. Future research could evaluate a combined approach, both for staff working with PD patients and those working with other stigmatized groups.

Developing nurse leaders: a program enhancing staff nurse leadership skills and professionalism.

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Pauline J

2011-01-01

This study aims to determine whether participation in the Nursing Leadership Perspectives Program (NLPP) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, produced a change in leadership skills, increased professional activities, leadership promotion, and retention rates of participants. The NLPP is an educational program designed to enhance leadership skills and promote professionalism of registered nurses. The 6-month program provides participants with theoretical knowledge, core competencies, and opportunities to practice application of leadership skills. Outcome metrics were collected from registered nurses who completed the program (n = 15). Data analysis included descriptive and nonparametric methods. Participants reported statistically significant changes in their leadership skills after participation in the program (P = .007) on the Leadership Practices Inventory. Changes in professional behavior were also statistically significant as rated by the Nursing Activity Scale (P = .001). Participants demonstrated a change in leadership skills and professional behavior following the program.

Maximizing competence through professional development: increasing disability knowledge among One-Stop Career Center staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Allison Cohen; Timmons, Jaimie Ciulla; Boeltzig, Heike; Hamner, Doris; Fesko, Sheila

2006-01-01

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (USA) mandates that partners in the One-Stop Career Center system be prepared to serve a diverse customer base. Effective service delivery depends in part on a focus on human resources and professional development. This article presents innovative strategies for One-Stop Career Center staff training related to serving customers with disabilities. Findings from case study research conducted in several One-Stops across the country revealed that staff struggled with both knowledge and attitudes around disability issues. To address these concerns, local leaders developed practices that provided opportunities to gain practical skills and put acquired knowledge to use. These included a formalized curriculum focused on disability issues; informal support and consultation from a disability specialist; and exposure and learning through internships for students with disabilities. Implications are offered to stimulate thinking and creativity in local One-Stops regarding the most effective ways to facilitate staff learning and, in turn, improve services for customers with disabilities.

Instructional skills evaluation in nuclear industry training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazour, T.J.; Ball, F.M.

1985-11-01

This report provides information to nuclear power plant training managers and their staffs concerning the job performance requirements of instructional personnel to implement prformance-based training programs (also referred to as the Systems Approach Training). The information presented in this report is a compilation of information and lessons learned in the nuclear power industry and in other industries using performance-based training programs. The job performance requirements in this report are presented as instructional skills objectives. The process used to develop the instructional skills objectives is described. Each objective includes an Instructional Skills Statement describing the behavior that is expected and an Instructional Skills Standard describing the skills/knowledge that the individual should possess in order to have achieved mastery. The instructional skills objectives are organized according to the essential elements of the Systems Approach to Training and are cross-referenced to three categories of instructional personnel: developers of instruction, instructors, and instructional managers/supervisors. Use of the instructional skills objectives is demonstrated for reviewing instructional staff training and qualification programs, developing criterion-tests, and reviewing the performance and work products of individual staff members. 22 refs

Mapping Staff Competencies for Information Literacy Interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila Corrall

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Information literacy (IL is a key strategic objective for academic libraries. Many academic librarians are involved in designing, developing and delivering IL programmes, using both classroom teaching and e-learning methods. IL has also become a priority at institutional level and some universities and colleges have formal policies and strategies to integrate and embed IL in the curriculum. IL interventions also happen informally at enquiry points and reference desks, when queries offer ‘teachable moments’ for library staff to help students develop information skills and understanding while solving their information problems. Research shows that such instruction features strongly in both face-to-face and virtual reference transactions, but few IL policies and strategies cover this frontline personalised IL support. Similarly, most discussion of staff training and development for IL education has centred on the teaching roles and pedagogical knowledge of professional librarians, with limited discussion of the competencies needed for frontline interventions by paraprofessionals or assistants. This workshop promotes an inclusive holistic model of IL education and library workforce development. It will investigate the skills and knowledge needed by frontline staff to contribute effectively to the IL mission of academic libraries. It will focus on the learning support needed by students from different educational, social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, with particular reference to postgraduate students, as a group typifying this diversity. The facilitator will review IL interventions and library staff competencies discussed in the literature. Participants will discuss typical queries or problems presented by different categories of postgraduate students and then identify the skills, knowledge and understanding required by frontline staff to provide an appropriate service response. The skillsets identified will be compared with those of teaching

Simulated parents: developing paediatric trainees' skills in giving bad news.

Science.gov (United States)

Gough, Jenny K; Frydenberg, Alexis R; Donath, Susan K; Marks, Michael M

2009-03-01

In curriculum documents for medicine in undergraduate, post-graduate and continuing professional development, there is now a focus on communication skills. The challenges are to place communication skills in the crowded curriculum and then to construct and sustain a programme that uses an evidence-based approach to the teaching and learning of communication skills. For 6 years, we have conducted a programme that involves simulated parents supporting junior medical staff to refine their skills in communication, particularly in giving parents bad news. The aim of our study was to obtain a better understanding of the trainees' experiences of the programme. Nine junior residents individually worked through two scenarios and received feedback from the simulated parent. They gave bad news to a simulated parent/actor who then gave feedback. A recording of the simulation was provided for discussion with a designated colleague at an arranged time. The tapes were then separately appraised by two independent raters - another actor and a paediatrician. Brief written reports and conducted semi-structured interviews provided more insights into the trainees' experience of the simulation. Other participating medical/medical education staff were interviewed about the simulation programme. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data: timeliness, emotional safety, the complexity of communication, practical usefulness and the challenge of effecting change. In addition, the ratings of the videos helped to clarify those 'parent-centred' communication skills that trainees may neglect in difficult conversations: 'ask about support', 'encourage the parent to ask questions' and 'repeat key messages'. The evaluation highlighted the value of an early-career experiential programme to highlight the importance of communication skills in post-graduate paediatrics practice.

An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between the Big-Five Personality Dimensions and Political Skills with Military Staff Members’ Perceived Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia Ohlsson

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose was to explore the relationship and mediation effects between the Big Five personality dimensions, and political skill with military staff members’ perceived performance. The sample included 185 Armed Forces International staff members from several military education facilities. The results indicated that the PSI and several personality dimensions were positively correlated with individuals’ perceived performance. In addition, the personality dimension Conscientiousness acted as a statistically significant mediator between an individual’s use of political skills and their perceived performance. Practical considerations and future research directions are suggested.

S urvey on the Communication Skills that the College Students of School of Physical Education and Sports Perceived from the Teaching Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serkan HACICAFEROĞLU

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine level of com munication skills perceived by college students of School of Physical Education and Sports (PES from teaching staff. The sample of the study, conducted by using screening model, consisted of 633 PES college students. Research data were collected by “Asses sment Scale for Communication Skills ” . Arithmetic mean, t - test, one - way variance analysis (ANOVA and Tukey test were used in the study. Consequently, it is determined that students in the sample perceived positive communication skills from teaching staff at moderate - level. It is observed that, except variable of respect dimension in the department where they receive education, there wasn’t any statistically significant difference in the students' gender variable with respect to the dimension of the democra tic attitude, whereas there were significant differences in all lower dimensions according to the class variable. It is also concluded that college students of coaching and management department perceived more communication skills from the teaching staff c ompared to the students of teaching department in respect dimension, and freshmen and the sophomores perceived more communication skills positively with more points compared to the other college students with respect to the dimensions of respect, expressio n, values , motivation and democratic attitude.

New Roles, New Responsibilities: Examining Training Needs of Repository Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natasha Simons

2012-05-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Institutional repositories play a critical role in the research lifecycle. Funding agencies are increasingly seeking an improved return on their investment in research. Repositories facilitate this process by providing storage of, and access to, institutional research outputs and, more recently, research data. While repositories are generally managed within the academic library, repository staff require different skills and knowledge compared with traditional library roles. This study reports on a survey of Australasian institutional repository staff to identify skills and knowledge sets. METHODS Institutional repository staff working at universities in Australia and New Zealand were invited to participate in an online survey which incorporated both open and closed-ended question types. RESULTS The survey found significant gaps in the current provision of formal training and coursework related to institutional repositories, which echoed findings in the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States. DISCUSSION There is clearly a need for more and varied training opportunities for repository professionals. Repository work requires a specific set of skills that can be difficult to find and institutions will benefit from investing in training and ongoing development opportunities for repository staff. CONCLUSION The data from this study could be used to facilitate staff recruitment, development, training, and retention strategies.

Restructure Staff Development for Systemic Change

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Thomas F.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a systems approach based on the work of W. Edwards Deming to system wide, high impact staff development. Deming has pointed out the significance of structure in systems. By restructuring the process of staff development we can bring about cost effective improvement of the whole system. We can improve student achievement while…

Research Staff | Wind | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the wind power research team and staff at NREL. Name Position Email Phone Anstedt, Sheri Professional III-Writer/Editor /Web Content Sheri.Anstedt@nrel.gov 303-275-3255 Baker, Donald Research Technician V-Electrical

Training Staff for Multicultural Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennison, Judith A.

1991-01-01

Discusses guidelines for training staff in multicultural camp communities. Includes developing an awareness and acceptance of cultural differences, self-awareness, an understanding of the "dynamics of differences," knowledge of the camper's culture, and adaptation of skills. Addresses the importance of integrating multicultural education goals…

Staff Development Redesigned.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Linda

1988-01-01

Contends that staff development, supposedly designed to assist teachers, has instead colluded with forces to continue their colonization. Since teachers are not taking charge of their profession and participating actively in educational change, certain actions must be taken to lighten their nonprofessional workload and to build a professional…

Rational-Emotive Staff Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Forman, Susan G.; Forman, Bruce D.

1980-01-01

The application of Rational-Emotive Therapy principles and techniques in in-service education for school personnel is discussed. Teacher and counselor participation in a staff development program is described. (Author)

Assessing communication skills in dietetic consultations: the development of the reliable and valid DIET-COMMS tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, K A; Langley-Evans, S C; Tischler, V A; Swift, J A

2014-04-01

There is an increasing emphasis on the development of communication skills for dietitians but few evidence-based assessment tools available. The present study aimed to develop a dietetic-specific, short, reliable and valid assessment tool for measuring communication skills in patient consultations: DIET-COMMS. A literature review and feedback from 15 qualified dietitians were used to establish face and content validity during the development of DIET-COMMS. In total, 113 dietetic students and qualified dietitians were video-recorded undertaking mock consultations, assessed using DIET-COMMS by the lead author, and used to establish intra-rater reliability, as well as construct and predictive validity. Twenty recorded consultations were reassessed by nine qualified dietitians to assess inter-rater reliability: eight of these assessors were interviewed to determine user evaluation. Significant improvements in DIET-COMMS scores were achieved as students and qualified staff progressed through their training and gained experience, demonstrating construct validity, and also by qualified staff attending a training course, indicating predictive validity (P skills in practice was questioned. DIET-COMMS is a short, user-friendly, reliable and valid tool for measuring communication skills in patient consultations with both pre- and post-registration dietitians. Additional work is required to develop a training package for assessors and to identify how DIET-COMMS assessment can acceptably be incorporated into practice. © 2013 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Knowledge, perceived skills and activities of nursing staff to support oral home care among older domiciliary care clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmi, Riikka; Tolvanen, Mimmi; Suhonen, Riitta; Lahti, Satu; Närhi, Timo

2018-04-25

Increasing number of older adults lives in their own homes, but needs help in many daily routines. Domiciliary care nursing staff (DCNS) is often needed to support oral home care. However, information of nursing staff's knowledge, skills and activity in this task is sparse. The study aimed to assess DCNS knowledge, perceived skills and activities to support oral home care of older domiciliary care clients. The study was conducted among DCNS in one of the largest cities in Finland. All DCNS members (n = 465) received a questionnaire with 14 multiple choice and open questions regarding the perceived skills, knowledge and activities of oral health guidance of older domiciliary care clients. In total, 115 (25%) DCNS members returned the questionnaires. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were used to describe the samples and study variables. DCNS was categorised according to age and working years for group comparisons, which were assessed with chi-squared test. Knowledge concerning oral health was mostly on a high level. Around 50% of DCNS considered their knowledge regarding dental prosthesis hygiene as sufficient. Of the DCNS, 67% informed that they had received education on oral health care. However, over 50% of the DCNS had a need for further education in issues related to oral home care. DCNS were active in supporting most oral and prosthesis hygiene means, yet less in guidance concerning toothbrushing. Activity to support cleaning the interdental spaces was the weakest, in which only 12% of the respondents considered having average or excellent skills. Younger DCNS had better knowledge on oral home care due to recent education, but older staff members were more skilful in performing oral hygiene measures. There is a need for structured instructions and training on oral home care for DCNS. Oral home care should be taken into account more often and regularly. © 2018 Nordic College of Caring Science.

The transition from staff nurse to ward leader.

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Caroline; Al-Sadoon, Tara; Hemmings, Laura; Jackson, Karen; Mulligan, Paul

Moving from the staff nurse to ward sister role involves acquiring a range of skills to lead and motivate a team and ensure standards of care are high. Recognising new ward sisters' need for support, a trust developed a training programme to enable them to develop the necessary skills and provide mutual support. This article discusses the development of the programme and offers the reflections of three ward sisters who participated in it.

Academic Staff Development and Output in State Universities in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Data were collected from a sample of 402 academic staff. ... staff development and the productivity of academic staff in terms of research, teaching and community service. ... Keywords: Academic staff development; Performance management; Nigeria ... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL ...

Research Staff | Water Power | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the water power research team and staff at NREL. Name Position Email Phone Anstedt, Sheri Professional III-Writer /Editor/Web Content Sheri.Anstedt@nrel.gov 303-275-3255 Baker, Donald Research Technician V-Electrical

An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between the Big-Five Personality Dimensions and Political Skills with Military Staff Members’ Perceived Performance

OpenAIRE

Alicia Ohlsson; Rhino Bandelitz Johansen; Gerry Larsson

2017-01-01

The purpose was to explore the relationship and mediation effects between the Big Five personality dimensions, and political skill with military staff members’ perceived performance. The sample included 185 Armed Forces International staff members from several military education facilities. The results indicated that the PSI and several personality dimensions were positively correlated with individuals’ perceived performance. In addition, the personality dimension Conscientiousness acted as a...

Development of a tool to support holistic generic assessment of clinical procedure skills.

Science.gov (United States)

McKinley, Robert K; Strand, Janice; Gray, Tracey; Schuwirth, Lambert; Alun-Jones, Tom; Miller, Helen

2008-06-01

The challenges of maintaining comprehensive banks of valid checklists make context-specific checklists for assessment of clinical procedural skills problematic. This paper reports the development of a tool which supports generic holistic assessment of clinical procedural skills. We carried out a literature review, focus groups and non-participant observation of assessments with interview of participants, participant evaluation of a pilot objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), a national modified Delphi study with prior definitions of consensus and an OSCE. Participants were volunteers from a large acute teaching trust, a teaching primary care trust and a national sample of National Health Service staff. Results In total, 86 students, trainees and staff took part in the focus groups, observation of assessments and pilot OSCE, 252 in the Delphi study and 46 candidates and 50 assessors in the final OSCE. We developed a prototype tool with 5 broad categories amongst which were distributed 38 component competencies. There was > 70% agreement (our prior definition of consensus) at the first round of the Delphi study for inclusion of all categories and themes and no consensus for inclusion of additional categories or themes. Generalisability was 0.76. An OSCE based on the instrument has a predicted reliability of 0.79 with 12 stations and 1 assessor per station or 10 stations and 2 assessors per station. This clinical procedural skills assessment tool enables reliable assessment and has content and face validity for the assessment of clinical procedural skills. We have designated it the Leicester Clinical Procedure Assessment Tool (LCAT).

Training to raise staff awareness about safeguarding children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Jane

2015-04-01

To improve outcomes for children and young people health organisations are required to train all staff in children's safeguarding. This creates difficulties for large complex organisations where most staff provide services to the adult population. Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust is a large acute and community trust that had difficulties in engaging staff in children's safeguarding training. Compliance rates for clinical staff who were trained in children's safeguarding were low and needed to be addressed. This article sets out why safeguarding training is important for all staff and how the trust achieved staff engagement and improved compliance rates. To evaluate, maintain and develop safeguarding knowledge, understanding, skills, attitude and behaviour further resources are planned to allow access to learning resources in a variety of formats.

International networking and staff development EU-style: Cardiff University's library service and the Erasmus staff mobility scheme

OpenAIRE

Härkönen, Sonja

2010-01-01

Staff development and international networking have always been highly valued in Cardiff University’s library service. We have a strong staff development programme and pilot new ways of training and motivating our staff, for example through job rotation and shadowing. Increasingly over the last few years, we have developed links with colleagues abroad and have had the pleasure of hosting a variety of international visitors. In response to enquiries for staff training we have recently set up t...

Staff Considerations in Technical Services: The Chameleon Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Constance L.

1988-01-01

Discusses the need to cope effectively with technological transitions in library technical services and to plan for successful staff development. The areas discussed include changing job skills, financial planning, ergonomics, innovative partnerships, training, and an emphasis on human resources development. (21 references) (Author/CLB)

Integration of Staff Development and Research: Description of the Staff Development Project in Progress for the School Year 1975-1976. Technical Report #62.

Science.gov (United States)

Speidel, Gisela E.

This report from the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) describes the 1975-76 KEEP staff development program, which was designed to integrate staff development and research. Specific purposes of the program were: (1) to develop the abilities of the teaching staff in teaching, consultation, and research; (2) to conduct pilot research in…

Development of a 2-h suicide prevention program for medical staff including nurses and medical residents: A two-center pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagami, Yukako; Kubo, Hiroaki; Katsuki, Ryoko; Sakai, Tomomichi; Sugihara, Genichi; Naito, Chisako; Oda, Hiroyuki; Hayakawa, Kohei; Suzuki, Yuriko; Fujisawa, Daisuke; Hashimoto, Naoki; Kobara, Keiji; Cho, Tetsuji; Kuga, Hironori; Takao, Kiyoshi; Kawahara, Yoko; Matsumura, Yumi; Murai, Toshiya; Akashi, Koichi; Kanba, Shigenobu; Otsuka, Kotaro; Kato, Takahiro A

2018-01-01

Suicide is a crucial global health concern and effective suicide prevention has long been warranted. Mental illness, especially depression is the highest risk factor of suicide. Suicidal risk is increased in people not only with mental illness but also with physical illnesses, thus medical staff caring for physically-ill patients are also required to manage people with suicidal risk. In the present study, we evaluated our newly developed suicide intervention program among medical staff. We developed a 2-h suicide intervention program for medical staff, based on the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), which had originally been developed for the general population. We conducted this program for 74 medical staff members from 2 hospitals. Changes in knowledge, perceived skills, and confidence in early intervention of depression and suicide-prevention were evaluated using self-reported questionnaires at 3 points; pre-program, immediately after the program, and 1 month after program. This suicide prevention program had significant effects on improving perceived skills and confidence especially among nurses and medical residents. These significant effects lasted even 1 month after the program. Design was a single-arm study with relatively small sample size and short-term follow up. The present study suggests that the major target of this effective program is nurses and medical residents. Future research is required to validate the effects of the program with control groups, and also to assess long-term effectiveness and actual reduction in suicide rates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Staff development and secondary science teachers: Factors that affect voluntary participation

Science.gov (United States)

Corley, Theresa Roebuck

2000-10-01

A researcher-designed survey assessed the perceptions of Alabama secondary science public school teachers toward the need for staff development and toward certain staff development strategies and programs. Factors that encouraged or discouraged attendance at voluntary staff development programs and opinions regarding effective and ineffective features of programs were identified. Data were analyzed using descriptive techniques. Percentages and frequencies were noted. Average rankings were computed for the staff development techniques considered most and least effective and for the preferred designs of future staff development offerings. Chi squares were computed to respond to each of the 4 research hypotheses. Narrative discussions and tables were utilized to report the data and provide clarification. This study related demographic information to the research hypotheses. Analysis of the research hypotheses revealed that experienced teachers agree more strongly about the features of staff development programs that they consider effective and about the factors that may affect participation in staff development programs. Analysis of the research questions revealed that secondary science teachers in Alabama agree that staff development is a personal responsibility but that the school systems are responsible for providing staff development opportunities. Teachers believe that staff development is needed annually in both science content and teaching strategies and favor lengthening the school year for staff development. Teachers identified interest level, graduate credit, ability to implement material, scheduling factors, and the reputation of the organizer as the most important factors in determining participation in voluntary staff development programs. Hands-on workshops were identified as the most effective type of voluntary staff development and teachers requested that future staff development experiences include hands-on workshops, networking, curriculum

Assessing the Impact of In-Service Training on Staff Performance at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

performance in terms of knowledge and skills gained. It was recommended that more research is undertaken on all UEW campuses to add to both literature and knowledge of INSET. Keywords: Staff Performance, In-Service Training, Staff Development International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3 (2) 2007 pp. 217- ...

Preceptor development. Use a staff development specialist.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneller, S; Hoeppner, M

1994-01-01

Preceptor orientation is a well identified need. Less often identified is the critical role the staff development specialist plays in the ongoing support and development of preceptors. In this article, the authors explain activities of coaching, facilitating, mentoring, and consulting. These role components are essential in the ongoing development of preceptors. This support also may help retain preceptors.

Danish investors' demands on skills and attributes of local accounting staff, are they met? - the case of Estonia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sundgaard, Elin; Thomsen, Jeanette; Alver, Lehte

2008-01-01

gaps by examining in depth a specific practice, i.e. the accounting staff of the Danish affiliations in Estonia.  Research on accounting staff is almost non-existing. This paper gives the project description and the research design as well as the results of a pilot interview in a big Danish...... and surprising aspects, e.g. the different roles and skills expectations to accountants and controllers.  These aspects will be considered when interviewing the bulk of Danish-owned Estonian companies to have their answers to the problems. The interviews will be conducted during spring 2009....

Improvement critical care patient safety: using nursing staff development strategies, at Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Basuni, Enas M; Bayoumi, Magda M

2015-01-13

Intensive care units (ICUs) provide lifesaving care for the critically ill patients and are associated with significant risks. Moreover complexity of care within ICUs requires that the health care professionals exhibit a trans-disciplinary level of competency to improve patient safety. This study aimed at using staff development strategies through implementing patient safety educational program that may minimize the medical errors and improve patient outcome in hospital. The study was carried out using a quasi experimental design. The settings included the intensive care units at General Mohail Hospital and National Mohail Hospital, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from March to June 2012. A convenience sample of all prevalent nurses at three shifts in the aforementioned settings during the study period was recruited. The program was implemented on 50 staff nurses in different ICUs. Their age ranged between 25-40 years. Statistically significant relation was revealed between safety climate and job satisfaction among nurses in the study sample (p=0.001). The years of experiences in ICU ranged between one year 11 (16.4) to 10 years 20 (29.8), most of them (68%) were working in variable shift, while 32% were day shift only. Improvements were observed in safety climate, teamwork climate, and nurse turnover rates on ICUs after implementing a safety program. On the heels of this improvement; nurses' total knowledge, skills and attitude were enhanced regarding patient safety dimensions. Continuous educational program for ICUs nursing staff through organized in-service training is needed to increase their knowledge and skills about the importance of improving patient safety measure. Emphasizing on effective collaborative system also will improve patient safety measures in ICUS.

Perceptions of staff at Eastern Cape Technikon on the value and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was performed to determine the perceptions of staff at Eastern Cape Technikon on the value and effectiveness of linkage partnerships. Academic staff indicated that the main reason for their involvement in these projects is capacity building. Apart from the development of skills and competencies they also rate ...

A Survey of Established Veterinary Clinical Skills Laboratories from Europe and North America: Present Practices and Recent Developments.

Science.gov (United States)

Dilly, Marc; Read, Emma K; Baillie, Sarah

Developing competence in clinical skills is important if graduates are to provide entry-level care, but it is dependent on having had sufficient hands-on practice. Clinical skills laboratories provide opportunities for students to learn on simulators and models in a safe environment and to supplement training with animals. Interest in facilities for developing veterinary clinical skills has increased in recent years as many veterinary colleges face challenges in training their students with traditional methods alone. For the present study, we designed a survey to gather information from established veterinary clinical skills laboratories with the aim of assisting others considering opening or expanding their own facility. Data were collated from 16 veterinary colleges in North America and Europe about the uses of their laboratory, the building and associated facilities, and the staffing, budgets, equipment, and supporting learning resources. The findings indicated that having a dedicated veterinary clinical skills laboratory is a relatively new initiative and that colleges have adopted a range of approaches to implementing and running the laboratory, teaching, and assessments. Major strengths were the motivation and positive characteristics of the staff involved, providing open access and supporting self-directed learning. However, respondents widely recognized the increasing demands placed on the facility to provide more space, equipment, and staff. There is no doubt that veterinary clinical skills laboratories are on the increase and provide opportunities to enhance student learning, complement traditional training, and benefit animal welfare.

Implementing cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) in a mental health service: staff training.

Science.gov (United States)

Dark, Frances; Newman, Ellie; Harris, Meredith; Cairns, Alice; Simpson, Michael; Gore-Jones, Victoria; Whiteford, Harvey; Harvey, Carol; Crompton, David

2016-04-01

This paper describes the establishment of training in cognitive remediation for psychosis within a community mental health service. Clinical staff working in the community of a mental health service were surveyed to ascertain their interest in cognitive aspects of psychosis and skills training in cognitive remediation (CR). Based on the results of the survey a tiered training programme was established with attendance figures reported for each level of training. Fidelity assessment was conducted on the five CR programmes operating. Of 106 clinical staff working in the community with people diagnosed with a psychotic illness 51 completed the survey (48% response rate). The training needs varied with all 106 staff receiving the fundamental (mandatory) training and 51 staff receiving CR facilitator training. Thirty three percent of staff trained as facilitators were delivering CR. Up skilling the mental health workforce to incorporate an understanding of the cognitive aspects of psychosis into care delivery can be facilitated by a tiered training structure. Fundamental training on the psychosocial aspects of psychosis can act as a platform for focussed CR skills based training. There is also a need for accessible therapy based supervision for staff wishing to develop competencies as CR therapists. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Integrating chronic care with primary care activities: enriching healthcare staff knowledge and skills and improving glycemic control of a cohort of people with diabetes through the First Line Diabetes Care Project in the Philippines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace Marie V. Ku

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Background: This study investigated the effects of integrating primary chronic care with current healthcare activities in two local government health units (LGHU of the Philippines on knowledge and skills of the LGHU staff and clinical outcomes for people with diabetes. Design: Integration was accomplished through health service reorganization, (redistribution of chronic care tasks, and training of LGHU staff. Levels of the staff's pre- and post-training diabetes knowledge and of their self-assessment of diabetes care-related skills were measured. Primary diabetes care with emphasis on self-care development was provided to a cohort of people with diabetes. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c and obesity measures were collected prior to and one year after full project implementation. Results: The training workshop improved diabetes knowledge (p<0.001 and self-assessed skills (p<0.001 of the LGHU staff. Significant reductions in HbA1c (p<0.001, waist–hip ratio (p<0.001 and waist circumference (p=0.011 of the cohort were noted. Although the reduction in HbA1c was somewhat greater among those whose community-based care providers showed improvement in knowledge and self-assessed skills, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Primary care for chronic conditions such as diabetes may be integrated with other healthcare activities in health services of low-to-middle-income countries such as the Philippines, utilizing pre-existing human resources for health, and may improve clinical endpoints.

Structured Coaching Programs to Develop Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyess, Susan MacLeod; Sherman, Rose; Opalinski, Andra; Eggenberger, Terry

2017-08-01

Health care environments are complex and chaotic, therein challenging patients and professionals to attain satisfaction, well-being, and exceptional outcomes. These chaotic environments increase the stress and burnout of professionals and reduce the likelihood of optimizing success in many dimensions. Coaching is evolving as a professional skill that may influence the optimization of the health care environment. This article reflects on three coaching programs: Gallup Strengths-Based Coaching, Dartmouth Microsystem Coaching, and Health and Wellness Nurse Coaching. Each approach is presented, processes and outcomes are considered, and implications for educators are offered. Continuing education departments may recognize various coaching approaches as opportunities to support staff professionals achieve not only the triple aim, but also the quadruple aim. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(8):373-378. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Sharpen customer service skills with PCRAFT Pursuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Dologite, Kimberly A; Willner, Kathleen C; Klepeiss, Debra J; York, Susan A; Cericola, Lisa M

2003-01-01

Traditional approaches to teaching customer service skills do not involve participant interaction, nor do they provide a fun and relaxed atmosphere for learning. This article describes the development of PCRAFT Pursuit, an innovative game used to teach customer service skills. The development process began with concerns identified through patient satisfaction surveys. The implementation of this game became an integral component of education to improve customer service skills of staff throughout the hospital network.

Communication skills in ICU and adult hospitalisation unit nursing staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayuso-Murillo, D; Colomer-Sánchez, A; Herrera-Peco, I

In this study researchers are trying to analyse the personality factors related to social skills in nurses who work in: Intensive Care Units, ICU, and Hospitalisation units. Both groups are from the Madrid Health Service (SERMAS). The present investigation has been developed as a descriptive transversal study, where personality factors in ICU nurses (n=29) and those from Hospitalisation units (n=40) were compared. The 16PF-5 questionnaire was employed to measure the personality factors associated with communication skills. The comparison of the personality factors associated to social skills, communication, in both groups, show us that nurses from ICU obtain in social receptivity: 5,6 (A+), 5,2 (C-), 6,2 (O+), 5,1 (H-), 5,3 (Q1-), and emotional control: 6,1 (B+), 5,9 (N+). Meanwhile the data doesn't adjust to the expected to emotional and social expressiveness, emotional receptivity and social control, there are not evidence. The personality factors associated to communication skills in ICU nurses are below those of hospitalisation unit nurses. The present results suggest the necessity to develop training actions, focusing on nurses from intensive care units to improve their communication social skills. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Enfermería Intensiva y Unidades Coronarias (SEEIUC). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Staff Views of the Importance of Relationships for Knowledge Development: Is Training by Specialists a Waste of Money?

Science.gov (United States)

Bradshaw, Jill; Goldbart, Juliet

2013-01-01

Background: The provision of skilled support is dependent on staff knowledge and understanding (Beadle-Brown J., Beecham J., Mansell J., Baumker T., Leigh J., Whelton R. & Richardson L, unpublished data). Influencing staff knowledge and understanding is an important component of interventions. Materials and Methods: Fourteen individual…

Implementation of new skills to support lifestyle changes - what helps and what hinders?

Science.gov (United States)

Tinati, Tannaze; Lawrence, Wendy; Ntani, Georgia; Black, Christina; Cradock, Sue; Jarman, Megan; Pease, Anna; Inskip, Hazel; Cooper, Cyrus; Baird, Janis; Barker, Mary

2013-01-01

Effective communication is necessary for good relationships between healthcare practitioners and clients. This study examined barriers and facilitators to implementing new communication skills. One hundred and one Sure Start Children’s Centre staff attended one of 13 follow-up workshops to reflect on the use of new skills following a training course in communication, reflection and problem-solving. Barriers and facilitators were assessed with an adapted Problematic Experiences of Therapy scale (PETS). Staff reported frequency of skill use, and described what made it more difficult or easier to use the skills. The PETS indicated that staff had confidence in using the skills, but felt there were practical barriers to using them, such as lack of time. Skills were used less often when staff perceived parents not to be engaging with them (rs=−0.42, puse the skills (rs =−0.37, pskills. Facilitators included seeing the benefits of using the skills, finding opportunities and having good relationships with parents. Understanding the range of barriers and facilitators to implementation is essential when developing training to facilitate on-going support and sustain skill use. Special attention should be given to exploring trainees’ perceptions of time, in order to be able to address this significant barrier to skill implementation. Staff training requires a multifaceted approach to address the range of perceived barriers. PMID:22452549

Pharmacy staff training and development: upside-down thinking in a changing profession.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawyer, W T; Hughes, T F; Eckel, F M

1992-04-01

We suggest that the most fundamental change in staff development that must occur is recognition of the need for a professional belief system as the basis for any pharmaceutical care activity. Values derived from fundamental moral ideals and professional beliefs foster the development of attitudes and behaviors. It would be wrong to suggest or imply that such a change need only occur in postbaccalaureate training. The development of personal and professional value systems in existing primary professional training programs is inadequate--we do not yet do enough to develop people before they enter practice. Nevertheless, to say that this failure of the professional education system precludes us from taking action within professional departments is unwise. The primary skills that must be developed during the next decade involve the ability of the practitioner to competently make informed, patient-specific decisions necessary for effective pharmaceutical care. Such decisions are made not only on the basis of a practitioner's knowledge but on the basis of his or her beliefs and values as well. The practitioner also must be willing to assume responsibility for the consequences of those decisions. The pharmacist who professes to deliver pharmaceutical care can no longer be shielded by assigning to the physician the ultimate responsibility for the patient's drug-therapy outcomes. Facilitating the development of a value system and attitude that enhance the pharmacist's ability to make such decisions must be a principal focus of staff training and development in the coming years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transitioning From Perioperative Staff Nurse to Perioperative Educator.

Science.gov (United States)

Mower, Juliana

2017-08-01

Perioperative nurses who enjoy teaching may wish to become staff development educators. The shift to this new role requires a transition period during which the new educator acquires the knowledge, skills, and attitudes integral to mastering the job. A systematic approach to achieving baseline competencies in the educator role helps to ensure a successful conversion from providing direct patient care to supporting the educational needs of staff members. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A "Coach Approach" to Staff Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret Macmillan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The speed of change is challenging libraries to redevelop themselves in ways we have never seen before. Rising costs and changing customer expectations are forcing staff to continuously learn new skills, adapt to new technologies and work more closely in collaboration with others in response to this unpredictable environment. At the same time library leaders need to communicate regularly with staff and to motivate them to dialogue with each other about the value of the library service that they provide to the community. A creative approach to building flexibility, resilience and staff engagement has become essential for survival. Coaching is a creative, innovative and effective communications tool that is now considered to be one of the most important ways to encourage employees to continue to learn and develop. Its greatest impact is in building leadership and staff engagement. Communicating with “a coach approach” or coaching mindset is a powerful way for library leaders to connect with others where the flow and exchange is positive and there is a mutual benefit of contribution and collaboration, expanded knowledge and innovation. The basics of fostering “a coach approach” with library staff requires an understanding of the importance of “reframing” one’s personal attitudes and perspectives, appreciating the art of focused listening and the impact of positive acknowledgement, learning to ask the right questions and formulating action plans for continued success. It is a learned skill that requires a commitment to practice but is one that will ultimately demonstrate positive results.

ED staff and clinicians learn essential human relations skills.

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Smile training for the emergency department? An increasingly popular customer service training program for physicians and staff in the emergency department teaches how to improve personal interactions with patients. Without focusing on how patients are treated beyond their medical ailments, course developers warn, hospitals may be alienating patients who might decide not to pay their hospital bill or might take their business elsewhere in the future.

Towards culturally competent health care: language use of bilingual staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, M; Noble, C; Matthews, C; Aguilar, N

1998-01-01

The presence of diverse language skills within health staff provides opportunities to better meet the needs of a multicultural population. A cross-sectional survey of all staff within the South Western Sydney Area Health Service was undertaken to compare language skills with population needs and examine the context of language use. Thirty-one per cent of staff (n = 964) were bilingual or multilingual, with the predominant languages spoken being Tagalog (Filipino), Cantonese, Hindi, Spanish, Vietnamese and Italian. Thirty-seven per cent of bilingual staff used their language skills at least weekly, predominantly in situations of simple conversation and giving directions. Bilingual staff are a valuable resource for the organisation and the presence of a similar overall proportion of bilingual and bicultural staff may engender tolerance and adaptability in providing care to a diverse population. However, supply does not directly match community demand. This mismatch will continue unless recruitment is focused towards identified language groups. The high proportion of staff who rarely used their language skills (37%) may be due to lack of opportunity or limited need, and suggests that further research needs to examine service models that locate bilingual workers close to client need. This study takes a crucial first step towards realising equitable and culturally appropriate care utilising the principles of productive diversity.

‘Third generation’ conversations – A partnership approach to embedding research and learning skills development in the first year. A Practice Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Taib

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This Practice Report offers a strategic approach to making research and learning skills explicit within the curriculum of first year core units, by enabling a systematic process of pedagogical conversations between teaching faculty, learning skills advisers and librarians. It reports on a collaborative project between staff of Monash Library and academic staff of the faculties of Business and Economics and Information Technology. It offers tools and protocols for the review and renewal of curricula and co-curricula practice within a partnership model, informed by the Research Skills Development (RSD Framework. It takes into account teaching and learning approaches, intervention and support strategies, assessment, and feedback mechanisms.  It also responds to emerging trends in higher education delivery such as blended learning and the flipped classroom model (Baker, 2000.

Staff nurse perceptions of the impact of mentalization-based therapy skills training when working with borderline personality disorder in acute mental health: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Warrender, D

2015-10-01

People diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are highly prevalent in acute mental health wards, with staff nurses identifying a challenge in working with people who can be significantly distressed. This has contributed to a negative stereotype verging on stigmatization. Mentalization-based therapy (MBT) is a psychological therapy which has been shown to be of benefit to people with a diagnosis of BPD, yet it has been utilized and evaluated only in partial hospitalization and outpatient settings. Despite this, most people diagnosed with BPD will continue to be treated in generic inpatient settings such as acute mental health. Mentalization-based therapy skills training (MBT-S) is a new and cost-effective 2-day workshop aiming to provide generalist practitioners with MBT skills for use in generic settings. This study aimed to capture staff perceptions of the impact of MBT-S on their practice when working with people with a diagnosis of BPD in acute mental health. Through two focus groups, this study assessed the perceptions of nine staff nurses. An interpretive phenomenological approach was utilized in data analysis. Participants found the approach easy to grasp, improving of consistency between staff and flexible in its use in planned or 'off the cuff' discussions. MBT-S promoted empathy and humane responses to self-harm, impacted on participants ability to tolerate risk and went some way to turning the negative perception of BPD through changing the notion of patients as 'deliberately difficult'. Staff felt empowered and more confident in working with people with a diagnosis of BPD. The positive implication for practice was the ease in which the approach was adopted and participants perception of MBT-S as an empowering skill set which also contributed to attitudinal change. In acute mental health environments, which may not have the resources to provide long-term structured treatments to patients, MBT-S could be viewed as ideal as participants

On-line professional staff development: An evaluation study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, Linda; Naidu, Som; Jegede, Olugbemiro; Collis, Betty

1995-01-01

This paper reports the design, implementation, and evaluation of a teleseminar on instructional design (ID) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) for the purposes of staff development at The University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia. Participation was open to any staff with an

training initiatives for skills acquisition in icts by academic staff of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

used ICTs for communication, teaching and learning activities, also that they acquired skills ... development, “tertiary education is deemed to be ... Nigerian universities is fraught with challenges ..... this with Mirrilla's (2000) skills demand profile.

Development of Brigade Staff Tasks for the COBRAS II Brigade Staff Exercise

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Deter, Daniel

1998-01-01

... and development of simulation-based training for the conventional mounted brigade staff. The work was performed under a project called Combined Arms Operations at Brigade Level, Realistically Achieved Through Simulation (COBRAS).

Developing Research-Ready Skills: Preparing Early Academic Students for Participation in Research Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Charlevoix, D. J.; Morris, A. R.

2015-12-01

Engaging lower-division undergraduates in research experiences is a key but challenging aspect of guiding talented students into the geoscience research pipeline. UNAVCO conducted a summer internship program to prepare first and second year college students for participation in authentic, scientific research. Many students in their first two years of academic studies do not have the science content knowledge or sufficient math skills to conduct independent research. Students from groups historically underrepresented in the geosciences may face additional challenges in that they often have a less robust support structure to help them navigate the university environment and may be less aware of professional opportunities in the geosciences.UNAVCO, manager of NSF's geodetic facility, hosted four students during summer 2015 internship experience aimed to help them develop skills that will prepare them for research internships and skills that will help them advance professionally. Students spent eight weeks working with UNAVCO technical staff learning how to use equipment, prepare instrumentation for field campaigns, among other technical skills. Interns also participated in a suite of professional development activities including communications workshops, skills seminars, career circles, geology-focused field trips, and informal interactions with research interns and graduate student interns at UNAVCO. This presentation will outline the successes and challenges of engaging students early in their academic careers and outline the unique role such experiences can have in students' academic careers.

The Empirical Assessment of English for Specific Business Purpose (ESBP) among Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) Staff

Science.gov (United States)

Moazzen, Ahmad; Hashemi, Akram

2015-01-01

The present study has been conducted with the purpose of exploring the relationship between EDBI staff's General English proficiency and their technical English Writing as well as the way each ESBP and GE courses affect their writing skill. The kind of the study is quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test, being conducted among EDBI staff in…

Preparing radiology staff to meet service goals: a training model.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricciardone, E B; Stepanovich, P H; West, V T

1994-01-01

This article describes a model used to train radiology staff in customer service relations at a large southeastern medical center. Information about the needs of the radiology department and staff was acquired through quantitative and qualitative assessments. The primary goal of the training was twofold: 1) to develop employee awareness of customer expectations and 2) to develop problem-solving skills to respond to customer service related issues. Instructional methods compatible with adult learning were used and training results were assessed. Positive changes in employee attitudes and behaviors are described and recommendations for training development and implementation are discussed.

Skills Development and Transfer Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mutshena, M.T.; Nkuna, K.K. [Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Pty (Ltd), P O Box 9394, Centurion, 0046 (South Africa); South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (South Africa); Thugwane, S.J. [South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (South Africa); Rasweswe, M.A. [South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (South Africa); Nuclear Energy Cooperation of South Africa, P O Box 582, PRETORIA 0001 (South Africa)

2008-07-01

South Africa as a developing country is faced with numerous challenges amongst them is the shortage of skills in the working environment. Skills shortage has been aggravated by the retirement of the ageing skilled workforce and emigration of most experienced professionals to first world countries. Some professionals once they acquire the experience they opt out for a consultative business. This leaves a gap or void in the industries which can results into poor performance and quality, lessening of business standards and loosing competition. This challenge need to be attended to, because it will lead to hiring of consultants in most jobs or having many young and less experienced professionals and new graduates filling these gaps. The South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (SAYNPS) has developed a strategic plan to serve as a guideline on how these challenges mentioned above can be addressed [1]. The proposed strategy will be aligned with skills development in the line of work and should get support from the nuclear Industry. Young professionals and recent graduates are the most affected people who lack skills and shall benefit from these programmes. In order for skill development and transfer to be accomplished there should be a Skill Development and Transfer Strategy and procedures to be followed. (authors)

Skills Development and Transfer Strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutshena, M.T.; Nkuna, K.K.; Thugwane, S.J.; Rasweswe, M.A.

2008-01-01

South Africa as a developing country is faced with numerous challenges amongst them is the shortage of skills in the working environment. Skills shortage has been aggravated by the retirement of the ageing skilled workforce and emigration of most experienced professionals to first world countries. Some professionals once they acquire the experience they opt out for a consultative business. This leaves a gap or void in the industries which can results into poor performance and quality, lessening of business standards and loosing competition. This challenge need to be attended to, because it will lead to hiring of consultants in most jobs or having many young and less experienced professionals and new graduates filling these gaps. The South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (SAYNPS) has developed a strategic plan to serve as a guideline on how these challenges mentioned above can be addressed [1]. The proposed strategy will be aligned with skills development in the line of work and should get support from the nuclear Industry. Young professionals and recent graduates are the most affected people who lack skills and shall benefit from these programmes. In order for skill development and transfer to be accomplished there should be a Skill Development and Transfer Strategy and procedures to be followed. (authors)

Developing relationships between care staff and people with dementia through Music Therapy and Dance Movement Therapy: A preliminary phenomenological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Melhuish, Ruth; Beuzeboc, Catherine; Guzmán, Azucena

2017-04-01

Background There is an increasing focus on providing effective psychosocial interventions to improve quality of life in dementia care. This study aims to explore the attitudes and perceptions of staff who participated regularly in Music Therapy (MT) and Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) groups for residents with dementia in a nursing home. Method In-depth interviews were conducted with seven members of care home staff. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results A representation modelling the impact of MT and DMT in a nursing care home. Three main themes were identified. 1) Discovering residents' skills and feelings; 2) Learning from the therapists to change approaches to care practice with subthemes: time, space and pace, choice, following the residents' lead; 3) Connection between staff and residents. Conclusion The model indicated that both interventions performed in parallel helped staff to discover residents' skills and feelings. Although it is a small sample size, this study strongly suggests that MT and DMT can have a positive influence in helping care staff to provide a meaningful care environment.

Staff Development Strategies for School Library and Media Centres ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Staff Development is a sine-qua non to the provision of efficient library services at any level. The study sets to investigate staff development strategies in school libraries and Information centres in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria. Selfdesigned questionnaires were used in eliciting data for the study. Ten schools were used with 10 ...

School Leadership Skill Development

Science.gov (United States)

Weigel, Richard A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between what is currently understood about skills for school leadership and the need for a greater understanding of those skills. The importance of developing leadership skills to improve school performance and effectiveness is great. In the field of school leadership, most leaders…

A qualitative evaluation of the Scottish Staff and Associate Specialist Development Programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleland, Jennifer; Burr, Jacqueline; Johnston, Peter

2016-05-01

The continued professional development of staff and associate specialist doctors in the UK was ill served prior to the introduction of the new staff and associate specialist doctor's contract in 2008. The aim of this study was to independently evaluate NHS Education for Scotland's approach to improving professional development for staff and associate specialist doctors, the staff and associate specialist Professional Development Fund. Semi-structured telephone interviews with key stakeholders, framed by a realistic approach to evaluate what works, for whom and in how and under what circumstances. An inductive and data-driven thematic analysis was carried out and then the realist framework was applied to the data. We interviewed 22 key stakeholders: staff and associate specialist doctors, staff and associate specialist educational advisors, programme architects and clinical directors, between end February and May 2014. The resultant data indicated five broad themes: organisational barriers to continued professional development for staff and associate specialist doctors, the purpose of funding, gains from funding, the need for better communication about the staff and associate specialist Programme Development Fund, and the interplay between individual and systems factors. The staff and associate specialist Programme Development Fund has changed the opportunities available to staff and associate specialist doctors in Scotland and, in that sense, has changed the context for this group - or at least those who have realised the opportunities. © The Author(s) 2016.

Developing a self-learning training program for RIS computer skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Stike, R; Olivi, P

2000-01-01

The demonstration of competency by healthcare professionals remains a priority for hospital administrators, as well as for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Unfortunately, staff members who have to complete competency exercises often describe the process as a burden. Ineffective training processes may be the culprit. Our teaching hospital developed a training program for the radiology information system (RIS) computer system used by an imaging department of more than 200 staff members. The emphasis of our training program was on the design phase and the contribution of subject-matter experts (SMEs) to the content and testing of training materials, which included a computer-assisted, self-learning manual (SLM) and a pocket guide. The first step in the design process was to identify subject matter experts (SMEs) within the imaging department. Seven SMEs were shadowed by the IT educator. The role of the SME was to demonstrate current practices with RIS, to state principles involved and to serve as a reference for questions during training development. The steps that followed planning and design were: training delivery, evaluation and ongoing training. These steps were implemented in a series of workshops, which included soliciting feedback about the training program. Feedback was used to revise the SLM. The RIS SLM training project was a huge success for everyone involved. The average score for the core-skills test was higher than 90 percent. Seventy-five percent of the current staff was trained in the first phase, including radiology students. Our yearly cost savings using SLM workshops instead of on-the-job training will be about $35,000. We attribute the success of this project to a detailed timeline, SME contributions, the pilot testing phase, and the positive attitude of the imaging staff.

EFFECTS OF PROACTIVE PERSONALITY ON POLITICAL SKILLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tahsin AKÇAKANAT

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the proactive personality on the political skills of the administrative staff working at the university. For this purpose, Proactive Personality Scale (Claes et.al., 2005 and Political Skill Inventory (Ferris et.al.:2005 were conducted for university administrative staff. The relationship between proactive personality traits and political skills of the staff was determined through correlation and regression analysis. As a result, it has been found that proactive personality has a significant effect in explaining both its general political skill and its sub-dimensions.

Lessons for Staff Developers from an Organization Development Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, James A.

1990-01-01

A case study of an organization development intervention in a large New York State school district describes to staff developers the complex process of discovering and responding to organizational needs. The discussion focuses on understanding the problem; frameworks for diagnosis and intervention; and implementing the intervention strategy.…

Skill development in experimental courses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Héctor Bagán

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Experimental courses offer a good opportunity to work with competences, promoting the incorporation of strategies oriented towards motivating students to actively involve in the learning process, promoting reflexive learning and developing generic skills. This study presents different ways of developing and evaluating some important general skills, settle on four specific objectives: 1. To increase student motivation using samples of potential interest to students and explaining real-live application of their samples analyses; 2. To assist students’ self-regulation and learning autonomy by using the portfolio; 3. To promote group work through experiments in pairs and small-group discussions; 4. To develop communication skills through small-group discussions and oral presentations. Results show that the type of sample used and real-life application has important influence on motivation. The portfolio is a good tool to promote reflection and to evaluate both specific and generic skills in experimental courses, the dynamics of a laboratory course permit students to develop their group-work and communicative skills, and peer evaluations both improve students’ communication skills and promote metacognitive reflection. Finally, the project demonstrates that it is possible to train students in general skills using the specific course content and that the incorporation of participatory methodologies encourages students to become actively involved in the teaching-learning process.

Research culture and capacity in community health services: results of a structured survey of staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Friesen, Emma L; Comino, Elizabeth J

2017-05-01

Developing research capacity is recognised as an important endeavour. However, little is known about the current research culture, capacity and supports for staff working in community-based health settings. A structured survey of Division of Community Health staff was conducted using the research capacity tool. The survey was disseminated by email and in paper format. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. In total, 109 usable responses were received, giving a response rate of 26%. Respondents were predominately nurses (n=71, 65.7%), with ~50% reporting post-graduate vocational qualifications. The highest levels of skills or organisational success were in using evidence to plan, promote and guide clinical practice. Most participants were unsure of organisational and team level skills and success at generating research. Few reported recent experience in research-generating activities. Barriers to undertaking research included lack of skills, time and access to external support and funding. Lack of skills and success in accessing external funding and resources to protect research time or to 'buy-in' technical expertise appeared to exacerbate these barriers. Community health staff have limited capacity to generate research with current levels of skill, funding and time. Strategies to increase research capacity should be informed by knowledge of clinicians' research experience and interests, and target development of skills to generate research. Resources and funding are needed at the organisational and team levels to overcome the significant barriers to research generation reported.

Employability Skills Assessment Tool Development

Science.gov (United States)

Rasul, Mohamad Sattar; Rauf, Rose Amnah Abd; Mansor, Azlin Norhaini; Puvanasvaran, A. P.

2012-01-01

Research nationally and internationally found that technical graduates are lacking in employability skills. As employability skills are crucial in outcome-based education, the main goal of this research is to develop an Employability Skill Assessment Tool to help students and lecturers produce competent graduates in employability skills needed by…

Safety at work due to staff qualification and selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, W.

1980-01-01

An outline of basic requirements enabling the selection of employees for responsible staff in nuclear power stations. Illustrated further by the example of a model development from skilled worker to head of shift. A short reference will be made to the maintenance of high standards of training. (orig.) [de

Developing a Mechanism for Assessment of the Mobile Operator Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhukovska Liudmyla E.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at determining and substantiating practical recommendations on improving the assessment of staff of mobile operators based on an analysis of the existing theoretical and methodological foundations of formation and implementation of an effective mechanism for staff assessment and the suitability of their application in the competitive conditions. General tendencies in the development of mobile operators have been determined, existing approaches to assessing their staff have been explored. The article substantiates the need for cooperation and exchange of experts among mobile operators on staff assessment issues, using the assessment center technology and the use of an integrated staff assessment based on the points system, which will provide an objective assessment of each employee and will also contribute to the development of staff assessment technology for all telecommunications companies. The organizational and economic foundations for the implementation of these activities and the determination of level of their performance for mobile operators will be purpose of further researches.

Building freeways: piloting communication skills in additional languages to health service personnel in Cape Town, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Claassen, Joel; Jama, Zukile; Manga, Nayna; Lewis, Minnie; Hellenberg, Derek

2017-06-07

This study reflects on the development and teaching of communication skills courses in additional national languages to health care staff within two primary health care facilities in Cape Town, South Africa. These courses were aimed at addressing the language disparities that recent research has identified globally between patients and health care staff. Communication skills courses were offered to staff at two Metropolitan District Health Services clinics to strengthen patient access to health care services. This study reflects on the communicative proficiency in the additional languages that were offered to health care staff. A mixed-method approach was utilised during this case study with quantitative data-gathering through surveys and qualitative analysis of assessment results. The language profiles of the respective communities were assessed through data obtained from the South African National census, while staff language profiles were obtained at the health care centres. Quantitative measuring, by means of a patient survey at the centres, occurred on a randomly chosen day to ascertain the language profile of the patient population. Participating staff performed assessments at different phases of the training courses to determine their skill levels by the end of the course. The performances of the participating staff during the Xhosa and Afrikaans language courses were assessed, and the development of the staff communicative competencies was measured. Health care staff learning the additional languages could develop Basic or Intermediate Xhosa and Afrikaans that enables communication with patients. In multilingual countries such as South Africa, language has been recognised as a health care barrier preventing patients from receiving quality care. Equipping health care staff with communication skills in the additional languages, represents an attempt to bridge a vital barrier in the South African health care system. The study proves that offering communication

Comparison of Computer Based Instruction to Behavior Skills Training for Teaching Staff Implementation of Discrete-Trial Instruction with an Adult with Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Nosik, Melissa R.; Williams, W. Larry; Garrido, Natalia; Lee, Sarah

2013-01-01

In the current study, behavior skills training (BST) is compared to a computer based training package for teaching discrete trial instruction to staff, teaching an adult with autism. The computer based training package consisted of instructions, video modeling and feedback. BST consisted of instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback. Following…

Attitudes of palliative care clinical staff toward prolonged grief disorder diagnosis and grief interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Esther L; Deane, Frank P; Barclay, Gregory D; Bourne, Joan; Connolly, Vivienne

2017-07-03

The provision of psychological support to caregivers is an important part of the role of the clinical staff working in palliative care. Staff knowledge and attitudes may determine their openness to referring caregivers to a psychological intervention. We recently developed a self-help intervention for grief and psychological distress among caregivers and were interested in exploring the extent to which staff knowledge and attitudes might affect future implementation. The aims of our study were to: (1) examine the acceptability of self-help psychological intervention for caregivers among palliative care clinical staff; (2) examine potential attitudinal barriers toward prolonged grief disorder (PGD) as a diagnosis and interventions for grief; and (3) bolster staff confidence in skills and knowledge in identifying and managing caregiver psychological distress. An anonymous survey was distributed among clinical staff at two inpatient units and two community health services that assessed the acceptability of self-help interventions for caregivers, attitudes about PGD diagnosis and grief intervention, and staff confidence in skills and knowledge in assessing caregiver psychological distress. Overall, clinical staff were positively oriented toward self-help for caregivers and intervention for grief. They were also basically confident in their skills and knowledge. While it was positive PGD attitudes that were associated with acceptability of self-help for caregivers, it was both positive and negative PGD attitudes that were associated more specifically with a willingness to refer caregivers to such an intervention. Our findings are useful in highlighting the issues to be considered in the implementation of a self-help intervention within the healthcare service. Clinical staff seemed positively oriented toward engaging with a psychological intervention for caregivers and likely to act as key allies in implementation.

Strategies to Increase After-School Program Staff Skills to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, R Glenn; Beets, Michael W; Beighle, Aaron; Webster, Collin; Huberty, Jennifer; Moore, Justin B

2016-01-01

Standards targeting children's healthy eating and physical activity (HEPA) in after-school programs call for staff to display or refrain from HEPA-promoting or -discouraging behaviors that are linked to children's HEPA. This study evaluated strategies to align staff behaviors with HEPA Standards. Staff at four after-school programs serving approximately 500 children participated in professional development training from January 2012 to May 2013. Site leaders also attended workshops and received technical support during the same time frame. Changes in staff behaviors were evaluated using the System for Observing Staff Promotion of Activity and Nutrition in a pre- (fall 2011) multiple-post (spring 2012, fall 2012, and spring 2013), no-control group study design. A total of 8,949 scans were completed across the four measurement periods. Of the 19 behaviors measured, 14 changed in the appropriate direction. For example, staff engaging in physical activity with children increased from 27% to 40% of scans and staff eating unhealthy foods decreased from 56% to 14% of days. Ongoing training and technical assistance can have a measureable impact on staff behaviors linked to child-level HEPA outcomes. Future research should explore the feasibility of disseminating ongoing trainings to after-school program staff on a large scale. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

From the chronicle of training of Dukovany NPP staff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

The long way the Dukovany NPP had to go before the plant staff was fully qualified and skilled is described. First the training concept was prepared, then the necessary training facilities were set up, lecturers and instructors were hired and trained, training programmes and training materials were developed, and ultimately the first training course was launched in 1979. A training NPP was constructed and a full-scope simulator of the Dukovany NPP was set up. The current status of organization of NPP staff training by the CEZ utility is highlighted. (author)

Electronic Reserve--A Staff Development Opportunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Robyn

1997-01-01

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Library's experience in developing an electronic reserve service is offered as a case study. Discussion includes the limited access service, technical components, academic community support, lending staff training, usage, copyright, and future scenarios and solutions. (AEF)

Training of technical staff and technical staff managers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moody, G.F.

1991-01-01

The purpose of Technical Staff and Technical Staff Managers training is to provide job skills enhancement to individuals selected to fill key technical positions within a nuclear utility. This training is unique in that unlike other training programs accredited by the National Academy for Nuclear Training, it does not lead to specific task qualification. The problems encountered when determining the student population and curriculum are a direct result of this major difference. Major problems encountered are determining who should attend the training, what amount of training is necessary and sufficient, and how to obtain the best feedback in order to effect substantive program improvements. These topics will be explored and possible solutions discussed

Implications of staff 'churn' for nurse managers, staff, and patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Duffield, Christine; Roche, Michael; O'Brien-Pallas, Linda; Catling-Paull, Christine

2009-01-01

In this article, the term "churn" is used not only because of the degree of change to staffing, but also because some of the reasons for staff movement are not classified as voluntary turnover. The difficulties for the nurse managing a unit with the degree of "churn" should not be under-estimated. Changes to skill mix and the proportions of full-time, agency, and temporary staff present challenges in providing clinical leadership, scheduling staff, performance management, and supervision. Perhaps more importantly, it is likely that there is an impact on the continuity of care provided in the absence of continuity of staffing. A greater understanding of the human and financial costs and consequences, and a willingness to change established practices at the institutional and ward level, are needed.

Evaluating the implementation of a multicomponent asthma education program for Head Start staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruvalcaba, Elizabeth; Chung, Shang-En; Rand, Cynthia; Riekert, Kristin A; Eakin, Michelle

2018-03-15

Asthma disproportionately affects minority groups, low income populations, and young children under 5. Head Start (HS) programs predominantly serve this high-risk population, yet staff are not trained on asthma management. The objective of this study was to assess a 5-year, multicomponent HS staff asthma education program in Baltimore City HS programs. All HS programs were offered annual staff asthma education by a medical research team that included didactic lectures and hands-on training. Attendees received continuing education credits. HS staff were anonymously surveyed on asthma knowledge and skills and asthma medication management practices in Year 1 (preimplementation) and Year 5. There was an estimated response rate of 94% for Year 1 and 82% for Year 5. Compared to staff in Year 1, Year 5 staff were significantly more likely to report they had very good knowledge and skills related to asthma [odds ratio (OR) 1.63; p staff reported higher self-assessed knowledge and skills, self-reports of asthma medication management practices, and self-reports of asthma activities compared to Year 1 staff. HS serves high-risk children with asthma, and a multicomponent program can adequately prepare staff to manage asthma in the child care setting. Our results indicate the feasibility of providing efficacious health skill education into child care provider training to reduce asthma knowledge gaps.

Understanding and Managing Staff Development in an Urban School System. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlechty, Phillip; And Others

A study is reported that examined the way staff development functions in schools, the effects of staff development, and the interaction between staff development and other activities and conditions in school systems. The study took place in a large urban school district (in the Southeast) that is heavily committed to and involved in staff…

Cultivating Leadership Development for Support Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Sharon

1997-01-01

Describes an urban school district's focus on leadership development for support staff. The project identified and trained 500 front-line supervisors representing office managers, food service managers, head custodians, and district maintenance supervisors. This paper explains program design, objectives, participants, management support, content,…

Functional behavioral analysis and social scripting for the older patient with schizophrenia: a staff development program.

Science.gov (United States)

Markwick, Laura; Smith, Charlene; Mick, Diane

2014-11-01

Executive functioning is the ability to plan, strategize, organize, and focus on details. Impaired executive functioning plays a significant role in behavior disturbances. Lack of inhibition, impaired abstract reasoning, thought perseverance, rigidity in routine, and lack of insight disrupt social skills and daily life. Autism and schizophrenia present some similar behaviors, including impaired executive functioning, often resulting in pharmacological management as many healthcare professionals receive limited training in executive functioning. Non-pharmacological tools used in autism for behavior management include functional behavioral analysis and social scripting, which help to identify causes of behavior and teach more appropriate behavioral responses. Described here is an educational program for healthcare workers in a long-term care skilled nursing facility, to help them understand the basis for behaviors in individuals with impaired executive function, to use these same tools for behavioral modification techniques, and to help patients learn more appropriate social skills. Program evaluation suggested the educational program was successful in increasing the staff's knowledge and comfort level in addressing the behavioral issues that arise with this population and staff also reported less use of medication as first-line treatment for behavioral issues.

The Role of Higher Order Thinking Skills in Green Skill Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heong Yee Mei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the era of rapid development, industries sector will bring negative effect of environment. Therefore, green technologies should be exposed in education system for transforming economy model to greener economy modal. HOTS should be applied in green skill development in order to solve problems, generate new products and ideas. The application of HOTS can enhance someone in processing new information for various alternatives, ideas, actions, and design solutions to solve a problemIn this regard, a study on the role of Marzano HOTS in green skill development has been designed for the above purpose. This article suggests an initial idea of the study. The key elements identified in green skills development include green economy, green industry and green skills. Meanwhile, elements related to the Marzano HOTS is comparing, classifying, induction, deduction, error analysis, constructing support, abstracting and analyzing perspectives. As conclucion, HOTS requires someone to critically evaluate information, make inferences, and make generalizations. With HOTS, we enable to apply knowledge, skills and values to make reasoning and reflection to solve problems, make decisions, innovate and strive to create something in green skills development.

[Training of communication skills in stationary long care homes--the evaluation of a model project to develop communication skills and transfer it into practice].

Science.gov (United States)

Heinemann-Knoch, M; Korte, E; Heusinger, J; Klünder, M; Knoch, T

2005-02-01

The training of communication skills of professional caregivers in six homes for elderly people has been developed and evaluated in a model project. The purpose of the project was to strengthen the staff's orientation towards the residents, their needs, handicaps and abilities. Therefore, a series of 8 in-house training courses as well as procedures to establish the contents of the program into daily care-giving (transfer) have been developed and implemented with six teams during one year. The evaluation included interviews, questionnaires and observations and was realized with participants and non-participants of the program once before the implementation of the training program and once afterwards. We found evidence for positive effects of the training: although the staff's positive self perception of the climate of communication remained stable and mainly not affected by the training, this was contradictory to the observations. The way of giving information to the residents was improved by the training program as well as the quality of relations between staff and residents. Again, sending messages about oneself which are not care-oriented had not been affected by the training-as to the observations of care giving situations. Although the staff's self perception about the change of sending these messages was highly positive.Thus, the further development of the training program has to consider these effects.To establish the transfer of the training program into daily care giving, it proved to be helpful to specify exercises after each session which had to be carried out and discussed by the participants until the next training session.

Skill mismatch and skill use in developed countries: Evidence from the PIAAC study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Allen, J.P.; Levels, M.; van der Velden, R.K.W.

2013-01-01

In this paper we develop and test a new set of measures of skill mismatches, based on data on skill levels and skill use in the domains of literacy and numeracy from the PIAAC project. The measures we develop represent the extent of skill use relative to one’s own skill level. We test the measures

Staff development strategies for school library media centres: a case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Staff development is a sine-qua non to the provision of efficient library services at any level. The study sets to investigate staff development strategies in school libraries and Information centres in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria. Self-designed questionnaires were used in eliciting data for the study. Ten schools were used with 10 ...

The development of a rubric for peer assessment of individual teamwork skills in undergraduate midwifery students.

Science.gov (United States)

Hastie, Carolyn; Fahy, Kathleen; Parratt, Jenny

2014-09-01

Poor teamwork is cited as one of the major root causes of adverse events in healthcare. Bullying, resulting in illness for staff, is an expression of poor teamwork skills. Despite this knowledge, poor teamwork persists in healthcare and teamwork skills are rarely the focus of teaching and assessment in undergraduate health courses. To develop and implement an assessment tool for use in facilitating midwifery students' learning of teamwork skills. This paper describes how the TeamUP rubric tool was developed. A review of the literature found no research reports on how to teach and assess health students' teamwork skills in standing teams. The literature, however, gives guidance about how university educators should evaluate individual students using peer assessment. The developmental processes of the rubric were grounded in the theoretical literature and feminist collaborative conversations. The rubric incorporates five domains of teamwork skills: Fostering a Team Climate; Project Planning; Facilitating Teams; Managing Conflict and Quality Individual Contribution. The process and outcomes of student and academic content validation are described. The TeamUP rubric is useful for articulating, teaching and assessing teamwork skills for health professional students. The TeamUP rubric is a robust, theoretically grounded model that defines and details effective teamwork skills and related behaviours. If these skills are mastered, we predict that graduates will be more effective in teams. Our assumption is that graduates, empowered by having these skills, are more likely to manage conflict effectively and less likely to engage in bullying behaviours. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Communication skills of healthcare professionals in paediatric diabetes services.

Science.gov (United States)

Hambly, H; Robling, M; Crowne, E; Hood, K; Gregory, J W

2009-05-01

To identify training needs in communication skills and to assess training preferences of staff working in paediatric diabetes services, which will inform the development of a learning programme in behaviour change counselling for healthcare professionals. Three hundred and eighty-five staff in 67 UK paediatric diabetes services were sent questionnaires to determine their previous communication skills training, to measure their self-reported view of the importance of and confidence in addressing common clinical problems and to assess the perceived feasibility of training methods to improve skillfulness. Two hundred and sixty-six questionnaires (69%) were returned from 65 services. Sixteen per cent of doctors, nurses and dietitians reported no previous training in communication skills and 47% had received no training since graduating. Respondents rated psychosocial issues as more important to address than medical issues within consultations (t = 8.93, P important component of consultations involving young people with diabetes, but healthcare professionals find it easier to address medical issues. This represents a key training need in communication skills for diabetes professionals. The survey will inform the development of a tailored learning programme for health professionals in UK paediatric diabetes clinics.

THE RESULTS OF ENGLISH TEACHING AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR ACADEMIC STAFF IN THE ARTIFICIAL BILINGUALISM ENVIRONMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. P. Rasskazova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. In the conditions of the modern globalization, one of the most significant indicators of competitiveness of the universities is the academic mobility of students, graduate students, teachers and research associates that implies their free and competent enough foreign language skills, first of all English. Yet, until recently, comparatively little attention has been paid to foreign language skills of the Russian academic teaching staff. However, in recent years, with regard to the process acceleration of internationalization of the higher education to provide own effective functioning and remain a demanded one in education and training market, domestic higher education institutions are forced to quickly fill in the gaps of foreign language knowledge among academic teaching staff. The aim of this article is to analyse and describe the tuition outcomes for academic teaching staff based on the official exam results from Cambridge English Language Assessment for three years (2015–2017. Methodology and research methods. The research, which is grounded in interdisciplinary approach and lies at the intersection of psychology, linguistics and pedagogics, was conducted on the basis of the statistical analysis and generalization of mean scores of English language testing results, taking into account qualitative and quantitative standards of speech skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking and use of English (for levels B2, C1. Results and scientific novelty. The essential strengthening and development of the Cambridge English system for level increase of proficiency in English among the Russian academic teaching staff is proved. The data of external peer evaluation provided by exam centre Cambridge English Language Assessment including the foreign language training results of academic teaching staff are analysed. The results obtained show that contrary to the wide-spread opinion that productive skills (speaking and writing take longer

Building Multicultural Residential Communities: A Model for Training Student Staff

Science.gov (United States)

Petryk, Taryn; Thompson, Monita C.; Boynton, Trelawny

2013-01-01

The growing diversity and changing demographics within the United States increases the importance of students developing skills to engage across identity difference. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how a pre-employment course for student staff members is used as a multicultural intervention training to provide students with the…

Training Out-of-School Time Staff. Part 2 in a Series on Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Out-of-School Time Programs: The Role of Frontline Staff. Research-to-Results Brief. Publication #2009-05

Science.gov (United States)

Metz, Allison J. R.; Burkhauser; Mary; Bowie, Lillian

2009-01-01

A skilled and sustainable workforce is one of the most important markers of high-quality out-of-school time programs. Given the links between skilled staff, high-quality programs, and better youth outcomes, staff training has become an essential part of program implementation. To expand what is known about staff training, Child Trends recently…

The Mobile Library and Staff Preparedness: Exploring Staff Competencies Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model

Science.gov (United States)

Saravani, Sarah-Jane; Haddow, Gaby

2011-01-01

This paper presents preliminary findings of a study investigating the current state of preparedness of staff at institutes of technology and TAFE libraries across Australia and New Zealand in relation to delivering services through mobile technologies. In particular, the skills, knowledge, and competencies of staff in relation to mobile…

Leading Staff Development for School Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Bubb, Sara; Earley, Peter

2009-01-01

As part of a CfBT Education Trust funded study, we investigated the practical steps school leaders can take to ensure that self-evaluation of school performance led, through the effective staff development, to genuine school improvement. On the journey from self-evaluation to school improvement our research identified what schools did that worked,…

Collaborative ReTek exchange - An innovative solution to the skills and resource shortage in the nuclear industry - 16396

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parr, Corhyn

2009-01-01

A Different Approach to the Skills and Resource Shortage The Nuclear Industry has for many years been concerned about a skills and resource shortage. This has been due to a poor perception of the industry by those on the outside, highly competitive industries vying for the same resource pool, a steep retirement curve for highly qualified staff and a lack of graduates entering industry. Here in the UK the creation of the National Skill Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) has put in place a framework to record skills and look to accredit the training providers in the nuclear industry to ensure that the correct skills for the future are available. This has gone some way to solving the skills problem and developing a well recognised accredited system but what about resource - where are the additional qualified resources going to be found? Part of the Solution - A Resource Exchange. How do we solve the skills shortage? We come together as an industry and share the available resource through a collaborative resource exchange. It has been done before in the IT industry when rates for specialists hit Pounds 1500 per day and recruitment agencies were charging extortionate fees for providing temporary resource. ReTek Consulting have developed the ReTek Resource Exchange to provide a neutral collaborative platform across the supply chain; from large scale infrastructure companies and joint venture platforms through to small companies and independent consultants. Using the ReTek Exchange permanent staff are made available to work for others during periods of under-utilisation. Links with similar highly regulated industries enable further management of peaks and troughs and a growth in experienced nuclear professionals through focused training and development. The Benefits of the ReTek Exchange are: - Increased utilisation of your current workforce. - Shared cost of permanent staff. - Speedy access to staff available in your region. - Reduced need for contract or agency staff. - Access

Clinical staff nurse leadership: Identifying gaps in competency development.

Science.gov (United States)

Franks-Meeks, Sherron

2018-01-01

To date, there has been no development of a complete, applicable inventory of clinical staff nurse (CSN) leadership role competencies through a valid and reliable methodology. Further, the CSN has not been invited to engage in the identification, definition, or development of their own leadership competencies. Compare existing leadership competencies to identify and highlight gaps in clinical staff nurse leadership role competency development and validation. Literature review. The CSN has not participated in the development of CSN leadership role competencies, nor have the currently identified CSN leadership role competencies been scientifically validated through research. Finally, CSN leadership role competencies are incomplete and do not reflect the CSN perspective. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Staff preparedness for providing palliative and end-of-life care in long-term care homes: Instrument development and validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Helen Yl; Chun, Gloria Km; Man, C W; Leung, Edward Mf

2018-05-01

Although much attention has been on integrating the palliative care approach into services of long-term care homes for older people living with frailty and progressive diseases, little is known about the staff preparedness for these new initiatives. The present study aimed to develop and test the psychometric properties of an instrument for measuring care home staff preparedness in providing palliative and end-of-life care. A 16-item instrument, covering perceived knowledge, skill and psychological readiness, was developed. A total of 247 staff members of different ranks from four care homes participated in the study. Exploratory factor analysis using the principal component analysis extraction method with varimax rotation was carried out for initial validation. Known group comparison was carried out to examine its discriminant validity. Reliability of the instrument was assessed based on test-retest reliability of a subsample of 20 participants and the Cronbach's alpha of the items. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the instrument yielded a three-factor solution, which cumulatively accounted for 68.5% of the total variance. Three subscales, namely, willingness, capability and resilience, showed high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. It also showed good discriminant validity between staff members of professional and non-professional groups. This is a brief, valid and reliable scale for measuring care home staff preparedness for providing palliative and end-of-life care. It can be used to identify their concerns and training needs in providing palliative and end-of-life care, and as an outcome measure to evaluate the effects of interventional studies for capacity building in this regard. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 745-749. © 2018 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Academic Staff's Views About International Scholarships and Support Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ertaç ATİLA

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to determine views of academic staff who have been to the United States in order to do a research study by means of scholarships and support programs provided by the Higher Education Council or Scientific or Technological Research Council of Turkey about the scholarship programs. The qualitative study is carried out as a holistic multiple case study research design. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from 10 academic staff who participated the scholarship program. Data were analyzed with content analysis technique. The results indicated that application process, time and financial resources were important for the preferences of academic staff in scholarship and support programs. The main reasons for applying the scholar program to undertake an international research study are grouped under three headings as academic, socio-cultural and foreign language improvements. The main influencing factors behind the researchers' preferences to go the United States are its' level of advancements in scientific research and peer influence. Concerning the duration of a research study in abroad the participants thought that 6 months to one year is adequate time and this time depends on the foreign language skills of the researchers, the field of study, subject and project. The main drawbacks of an international research study visit are the long waiting times for having the United States visa with no adequate support, the cost of health insurance and visa, lack of speaking foreign language skills, and adaptation time in the first arrival. As a result, the experienced participants suggested that the future scholarships have to cover health insurance; the researchers have to be supported for developing their foreign language skills and develop a clear research agenda and project prior to going abroad.

The Safety "Use Case": Co-Developing Chemical Information Management and Laboratory Safety Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Stuart, Ralph B.; McEwen, Leah R.

2016-01-01

The 2015 edition of the American Chemical Society's "Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor's Degree Programs" identifies six skill sets that undergraduate chemistry programs should instill in their students. In our roles as support staff for chemistry departments at two different institutions (one a Primarily Undergraduate…

An Integrated Communication Skills Package for Undergraduate Chemists

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, W. J.; Murray, R. E. G.; Moore, B. D.; Nonhebel, D. C.

2000-02-01

Positive feedback and evaluations were provided by students, graduates, academic staff in the department, and industrial contacts and employers. The funding council (Scottish Higher Education Funding Council), in the report on the Teaching Quality Assessment visit, identified this communication skills package as one of the Department's strengths in teaching. These positive evaluations suggest that the package is an effective means of developing the communication skills of students in chemistry.

"Learn by Doing": An Assessment of the Impact of Access Services in Fostering Skills Development of Access Services Student Staff at Kennedy Library

Science.gov (United States)

Adeogun, Margaret Olufunke

2016-01-01

The academic library continues to formulate strategies for providing and sustaining a creative learning environment for knowledge creation. But little has been said about its role in skills building through micro employment that is enabling students to develop and integrate their academic, personal, and social skills sets. This study examines the…

Measuring Science Inquiry Skills in Youth Development Programs: The Science Process Skills Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary E. Arnold

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years there has been an increased emphasis on science learning in 4-H and other youth development programs. In an effort to increase science capacity in youth, it is easy to focus only on developing the concrete skills and knowledge that a trained scientist must possess. However, when science learning is presented in a youth-development setting, the context of the program also matters. This paper reports the development and testing of the Science Process Skills Inventory (SPSI and its usefulness for measuring science inquiry skill development in youth development science programs. The results of the psychometric testing of the SPSI indicated the instrument is reliable and measures a cohesive construct called science process skills, as reflected in the 11 items that make up this group of skills. The 11 items themselves are based on the cycle of science inquiry, and represent the important steps of the complete inquiry process.

The higher school teaching staff professional development system creation on the adaptive management principles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borova T.A.

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The article deals with theoretical analysis of the higher school teaching staff professional development system creation on the adaptive management principles. It is determined the background and components of the higher school teaching staff professional development adaptive management system. It is specified the mechanisms for higher school teaching staff professional development adaptive management: monitoring and coaching. It is shown their place in the higher school teaching staff professional development system on the adaptive management principles. The results of the system efficiency are singled out.

Development of a medical staff recruitment system for teaching ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Development of a medical staff recruitment system for teaching hospitals in Nigeria. ... Nigeria, were visited and relevant information was collated through personal ... The design and development of the system employs 3-tier web architecture.

Education and training of healthcare staff in the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to work effectively with breastfeeding women: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gavine, Anna; MacGillivray, Steve; Renfrew, Mary J; Siebelt, Lindsay; Haggi, Haggi; McFadden, Alison

2016-01-01

Current evidence suggests that women need effective support to breastfeed, but many healthcare staff lack the necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills. There is therefore a need for breastfeeding education and training for healthcare staff. The primary aim of this review is to determine whether education and training programs for healthcare staff have an effect on their knowledge and attitudes about supporting breastfeeding women. The secondary aim of this review was to identify whether any differences in type of training or discipline of staff mattered. A systematic search of the literature was conducted using the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's trial register. Randomised controlled trials comparing breastfeeding education and training for healthcare staff with no or usual training and education were included if they measured the impact on staff knowledge, attitudes or compliance with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). From the 1192 reports identified, four distinct studies were included. Three studies were two-arm cluster-randomised trials and one was a two-arm individual randomised trial. Of these, three contributed quantitative data from a total of 250 participants. Due to heterogeneity of outcome measures meta-analysis was not possible. Knowledge was included as an outcome in two studies and demonstrated small but significant positive effects. Attitudes towards breastfeeding was included as an outcome in two studies, however, results were inconsistent both in terms of how they were measured and the intervention effects. One study reported a small but significant positive effect on BFHI compliance. Study quality was generally deemed low with the majority of domains being judged as high or unclear risk of bias. This review identified a lack of good evidence on breastfeeding education and training for healthcare staff. There is therefore a critical need for research to address breastfeeding education and training needs of multidisciplinary

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework and its implications for continuing professional development in nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Dinah; Berridge, Emma-Jane; Kelly, Daniel

2007-01-01

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework has been introduced as part of the Agenda for Change Reforms in the United Kingdom to link pay and career progression to competency. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications for nurses, their managers and the impact on university departments delivering continuing professional development for nurses. The new system has the potential to increase the human resources management aspect of the clinical nurse managers' role and could have legal implications, for example if practitioners perceive that their needs for continuing professional development have been overlooked to the detriment of their pay and career aspirations. The new system also has implications for providers of continuing professional development in the universities and is likely to demand closer liaison between education providers and trust staff who commission education and training. The Knowledge and Skills Framework is of interest to nurses and nurse educators internationally because the system, if effective, could be introduced elsewhere.

Developing nurses' transformational leadership skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Shelly Ann

2017-08-16

Healthcare is a complex area with significant potential for service improvement despite the effects of increasing economic and social pressures on the quality and safety of patient care. As the largest group of healthcare professionals in direct contact with patients, nurses are well positioned to contribute to improvements in healthcare services and to the development of new policies. To influence healthcare improvements and policies effectively, nurses require leadership skills. Historically, it was thought that only nurses in management roles required leadership skills; however, the ability to influence change is a requirement at all levels of clinical practice. Transformational leadership competencies provide nurses with the skills to contribute to improvements in the quality and safety of patient care, while enhancing their career satisfaction. This article examines how nurses can apply transformational leadership to their practice. It also informs nurses how to conduct an initial self-assessment of their leadership skills and to formulate a transformational leadership development plan.

When patient safety and skills development go hand in hand through targeted prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in patients with spinal-cord injury

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steensgaard, Randi; Bonne, Stine

2017-01-01

- to increase patient safety through conscious, targeted monitoring and treatment by nurses of all types of PU/wounds observed in patients at the Centre - to ensure a high degree of professionalism in rehabilitative nursing care given to patients with PU/wounds, by developing nursing skills Method The PU...... the intervention’s effect on skills development and systematic PU/wound care. Results Questionnaires were returned by 19 nurses and 15 social and health-care assistants (response rate 76%). Of these respondents, 91% believed they had the necessary skills in preventive PU/wound care; and 73% believed they could...... provide PU/wound-care treatment; whereas only 55% assessed themselves as competent to document PU/wound treatment. The nursing staff experienced increased qualification and skills acquisition through their work with the PU/wound patrol, and they reported the benefit of being able to engage in nursing...

Identification of Domains for Malaysian University Staff Happiness Index Development

Science.gov (United States)

Yassin, Sulaiman Md.

2014-01-01

Without any doubt happiness among staff in any organization is pertinent to ensure continued growth and development. However, not many studies were carried out to determine the domains that will be able to measure the level of happiness among staff in universities. Thus, the aim of this study is to elicit the domains that explain the overall…

Utilizing doctors' attitudes toward staff training to inform a chiropractic technology curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Eberhart, Catherine A; Martel, Stacie S

2015-03-01

The purpose of this study is to determine attitudes of doctors of chiropractic regarding the importance of staff training in specific skill areas to inform the curriculum management process of a chiropractic technology program. A survey was distributed to registrants of a chiropractic homecoming event. On a 5-point Likert scale, respondents were asked to rate the degree of importance that staff members be trained in specific skills. Descriptive statistics were derived, and a 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test differences between groups based on years in practice and level of staff training. Doctors place a high level of importance on oral communication skills and low importance on nutrition and physical examinations. Comparing groups based on years in practice revealed differences in the areas of passive physiotherapies (F = 3.61, p = .015), legal issues/regulations (F = 3.01, p = .032), occupational safety and health regulation (F = 4.27, p = .006), and marketing (F = 2.67, p = .049). Comparing groups based on level of staff training revealed differences in the areas of occupational safety and health regulations (F = 4.56, p = .005) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (F = 4.91, p = .003). With regard to their assistants, doctors of chiropractic tend to place high importance on office skills requiring effective communication and place less importance on clinical skills such as physical examinations and physiotherapy.

The impact of an intensive yearlong staff development program on science teachers' perceptions of pedagogical change

Science.gov (United States)

Hueni, Joneen A. Stone

The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of how teachers perceive their implementation of pedagogical change during and after their involvement in a yearlong staff development project in the Rice Model Lab (RML). The following questions were used to guide the inquiry: (1) How do participants of the RML describe their involvement with pedagogical change? (2) How do participants of the RML perceive their ability to handle a different pedagogical approach to classroom instruction? (3) How do participants describe their usage of different pedagogical approaches once they leave the RML and return to their own classrooms? The RML is a joint venture between Rice University and the Houston Independent School District. Annually, eight middle school science teachers spend a year's sabbatical in the RML engaged in learning about educational research and pedagogy. The teachers have opportunities to prepare and teach lessons to one class using their new knowledge and skills. Operational for seven years, the RML was chosen as the context and provided the fifteen participants. Participants chosen included previous and current RML program members with varying amounts of teaching experience. This inquiry was an ethnographic study in which the participants responded to open-ended questions about their experiences with pedagogical change. Data, collected during the 1997--1998 school year, included formal and informal interviews; portfolio and reflective journal entries; and observations of group interactions during meetings, social events, workshops, and activities at the RML. The collected data were analyzed by the qualitative procedures of unitization and constant comparative methods to reveal categories of similarity. The categories of collaboration, learner-centered instruction, grounding in classroom practice, feelings of stress, time, support, and increased content knowledge emerged from the analysis of unitized data. The emergent categories interlocked with

A 'Communication and Patient Safety' training programme for all healthcare staff: can it make a difference?

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Peter; Allen, Kellie; Daly, Michael

2012-01-01

Communication breakdown is a factor contributing to most cases of patient harm, and this harm continues to occur at unacceptable levels. Responding to this evidence, the Metro South District of Queensland Health (Australia) has developed a communication skills training programme titled 'Communication and Patient Safety'. The three modules, each lasting 3½ h, cover both staff-to-patient and staff-to-staff communication issues, and an unusual feature is that clinical and non-clinical staff attend together. Following positive evaluation data from our initial pilot programme (involving 350 staff in a single hospital), the programme was expanded to all five hospitals in the district, and has now been completed by over 3000 staff. The results show that despite the significant time commitment, participants find the courses useful and relevant (Kirkpatrick level 1), they learn and retain new material (level 2), and they report changes in behaviour at individual, team and facility levels (level 3). Although it remains a challenge to obtain quantitative data showing that training such as this directly improves patient safety (level 4), our qualitative and informal feedback indicates that participants and their managers perceive clear improvements in the 'communication culture' after a workplace team has attended the courses. Improving 'communication for safety' in healthcare is a worldwide imperative, and other healthcare jurisdictions should be able to obtain similar results to ours if they develop and support interactive, non-didactic training in communication skills.

Critical thinking of nurse managers related to staff RNs' perceptions of the practice environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zori, Susan; Nosek, Laura J; Musil, Carol M

2010-09-01

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANCE: Critical thinking (CT) skills and the inclination to engage in critical thinking are essential for nurse managers to function as transformational leaders capable of influencing staff to align with organizational goals. In an extensive literature review, numerous studies were found examining the concept of CT in students and no studies were found exploring CT in nurse managers. Identifying the attributes, such as CT, that lead to success in the nurse manager role is useful when preparing nurse managers to lead effectively in the current healthcare climate. Is there a difference between nurse managers' CT dispositions and their respective staff nurses' perceptions of the practice environment? A convenience sample of 12 nurse managers and a random sample of 132 of their respective staff registered nurses (RNs) participated in this descriptive study. CT in nurse managers was measured by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). Staff RNs' perceptions of the practice environment were measured by the Practice Environment Scale (PES). The research question was answered using a t test. Significant (p thinking confidence, and significant differences (p thinking dispositions of nurse managers and their respective staff RNs' perceptions of the practice environment. Nurse managers with stronger CT dispositions may be better able to create positive practice environments that are conducive to job satisfaction and thus the retention of staff RNs. Inclusion of strategies to support the development and use of CT in nurse managers is recommended. CT and other leadership attributes and skills including emotional and social intelligence and management of change through an appreciative inquiry process may provide opportunities to improve leadership effectiveness in nurse managers. Enhancing critical thinking skills and dispositions of nurse managers may help to create positive work environments for staff RNs. Staff RNs who

SOFT SKILLS COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER CANDIDATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Made Sudana

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Vocational education curriculum 2013 that applied nationally in the academic year 2014/2015 mandated that religious subject added character educational in which contactwith aspects of soft skills. This needs to be addressed by LPTK as producer vocational teacher candidate, so that future graduates are able to fulfill the mandate of the curriculum. Curriculum vocational teacher candidates who applied seems also still focused on providing hard skills competencies, so that graduates do not have adequate soft skills competence. On the other hand in the world of work has been going on trend shift in terms of hard skills to soft skills.Research and development is designed to go through stages and multiyear to produce soft skills development strategy for prospective teachers of vocational school. Development strategy departs from theoretical studies and mapping needs soft skills aspects of relevant research, analysis and LPTK vocational curriculum, soft skills needs and job requirements of future trends, soft skills required by vocational teachers, teaching soft skills already there, done to map the needs and later for further development until the hypothetical model generated Late models. Subjects were LPTK lecturers, teachers of vocational productive industrials. Data were obtained by observation and interviews, review of documents that the results were analyzed with descriptive qualitative and quantitative techniques. There are several aspects of the soft skills required candidates vocational school teachers, among others: (1 self-discipline, (2 responsibility, (3 the spirit of the work, (4 problem solving, (5 collaboration, (6 the ability of communication, (7 personality, (8 social attitudes, (9 critical thinking, (10 creative thinking and innovative, (11 confidence and (12 self-motivation. Soft skills development strategy skills prospective teachers through extra-curricular with gradual pattern through four stages, namely: (1 the development of

Development of a Refined Staff Group Trainer

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Quensel, Susan

1999-01-01

... individual staff sections in the brigade command post. The program was designed to deliver training to newly formed, inexperienced staffs conducting the staff functions that support the military decision-making process within the execution phase...

Sketching for Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, S. C.; Wang, P.; Sim, T. B.; Goh, E.; Ng, H. K.

2013-12-01

Sketching is a valuable field technique to support a person's observation, recording, interpretation and communication of important features in both natural and human-made landscapes. The Singapore geography syllabus employs an inquiry approach and encourages sketching as a fundamental geographical skill. Sketching allows the learner to connect with the world through a personal and kinesthetic experience. The Earth Observatory of Singapore collaborates with the Singapore Geography Teachers' Association, Urban Sketchers, and National Institute of Education professional development to give teachers both basic sketching skills and the opportunity to develop those skills in a scaffolded environment. In Singapore, geography and geology skills overlap in content area of coastal processes, climate change, and plate tectonics with its associated natural hazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunami. Both disciplines are interested in how people live on the Earth. Likewise, basic skills such as observing, classifying, measuring, and communicating cut across disciplines of social and natural sciences in order to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information about the world. Hence, sketching, commonly considered an art skill, is used to further scientific thinking. This somewhat unique collaboration to develop sketching in teachers is based on the long tradition of sketches in geological field work, the newly popular urban sketching community, and professional development by a professional organization and the Singapore National Institute of Education. Workshops provide technique as well as opportunities for sketching with experts in different areas relevant to the geography curriculum.

Professional development on innovation competence of teaching staff in Ugandan universities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kasule, G.W.

2015-01-01

Professional Development on Innovation Competence of Teaching Staff in Ugandan Universities

George Wilson Kasule

Abstract

Sufficient university teaching staff with innovation competence is key if universities want to play a significant role

Staff Group Trainer: Development of a Computer-Driven, Structured, Staff Training Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Koger, Milton

1998-01-01

.... The project produced two training support packages (TSP)--battalion and brigade--designed to train these staffs to more effectively and efficiently communicate within and between staff sections, command post, and the unit commander...

E-assessment of prior learning: a pilot study of interactive assessment of staff with no formal education who are working in Swedish elderly care.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Annika; Andrén, Marianne; Engström, Maria

2014-04-18

The current paper presents a pilot study of interactive assessment using information and communication technology (ICT) to evaluate the knowledge, skills and abilities of staff with no formal education who are working in Swedish elderly care. Theoretical and practical assessment methods were developed and used with simulated patients and computer-based tests to identify strengths and areas for personal development among staff with no formal education. Of the 157 staff with no formal education, 87 began the practical and/or theoretical assessments, and 63 completed both assessments. Several of the staff passed the practical assessments, except the morning hygiene assessment, where several failed. Other areas for staff development, i.e. where several failed (>50%), were the theoretical assessment of the learning objectives: Health, Oral care, Ergonomics, hygiene, esthetic, environmental, Rehabilitation, Assistive technology, Basic healthcare and Laws and organization. None of the staff passed all assessments. Number of years working in elderly care and staff age were not statistically significantly related to the total score of grades on the various learning objectives. The interactive assessments were useful in assessing staff members' practical and theoretical knowledge, skills, and abilities and in identifying areas in need of development. It is important that personnel who lack formal qualifications be clearly identified and given a chance to develop their competence through training, both theoretical and practical. The interactive e-assessment approach analyzed in the present pilot study could serve as a starting point.

E-assessment of prior learning: a pilot study of interactive assessment of staff with no formal education who are working in Swedish elderly care

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The current paper presents a pilot study of interactive assessment using information and communication technology (ICT) to evaluate the knowledge, skills and abilities of staff with no formal education who are working in Swedish elderly care. Methods Theoretical and practical assessment methods were developed and used with simulated patients and computer-based tests to identify strengths and areas for personal development among staff with no formal education. Results Of the 157 staff with no formal education, 87 began the practical and/or theoretical assessments, and 63 completed both assessments. Several of the staff passed the practical assessments, except the morning hygiene assessment, where several failed. Other areas for staff development, i.e. where several failed (>50%), were the theoretical assessment of the learning objectives: Health, Oral care, Ergonomics, hygiene, esthetic, environmental, Rehabilitation, Assistive technology, Basic healthcare and Laws and organization. None of the staff passed all assessments. Number of years working in elderly care and staff age were not statistically significantly related to the total score of grades on the various learning objectives. Conclusion The interactive assessments were useful in assessing staff members’ practical and theoretical knowledge, skills, and abilities and in identifying areas in need of development. It is important that personnel who lack formal qualifications be clearly identified and given a chance to develop their competence through training, both theoretical and practical. The interactive e-assessment approach analyzed in the present pilot study could serve as a starting point. PMID:24742168

Development and psychometric properties of ECPICID-AVC to measure informal caregivers' skills when caring for older stroke survivors at home.

Science.gov (United States)

Araújo, Odete; Lage, Isabel; Cabrita, José; Teixeira, Laetitia

2016-12-01

Informal caregivers provide a significant part of the total care needed by dependent older people poststroke. Although informal care is often the preferred option of those who provide and those who receive informal care, informal caregivers often report lack of preparation to take care of older dependent people. This article outlines the development and psychometric testing of informal caregivers' skills when providing care to older people after a stroke - ECPICID-AVC. Prospective psychometric instrument validation study. Eleven experts participated in a focus group in order to delineate, develop and validate the instrument. Data were gathered among adult informal caregivers (n = 186) living in the community in Northern Portugal from August 2013 to January 2014. The 32-item scale describes several aspects of informal caregiver's skills. The scale has eight factors: skill to feed/hydrate by nasogastric feeding, skill to assist the person in personal hygiene, skill to assist the person for transferring, skill to assist the person for positioning, skill to provide technical aids, skill to assist the person to use the toilet, skill to feed/hydrate and skill to provide technical aids for dressing/undressing. Analysis demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83) and good temporal stability 0.988 (0.984-0.991). The psychometric properties of the measurement tool showed acceptable results allowing its implementation in clinical practice by the nursing community staff for evaluating practical skills in informal caregivers when providing care to older stroke survivors living at home. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Systematic Management of Change Is the Key to Successful Staff Development. An Initial Study of the Bloomfield Public Schools Staff Development Project. Teacher Essentials, Styles & Strategies (TESS).

Science.gov (United States)

Celso, Nicholas; Morris, Harold

Confronted by a maturing staff, lower teacher turnover rates, declining enrollments, and more sophisticated instructional methods, the Bloomfield (New Jersey) Public School District adopted an ambitious staff development initiative in 1983. This paper describes the planning and implementation strategies used to launch Bloomfield's Teaching…

Developing communication skills training in 5 educational programs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Annegrethe; Ringby, Betina

Understanding the ability to communicate with patients as a central clinical skill, the importance of developing communication teaching in healthcare educations is obvious. Following the establishment of a room specially equipped for training communication skills in 2010, implementation of commun......Understanding the ability to communicate with patients as a central clinical skill, the importance of developing communication teaching in healthcare educations is obvious. Following the establishment of a room specially equipped for training communication skills in 2010, implementation....... As a result of the combination of easy access to technical resources in the dedicated room and the opportunity to continuously develop the facilitation skills needed to train students, communication skills training has been integrated in the curriculum of all five healthcare educational programmes....

. CONDITIONS AND DETERMINANTS OF THE ACADEMIC STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MODERN SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. L. Fomenko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper reveals the research findings concerning a complicated process of academic staff formation in the secondary school. The main determinants of the process include the discrepancy between the actual development level of academic staff and the existing requirements of pedagogic society. The author denotes the main motives for academic staff development: moral and financial incentives for professional growth, new educational tasks, unsatisfactory social status of educational institution, etc; and identifies the complex of objective and subjective conditions positively affecting the given process. According to the author, the main priority should be given to the methodological provision of academic staff, integration of their activity, and stimulation of informational, methodical, and organizational channels of school activity. In conclusion, the paper considers the principles of life-long teacher training, corporate cooperation, partnership and solidarity, and discusses the technological structure of academic staff development, based on the competence model of education. 

What do surgical oncology staff nurses know about colorectal cancer ostomy care?

Science.gov (United States)

Gemmill, Robin; Kravits, Kathy; Ortiz, Mildred; Anderson, Casandra; Lai, Lily; Grant, Marcia

2011-02-01

For most patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, dealing with the adjustment and rehabilitation after treatment can be overwhelming. There is a significant need for expert educational and counseling support, especially for the patient with a new ostomy. This pilot study describes acute care oncology staff nurses' knowledge about and attitudes toward providing direct ostomy care support and education. This study is part of a larger project assessing gaps in education and services in support of patients with colorectal cancer. The Survey on Ostomy Care questionnaire designed to assess nurses' knowledge about and attitudes toward ostomy care was administered to oncology staff nurses at a comprehensive cancer center. Only 30% of staff nurses surveyed strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, "I care for ostomy patients often enough to keep up my skills in ostomy care." Maintaining staff nurses' ability to teach and demonstrate to patients complex care such as ostomy care depends on the ability to practice both education and hands-on skills. Staff nurses identify that lack of opportunity to care for the new ostomy patient influences their ability to maintain skill expertise. The results show the need to explore the provision of ongoing staff education for low-volume patient populations using creative teaching strategies, such as clinical simulation and short videos. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Strategy-Based Development of Teacher Educators' ICT Competence through a Co-operative Staff Development Project

Science.gov (United States)

Lavonen, Jari; Lattu, Matti; Juuti, Kalle; Meisalo, Veijo

2006-01-01

An ICT strategy and an implementation plan for teacher education were created in a co-operative process. Visions and expectations of staff members and students were registered by questionnaires and by making notes during sessions in which the strategy was created. Thereafter, an implementation document, where the staff development programme and…

Improvement of Clinical Skills through Pharmaceutical Education and Clinical Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishizaki, Junko

2017-01-01

Professors and teaching staff in the field of pharmaceutical sciences should devote themselves to staying abreast of relevant education and research. Similarly those in clinical pharmacies should contribute to the advancement of pharmaceutical research and the development of next generation pharmacists and pharmaceuticals. It is thought that those who work in clinical pharmacies should improve their own skills and expertise in problem-finding and -solving, i.e., "clinical skills". They should be keen to learn new standard treatments based on the latest drug information, and should try to be in a position where collecting clinical information is readily possible. In the case of pharmacists in hospitals and pharmacies, they are able to aim at improving their clinical skills simply through performing their pharmaceutical duties. On the other hand, when a pharmaceutical educator aims to improve clinical skills at a level comparable to those of clinical pharmacists, it is necessary to devote or set aside considerable time for pharmacist duties, in addition to teaching, which may result in a shortage of time for hands-on clinical practice and/or in a decline in the quality of education and research. This could be a nightmare for teaching staff in clinical pharmacy who aim to take part in such activities. Nonetheless, I believe that teaching staff in the clinical pharmacy area could improve his/her clinical skills through actively engaging in education and research. In this review, I would like to introduce topics on such possibilities from my own experiences.

Stoplight Grid: a color-coded visual system for per diem staff assignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, P

1989-02-01

What is the best way to appropriately assign per diem nursing personnel? The author describes a systematic approach to per diem staff assignment called the Stoplight Grid. The Stoplight Grid correlates staff skills and preferences with unit needs and integrates this data into a color-coded system for staff assignment.

Using Coaching to Provide Ongoing Support and Supervision to Out-of-School Time Staff. Part 3 in a Series on Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Out-of-School Time Programs: The Role of Frontline Staff. Research-to-Results Brief. Publication #2009-06

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhauser, Mary; Metz, Allison J. R.

2009-01-01

Although skills needed by out-of-school time practitioners can be introduced during training, many skills can only really be learned on the job with ongoing support and supervision provided by a "coach." Research from both the education and out-of-school time fields supports the value of staff coaching as a professional development tool, and staff…

International mobility placements enable students and staff in Higher Education to enhance transversal and employability-related skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Standley, Henrietta J

2015-10-01

Internationalization has commanded an ever-more prominent position in higher education over recent years, and is now firmly entrenched. While academia has long been outward looking-international research collaborations, conferences and student exchanges are well-established practices-it is relatively recently that internationalization has become a goal in its own right, rather than a consequence of normal academic activity. There are multiple interdependent drivers behind this: a focus on graduate employability and development of broad competencies and transferable skills in addition to subject-specific training, 'international awareness' being confirmed as a graduate attribute that is highly valued by employers, the availability of detailed information enabling prospective students to choose between Higher Education Institutions on the basis of their international opportunities and graduate employment rates, increasing competition between Institutions to attract the best students and to ascend national and international league tables, and (both driving and reflecting these trends) national policy frameworks. This minireview focuses on two aspects of internationalization of direct relevance to microbiology students and academic staff in a typical Higher Education Institution: student research placements overseas, and the impact of international mobility on teaching practice and the student experience. Practical strategies for developing intercultural awareness and enhancing employability are highlighted. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Improving ward environments and developing skills for discharge with the implementation of self-catering on a low secure forensic unit.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Reilly, Alison

2016-01-01

The opportunities for service users to develop skills for more independent living and take control of their environments are limited in secure mental health units. This paper will outline a quality improvement project that changed how the catering services were delivered in a low secure unit in East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). A Quality Improvement methodology was adopted incorporating the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle which included the trial of service users preparing their own meals on a daily basis. The participation rates were measured and functional daily living skills were recorded. Following success of the trial, long-term implementation of self-catering was agreed, with service users being supported to prepare a shared evening meal every day on the ward with an average of 60% participation. Functional living skills indicated an improvement in the area of process skills. The project aligned with ELFT's aims of service users working in collaboration with staff to implement changes in service delivery.

PBL as a Tool for Staff Development in the Educational Transformation towards PBL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du, Xiangyun; Kolmos, Anette; Qvist, Palle

2007-01-01

Abstract Worldwide, the philosophy of problem based and project based learning (PBL) has been implemented as educational models in diverse practice of teaching and learning. Recent years have witnessed more and more educational transformations towards PBL. Despite the diversity of approaches...... and practices in the process of organizational transformation, staff development remains one of key elements in the transformation process in order to teach staff new PBL practice.. A growing body of literature discussing the role of facilitation in PBL, implementation of PBL at different levels in educational...... practice, PBL online; however, little has been documented on the practice of staff development in PBL, especially through online education in the form of PBL. This paper presents the experiences and reflections of using PBL online as a strategy for staff development based on the practice...

Staff's perceptions of voluntary assertiveness skills training.

Science.gov (United States)

McVanel, Sarah; Morris, Beth

2010-01-01

Clinicians' ability to be assertive when unsure or concerned about procedures, treatment modalities, or patients' symptoms is key in reducing risk and preventing sentinel events. In this article, the authors provide a framework for generic, voluntary assertiveness communication skills workshops that any educator can implement.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Information Seeking Success

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Elise D.; Jefferson, Renee N.

2013-01-01

Critical thinking skills are required to successfully navigate the overwhelming amount of information sources available today. To address the challenge of developing critical thinking skills, this empirical study examines the effectiveness of exercises in developing thinking skills in college freshmen students. The workbook exercises were designed…

Multinational corporations and skills development in Nigeria: the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The quest for skills development perhaps accounts for why developing countries like Nigeria attract multinational corporations (MNCs) to their territories to invest in their economies. MNCs are the custodians of skills vital for social and economic transformation of any nation. However, despite their skills advantage, Nigeria ...

DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ SKILLS FOR THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

OpenAIRE

Andreea ZAMFIR

2010-01-01

This study explores the manner in which students’ skills for the knowledge society could be developed. Our conclusion justifies the effort invested in designing new methods of developing students’ skills needed within the knowledge society. It has been concluded that information and communication technology creates a vast opportunity to improve the skills and competences needed within the knowledge society. The study was conducted using the knowledge base built up through research of literatu...

Development of fine motor skills in preterm infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bos, Arend F; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A; Hitzert, Marrit M; Tanis, Jozien C; Roze, Elise

2013-11-01

Fine motor skills are related to functioning in daily life and at school. We reviewed the status of knowledge, in preterm children, on the development of fine motor skills, the relation with gross motor skills, and risk factors for impaired fine motor skills. We searched the past 15 years in PubMed, using ['motor skills' or 'fine motor function' and 'preterm infant'] as the search string. Impaired gross and fine motor skills are among the most frequently occurring problems encountered by preterm children who do not develop cerebral palsy. The prevalence is around 40% for mild to moderate impairment and 20% for moderate impairment. Fine motor skill scores on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children are about 0.62 of a standard deviation lower compared with term children. Risk factors for fine motor impairments include moderately preterm birth (odds ratio [OR] 2.0) and, among very preterm children (development of and recovery from brain injury could guide future intervention attempts aimed at improving fine motor skills of preterm children. © The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2013 Mac Keith Press.

Impact of Managers' Coaching Conversations on Staff Knowledge Use and Performance in Long-Term Care Settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, Greta G; Hewko, Sarah J; Wang, Mengzhe; Wong, Carol A; Laschinger, Heather K Spence; Estabrooks, Carole A

2018-02-01

Extended lifespans and complex resident care needs have amplified resource demands on nursing homes. Nurse managers play an important role in staff job satisfaction, research use, and resident outcomes. Coaching skills, developed through leadership skill-building, have been shown to be of value in nursing. To test a theoretical model of nursing home staff perceptions of their work context, their managers' use of coaching conversations, and their use of instrumental, conceptual and persuasive research. Using a two-group crossover design, 33 managers employed in seven Canadian nursing homes were invited to attend a 2-day coaching development workshop. Survey data were collected from managers and staff at three time points; we analyzed staff data (n = 333), collected after managers had completed the workshop. We used structural equation modeling to test our theoretical model of contextual characteristics as causal variables, managers' characteristics, and coaching behaviors as mediating variables and staff use of research, job satisfaction, and burnout as outcome variables. The theoretical model fit the data well (χ 2 = 58, df = 43, p = .06) indicating no significant differences between data and model-implied matrices. Resonant leadership (a relational approach to influencing change) had the strongest significant relationship with manager support, which in turn influenced frequency of coaching conversations. Coaching conversations had a positive, non-significant relationship with staff persuasive use of research, which in turn significantly increased instrumental research use. Importantly, coaching conversations were significantly, negatively related to job satisfaction. Our findings add to growing research exploring the role of context and leadership in influencing job satisfaction and use of research by healthcare practitioners. One-on-one coaching conversations may be difficult for staff not used to participating in such conversations. Resonant leadership, as

Development of future faculty teaching skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Penson, J B

2010-01-01

Doctoral and postdoctoral students considering a career as an educator would be well served by: (1) training in effective classroom communication skills, (2) the use of existing technology in teaching, (3) developing a new course or updating an existing course, and (4) availing themselves of campus teaching resources designed enhance their teaching portfolio. Universities need to place more attention on developing the teaching skills of their doctoral and postdoctoral students. This should include teaching methods and aids, communication skills, motivation, learning theory, testing, counselling and guidance, and course design. An important dimension from a guidance stand point is the conduct of a formal peer review process for beginning faculty.

Improving the interview skills of college students using behavioral skills training.

Science.gov (United States)

Stocco, Corey S; Thompson, Rachel H; Hart, John M; Soriano, Heidi L

2017-07-01

Obtaining a job as a college graduate is partly dependent on interview performance. We used a multiple baseline design across skills to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training with self-evaluation for five college students. Training effects were evaluated using simulated interviews as baseline and posttraining assessments. All participants acquired targeted skills, but we observed some individual differences. Participants were satisfied with training outcomes and rated the procedures as acceptable. Furthermore, ratings from university staff who provide interview training indicated that training improved performance across several skills for the majority of participants. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Field-based generation and social validation managers and staff competencies for small community residences.

Science.gov (United States)

Thousand, J S; Burchard, S N; Hasazi, J E

1986-01-01

Characteristics and competencies for four staff positions in community residences for individuals with mental retardation were identified utilizing multiple empirical and deductive methods with field-based practitioners and field-based experts. The more commonly used competency generation methods of expert opinion and job performance analysis generated a high degree of knowledge and skill-based competencies similar to course curricula. Competencies generated by incumbent practitioners through open-ended methods of personal structured interview and critical incident analysis were ones which related to personal style, interpersonal interaction, and humanistic orientation. Although seldom included in staff, paraprofessional, or professional training curricula, these latter competencies include those identified by Carl Rogers as essential for developing an effective helping relationship in a therapeutic situation (i.e., showing liking, interest, and respect for the clients; being able to communicate positive regard to the client). Of 21 core competency statements selected as prerequisites to employment for all four staff positions, the majority (17 of 21) represented interpersonal skills important to working with others, including responsiveness to resident needs, personal valuation of persons with mental retardation, and normalization principles.

Medical staff organization in nursing homes: scale development and validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Paul R; Karuza, Jurgis; Intrator, Orna; Zinn, Jacqueline; Mor, Vincent; Caprio, Thomas; Caprio, Anthony; Dauenhauer, Jason; Lima, Julie

2009-09-01

To construct a multidimensional self-report scale to measure nursing home (NH) medical staff organization (NHMSO) dimensions and then pilot the scale using a national survey of medical directors to provide data on its psychometric properties. Instrument development process consisting of the proceedings from the Nursing Home Physician Workforce Conference and focus groups followed by cognitive interviews, which culminated in a survey of a random sample of American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) affiliated medical directors. Analyses were conducted on surveys matched to Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) data from freestanding nonpediatric nursing homes. A total of 202 surveys were available for analysis and comprised the final sample. Dimensions were identified that measured the extent of medical staff organization in nursing homes and included staff composition, appointment process, commitment (physiciancohesion; leadership turnover/capability), departmentalization (physician supervision, autonomy and interdisciplinary involvement), documentation, and informal dynamics. The items developed to measure each dimension were reliable (Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.81 to 0.65).Intercorrelations among the scale dimensions provided preliminary evidence of the construct validity of the scale. This report, for the first time ever, defines and validates NH medical staff organization dimensions, a critical first step in determining the relationship between physician practice and the quality of care delivered in the NH.

The efficacy of staff training on improving internal customer satisfaction in a rural health setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, R; Turner, R

1995-09-01

The NSW Health Department is 3 years into its customer satisfaction initiative. North West Health Service, one of the largest rural health districts, was among the first centres to embrace the customer satisfaction philosophy starting with compulsory training of all staff. This paper reports on changes in staff morale (internal satisfaction) as a result of that training. The data suggest that training per se has had minimal effect and argues for management development, particularly regarding leadership, rather than fiscal skills.

How nursing home residents develop relationships with peers and staff: a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Tonya; Bowers, Barbara

2015-01-01

Social support and social relationships have been repeatedly identified as essential to nursing home resident quality of life. However, little is known about ways residents develop relationships with peers or staff. This study was conducted to explore the ways resident develop relationships with peers and staff in nursing homes. Fifteen cognitively intact nursing home residents from two facilities were interviewed for this grounded theory study. Sampling, interviewing, and analysis occurred in a cyclical process with results at each stage of the study informing decisions about data collection and analysis in the next. Unstructured interviews and field observations were conducted. Data were analyzed with open, axial, and selective coding. Residents developed relationships with peers and staff largely as an unintended consequence of trying to have a life in the nursing home. Having a life was a two-step process. First, life motivations (Being Self and Creating a Positive Atmosphere) influenced resident preferences for daily activities and interaction goals and subsequently their strategies for achieving and establishing both. Second, the strategies residents used for achieving their required daily activities (Passing Time and Getting Needs Met) and interaction goals then influenced the nature of interaction and the subsequent peer or staff response to these interactions. Residents defined relationships as friendly or unfriendly depending on whether peers or staff responded positively or negatively. There was considerable overlap in the ways peer and staff relationships developed and the results highlight the role of peer and staff responsiveness in relationship development. The results provide possible explanations for the success of interventions in the literature designed to improve staff responsiveness to residents. The results suggest that adapting these kinds of interventions for use with peers may also be successful. The conceptual model also presents a number

Training Needs of Vocational Forestry Staff in Ogun State Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These concerns gave rise to this study with specific objectives to level of knowledge and level of skills of vocational staff in forestry activities. Data were collected using a simple random sampling technique in the selection of 50% of vocational staff totaling 143 respondents. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were ...

38 CFR 21.382 - Training and staff development for personnel providing assistance under Chapter 31.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Training and staff....382 Training and staff development for personnel providing assistance under Chapter 31. (a) General. VA shall provide a program of ongoing professional training and development for staff of the VR&E...

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Perioperative Nursing and Leadership: Developing Skills for Improved Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Beydler, Kathy Williams

2017-10-01

Many responsibilities of perioperative professionals involve concrete tasks that require high technical competence. Emotional intelligence, referred to as EQ, which involves the ability to relate to and influence others, may also be important for perioperative professionals. High EQ has been linked to higher performance in the workplace, higher job satisfaction, lower turnover intentions, and less burnout. Perioperative professionals who demonstrate a combination of technical skills and EQ could be more attuned to the humanity of health care (ie, providing more holistic care for the patient). Perioperative nurses who value providing holistic care for their patients may possess many of the elements of EQ. Leaders who recognize the importance of their own EQ and actively assist staff members to enhance and develop their EQ competency may help to create a competitive advantage by establishing a workforce of nurses who possess strong technical skills and high EQ. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Staff development and library services in academic libraries in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Staff development and library services in academic libraries in Bayelsa and Delta States. ... Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management ... Descriptive survey research design was used for this study, data was ...

Clinical Nurse Specialists Guide Staff Nurses to Promote Practice Accountability Through Peer Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Semper, Julie; Halvorson, Betty; Hersh, Mary; Torres, Clare; Lillington, Linda

2016-01-01

The aim of the study was to describe the clinical nurse specialist role in developing and implementing a staff nurse education program to promote practice accountability using peer review principles. Peer review is essential for professional nursing practice demanding a significant culture change. Clinical nurse specialists in a Magnet-designated community hospital were charged with developing a staff nurse peer review education program. Peer review is a recognized mechanism of professional self-regulation to ensure delivery of quality care. The American Nurses Association strongly urges incorporating peer review in professional nursing practice models. Clinical nurse specialists play a critical role in educating staff nurses about practice accountability. Clinical nurse specialists developed an education program guided by the American Nurses Association's principles of peer review. A baseline needs assessment identified potential barriers and learning needs. Content incorporated tools and strategies to build communication skills, collaboration, practice change, and peer accountability. The education program resulted in increased staff nurse knowledge about peer review and application of peer review principles in practice. Clinical nurse specialists played a critical role in helping staff nurses understand peer review and its application to practice. The clinical nurse specialist role will continue to be important in sustaining the application of peer review principles in practice.

Towards inclusion? Developing teacher skills for communication ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main finding is that trainees have an opportunity to develop skills for communication with children who are deaf or hard of hearing from practical activities undertaken in the classroom and during teaching practice. However, these provisions are not sufficient to enable trainees develop skills for communication with that ...

Toward Addressing Skills Development and Employment Crisis in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Toward Addressing Skills Development and Employment Crisis in Uganda: ... women and youth - both educated and uneducated - and key informants, ... skills development are explored from countries like, Singapore, Malaysia, and Mauritius.

Perfecting social skills a guide to interpersonal behavior development

CERN Document Server

Eisler, Richard M

1980-01-01

That man is a social being is almost axiomatic. Our interpersonal relation­ ships can be sources of the most rewarding or the most painful of human experiences. To a large measure our accomplishments in life depend on the facility with which we interact with others-our social skill. The acquisition of social skills is, of course, a natural part of the overall socialization process. However, in many instances it becomes necessary or desirable to develop further an individual's social facilities. Such skill development is the topic of this book. Two major goals were kept in mind in the writing of this book. The first was to provide a conceptual framework within which to view social skills. Such a framework allows one to understand why it is important to develop social skills, and the effects that such skill development should have. If the reader has a thorough understanding of the concept of social skills and their development, it becomes possible to make appropriate innovations and adaptions to his or her own...

Virtual Reality Simulator Developed Welding Technology Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Yunus, Faizal Amin Nur; Baser, Jamil Abd; Masran, Saiful Hadi; Razali, Nizamuddin; Rahim, Bekri

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the suitability of VR welding simulator application towards CBT in developing welding skills upon new trainees at the Centre of Instructor and Advanced Skills Training (CIAST) Shah Alam Selangor and National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) Pagoh Johor. The significance of the study was to create a…

Strategies for Developing a High-Skilled Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Sleezer, Catherine M.; Denny, Dan

2004-01-01

This article focuses on the human performance improvement and human resource development task of providing an organization with a skilled workforce. We begin by describing the U.S. demographic trends and the changing job skill requirements that will lead to a shortage of skilled workers and that highlight the importance of considering the various…

Developing an appropriate staff mix for anticoagulation clinics: functional job analysis approach

Science.gov (United States)

Hailemariam, Desta A.; Shan, Xiaojun; Chung, Sung H.; Khasawneh, Mohammad T.; Lukesh, William; Park, Angela; Rose, Adam

2018-05-01

Anticoagulation clinics (ACCs) are specialty clinics that manage patients with blood clotting problems. Since labor costs usually account for a substantial portion of a healthcare organization's budget, optimizing the number and types of staff required was often the focus, especially for ACCs, where labor-intensive staff-patient interactions occur. A significant portion of tasks performed by clinical pharmacists might be completed by clinical pharmacist technicians, which are less-expensive resources. While nurse staffing models for a hospital inpatient unit are well established, these models are not readily applicable to staffing ACCs. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to develop a framework for determining the right staff mix of clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacy technicians that increases the efficiency of care delivery process and improves the productivity of ACC staff. A framework is developed and applied to build a semi-automated full-time equivalent (FTE) calculator and compare various staffing scenarios using a simulation model. The FTE calculator provides the right staff mix for a given staff utilization target. Data collected from the ACCs at VA Boston Healthcare System is used to illustrate the FTE calculator and the simulation model. The result of the simulation model can be used by ACC managers to easily determine the number of FTEs of clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacy technicians required to reach the target utilization and the corresponding staffing cost.

Some fuzzy techniques for staff selection process: A survey

Science.gov (United States)

Md Saad, R.; Ahmad, M. Z.; Abu, M. S.; Jusoh, M. S.

2013-04-01

With high level of business competition, it is vital to have flexible staff that are able to adapt themselves with work circumstances. However, staff selection process is not an easy task to be solved, even when it is tackled in a simplified version containing only a single criterion and a homogeneous skill. When multiple criteria and various skills are involved, the problem becomes much more complicated. In adddition, there are some information that could not be measured precisely. This is patently obvious when dealing with opinions, thoughts, feelings, believes, etc. One possible tool to handle this issue is by using fuzzy set theory. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review the existing fuzzy techniques for solving staff selection process. It classifies several existing research methods and identifies areas where there is a gap and need further research. Finally, this paper concludes by suggesting new ideas for future research based on the gaps identified.

Development of the Human Factors Skills for Healthcare Instrument: a valid and reliable tool for assessing interprofessional learning across healthcare practice settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Reedy, Gabriel B; Lavelle, Mary; Simpson, Thomas; Anderson, Janet E

2017-10-01

A central feature of clinical simulation training is human factors skills, providing staff with the social and cognitive skills to cope with demanding clinical situations. Although these skills are critical to safe patient care, assessing their learning is challenging. This study aimed to develop, pilot and evaluate a valid and reliable structured instrument to assess human factors skills, which can be used pre- and post-simulation training, and is relevant across a range of healthcare professions. Through consultation with a multi-professional expert group, we developed and piloted a 39-item survey with 272 healthcare professionals attending training courses across two large simulation centres in London, one specialising in acute care and one in mental health, both serving healthcare professionals working across acute and community settings. Following psychometric evaluation, the final 12-item instrument was evaluated with a second sample of 711 trainees. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 12-item, one-factor solution with good internal consistency (α=0.92). The instrument had discriminant validity, with newly qualified trainees scoring significantly lower than experienced trainees ( t (98)=4.88, pSkills for Healthcare Instrument provides a reliable and valid method of assessing trainees' human factors skills self-efficacy across acute and mental health settings. This instrument has the potential to improve the assessment and evaluation of human factors skills learning in both uniprofessional and interprofessional clinical simulation training.

SUPPORTING PRETERM INFANT ATTACHMENT AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: STAFF PERCEPTIONS.

Science.gov (United States)

Twohig, Aoife; Reulbach, Udo; Figuerdo, Ricardo; McCarthy, Anthony; McNicholas, Fiona; Molloy, Eleanor Joan

2016-01-01

The infant-parent relationship has been shown to be of particular significance to preterm infant socioemotional development. Supporting parents and infants in this process of developing their relationships is an integral part of neonatal intensive care; however, there is limited knowledge of NICU staff perceptions about this aspect of care. To explore NICU staff perceptions about attachment and socioemotional development of preterm infants, experience of training in this area and the emotional impact of their work. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of staff perceptions of the emotional experiences of parents and the developing parent-infant relationship in an NICU was conducted in a Level III NICU, after pilot testing, revision, and ethical approval. Fifty-seven (68%) of NICU staff responded to the survey. Respondents identified parents' emotional experiences such as "anxiety," "shock," "loss of control," and "lack of feelings of competence as parents" as highly prevalent. Infant cues of "responding to parent's voice" and "quieting-alerting" were ranked most highly; "crying" and "physiological changes" were ranked lowest. Preterm infant medical risk, maternal emotional state, and mental health are perceived to impact most highly on the developing relationship, as compared with infant state or behavior and socioeconomic factors. Fifty-three (93%) respondents felt confident, and 50 (87.8%) felt competent discussing their emotional experiences with parents. Fifty-four (95%) responded that attending to these areas was an integral part of their role; however, staff had seldom received education in this area. Respondents also perceived that specific psychological support for parents was lacking both during and after the infant's discharge. While all staff surveyed perceived the nature of their work to be emotionally stressful, there were differences among NICU staff disciplines and with years of experience in the NICU in terms of their perceptions about education in

Developing Entrepreneurial Skills in Pharmacy Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Laverty, Garry; Hanna, Lezley-Anne; Haughey, Sharon; Hughes, Carmel

2015-09-25

Objective. To create, implement, and evaluate a workshop that teaches undergraduate pharmacy students about entrepreneurship. Design. Workshops with 3 hours of contact time and 2 hours of self-study time were developed for final-year students. Faculty members and students evaluated peer assessment, peer development, communication, critical evaluation, creative thinking, problem solving, and numeracy skills, as well as topic understanding. Student evaluation of the workshops was done primarily via a self-administered, 9-item questionnaire. Assessment. One hundred thirty-four students completed the workshops. The mean score was 50.9 out of 65. Scores ranged from 45.9 to 54.1. The questionnaire had a 100% response rate. Many students agreed that workshops about entrepreneurship were a useful teaching method and that key skills were fostered. Conclusion. Workshops effectively delivered course content about entrepreneurship and helped develop relevant skills. This work suggests students value instruction on entrepreneurship.

Develop your presentation skills

CERN Document Server

Theobald, Theo

2016-01-01

Going beyond handling nerves and presenting PowerPoint slides, the third edition of "Develop Your Presentation Skills "offers practical advice on developing a captivating presentation, constructing compelling content, and boosting self-confidence. The book includes three new chapters on delivering a "stripped down"presentation, using new media to engage with the audience, and handling being asked to present on short notice."

Development of fine motor skills in preterm infants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, Arend F.; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N. J. A.; Hitzert, Marrit M.; Tanis, Jozien C.; Roze, Elise

2013-01-01

Fine motor skills are related to functioning in daily life and at school. We reviewed the status of knowledge, in preterm children, on the development of fine motor skills, the relation with gross motor skills, and risk factors for impaired fine motor skills. We searched the past 15 years in PubMed,

Gross motor skill development of kindergarten children in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Aye, Thanda; Kuramoto-Ahuja, Tsugumi; Sato, Tamae; Sadakiyo, Kaori; Watanabe, Miyoko; Maruyama, Hitoshi

2018-05-01

[Purpose] The purposes of this study were to assess and explore the gender-based differences in gross motor skill development of 5-year-old Japanese children. [Subjects and Methods] This cross-sectional study recruited 60 healthy 5-year-old (third-year kindergarten, i.e., nencho ) children (34 boys, 26 girls) from one local private kindergarten school in Otawara city, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Gross motor skills, including six locomotor and six object control skills, were assessed using the test of gross motor development, second edition (TGMD-2). All subjects performed two trials of each gross motor skill, and the performances were video-recorded and scored. Assessment procedures were performed according to the standardized guidelines of the TGMD-2. [Results] The majority of subjects had an average level of overall gross motor skills. Girls had significantly better locomotor skills. Boys had significantly better object control skills. [Conclusion] The gross motor skill development of 5-year-old Japanese children involves gender-based differences in locomotor and object control skills. This study provided valuable information that can be used to establish normative references for the gross motor skills of 5-year-old Japanese children.

What Happens When the Musicians Leave? Case Study of a Jessie’s Fund Project to Develop Teachers’ Skills and Confidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tom Northey

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This article describes a project delivered by Jessie’s Fund, a UK charity which supports children through music therapy and creative music work. The project took place between January and July 2012 and involved staff and pupils from a special school in the north of England. The article describes briefly how music is delivered in special schools across the UK and explains some of the challenges Jessie’s Fund has faced in having a lasting impact on how schools cover the music curriculum for children with complex needs. In 2012 Jessie’s Fund partnered with a special school in the north of England to design a new approach which focused intensively on the development needs of staff. Jessie’s Fund musicians visited pairs of staff over a period of six months to build their skills and confidence in leading music sessions with their pupils. The project was considerably more effective than some previous ‘musician-led’ activities and had a significant, whole-school impact. This article describes the work that took place, the responses from the staff involved and how Jessie’s Fund intends to use this learning for future projects.

The development and validation of measures to assess cooking skills and food skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavelle, Fiona; McGowan, Laura; Hollywood, Lynsey; Surgenor, Dawn; McCloat, Amanda; Mooney, Elaine; Caraher, Martin; Raats, Monique; Dean, Moira

2017-09-02

With the increase use of convenience food and eating outside the home environment being linked to the obesity epidemic, the need to assess and monitor individuals cooking and food skills is key to help intervene where necessary to promote the usage of these skills. Therefore, this research aimed to develop and validate a measure for cooking skills and one for food skills, that are clearly described, relatable, user-friendly, suitable for different types of studies, and applicable across all sociodemographic levels. Two measures were developed in light of the literature and expert opinion and piloted for clarity and ease of use. Following this, four studies were undertaken across different cohorts (including a sample of students, both 'Food preparation novices' and 'Experienced food preparers', and a nationally representative sample) to assess temporal stability, psychometrics, internal consistency reliability and construct validity of both measures. Analysis included T-tests, Pearson's correlations, factor analysis, and Cronbach's alphas, with a significance level of 0.05. Both measures were found to have a significant level of temporal stability (P cooking skills confidence measure ranged from 0.78 to 0.93 across all cohorts. The food skills confidence measure's Cronbach's alpha's ranged from 0.85 to 0.94. The two measures also showed a high discriminate validity as there were significant differences (P cooking skills confidence and P cooking skills confidence measure and the food skills confidence measure have been shown to have a very satisfactory reliability, validity and are consistent over time. Their user-friendly applicability make both measures highly suitable for large scale cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies to assess or monitor cooking and food skills levels and confidence.

Finger-Based Numerical Skills Link Fine Motor Skills to Numerical Development in Preschoolers.

Science.gov (United States)

Suggate, Sebastian; Stoeger, Heidrun; Fischer, Ursula

2017-12-01

Previous studies investigating the association between fine-motor skills (FMS) and mathematical skills have lacked specificity. In this study, we test whether an FMS link to numerical skills is due to the involvement of finger representations in early mathematics. We gave 81 pre-schoolers (mean age of 4 years, 9 months) a set of FMS measures and numerical tasks with and without a specific finger focus. Additionally, we used receptive vocabulary and chronological age as control measures. FMS linked more closely to finger-based than to nonfinger-based numerical skills even after accounting for the control variables. Moreover, the relationship between FMS and numerical skill was entirely mediated by finger-based numerical skills. We concluded that FMS are closely related to early numerical skill development through finger-based numerical counting that aids the acquisition of mathematical mental representations.

Hospital staff experiences of their relationships with adults who self-harm: A meta-synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Sophie; Glover, Lesley

2017-09-01

This review aimed to synthesize qualitative literature exploring inpatient hospital staff experiences of their relationships with people who self-harm. Nine studies were identified from a systematic search of five research databases. Papers included the experiences of physical health and mental health staff working in inpatient settings. The studies employed various qualitative research methods and were appraised using an adapted quality assessment tool (Tong, Sainsbury, & Craig, 2007). A meta-synthesis was conducted using traditional qualitative analysis methods including coding and categorizing data into themes. Three main themes derived from the data. 'The impact of the system' influenced the extent to which staff were 'Fearing the harm from self-harm', or were 'Working alongside the whole person'. A fear-based relationship occurred across mental health and physical health settings despite differences in training; however, 'Working alongside the whole person' primarily emerged from mental health staff experiences. Systemic factors provided either an inhibitory or facilitative influence on the relational process. Staff experiences of their relationship with people who self-harm were highlighted to have an important impact on the delivery and outcome of care. Increasing support for staff with a focus on distress tolerance, managing relational issues, and developing self-awareness within the relationship may lead to a more mutually beneficial experience of care. Equally, structure, clarity, and support within inpatient systems may empower staff to feel more confident in utilizing their existing skills. Working with people who self-harm can be emotionally challenging and how staff cope with this can significantly impact on the engagement of staff and patients. Increasing the skills of staff in managing relational issues and tolerating distress, as well as providing support and reflective practice groups may be useful in managing emotional responses to working with

Skill Development in Science and Technology Education for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

OpenAIRE

M. N. Modebelu; S. A. Ugwuanyi

2014-01-01

This paper reviews skill development in science and technology education, which is of crucial importance for sustainable development in Nigeria. The relevant concepts are introduced and robust argumentation is made with respect to the context of Nigeria. Keywords: skill development, education, Nigeria

Innovative public library services - staff-less or staff-intensive?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannsen, Carl Gustav Viggo

2014-01-01

Purpose – Several recent library innovations seem to make professional and clerical staff superfluous such as automated loan and delivery equipment, staff-less libraries open in 80 hours a week, and virtual services, enabling users to search the library catalogue and make reservations of library...... materials from their home address. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether such developments will necessarily lead to a situation where public libraries become self-service institutions or to what extent self-service and innovative staff-intensive library services can develop and co......-exist. Furthermore, the paper will examine what challenges library leaders face and what they can do, and actually have done, to handle staff resistance and other related problems to the benefit of both the users, the local communities, and also, the staff, in particular, when introducing new and innovative services...

Public nursing home staff's experience of participating in an intervention aimed at enhancing their self-esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Wadensten, Barbro; Engström, Maria; Häggström, Elisabeth

2009-11-01

The aim of the present study was to gain an understanding of how nursing staff experienced participating in a training programme aimed at strengthening their self-esteem and empowering them, to determine whether participation benefited them in any way, and to describe their opinions about possible benefits or disadvantages. Staff working in institutions such as nursing homes have a low status in society. A training programme was introduced to staff in a public nursing home. It focused on helping them understand factors in the work situation that influence them and on empowering them. The study was explorative and qualitative in design. The participants in the programme were generally satisfied with it. Their opinions about the benefits they received from the programme can be described using three themes: 'improved communication skills', 'enhanced self-esteem' and 'sees work in a different light'. The most important finding of the present study is that it was possible to strengthen and empower staff. Staff members were generally pleased and satisfied with the content/organization of the training programme. They felt the programme had been of value to them by improving their communication skills and increasing their self-esteem. The present result could be of value to managers and educators working in the area of nursing home care when planning education and development activities for staff. Learning to communicate better and understand the social structure at the workplace could improve staff members' self-esteem, thereby enhancing the work situation and atmosphere as well as empowering the individuals.

Staff management, training and knowledge management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makino, Hitoshi; Umeki, Hiroyuki; Capouet, M.; Depaus, C.; Berckmans, A.

2014-01-01

Staff management/training and knowledge management are organisational issues that are particularly sensitive in long-term projects stretching over decades like the development and operation of a geological repository. The IAEA has already issued several publications that deal with this issue (IAEA, 2006, 2008). Organisational aspects were also discussed in the framework of a topical session organised by the Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC) at its annual meeting in 2009 and were regarded as a topic deserving future attention (NEA, 2009a). More recently, the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) identified organisational, mission and behavioural features as attributes of confidence and trust (NEA, 2013). They also identified that aspects such as structural learning capacity, high levels of skill and competence in relevant areas, specific management plan, good operating records, transparency and consistency are associated with confidence building in a safety case. These aspects are considerably related to staff training/management and knowledge management. The IGSC has initiated a proposal of study dedicated to staff training/management and knowledge management with the objective to highlight how these recent concerns and the requirements issued by the IAEA are concretely implemented in the national programmes. The goal of this study is to acknowledge the differences of views and needs for staff management and knowledge management at different stages of individual programmes and between implementer and regulator. As a starting point to this study, the JAEA and ONDRAF/NIRAS prepared a draft questionnaire in order to succinctly capture processes and tools that the national organisations have implemented to meet the requirements and address the issues set out in the field of staff and knowledge management. For the purpose of this study, a questionnaire is now under development, which will be presented on the occasion of this symposium with guidance based on a

The Design and Development of Staff Wellbeing Initiatives: Staff Stressors, Burnout and Emotional Exhaustion at Children and Young People's Mental Health in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Coates, Dominiek D; Howe, Deborah

2015-11-01

Mental health work presents problems for staff over and above those encountered in other organisations, including other areas of healthcare. Healthcare workers, in particular mental health workers, have poorer job satisfaction and higher job burnout and turnover compared with established norms for other occupational groups. To make sense of why healthcare workers experience high levels of burnout, a strong body of literature points to the emotionally demanding nature of people-work. The negative effects of mental health work on employee health can be mitigated by the provision of appropriate job resources and wellbeing initiatives. As to develop initiatives that appropriately target staff sources of stress and needs, it is important to engage staff in this process. As such, Children and Young People's Mental Health (CYPMH) and headspace Gosford, in Australia, New South Wales (NSW), developed a survey to identify how staff experience and manage the emotional demands of mental health work, what they identify as key stressors and which initiatives they would like to see implemented. Fifty-five staff (response rate of 73 %) completed the survey, and the results suggest that while staff find the work emotionally demanding, they do not appear to be emotionally exhausted and report administrative rather than client issues as their primary concerns. While a strong body of literature identifies the management of emotions in the workplace as a significant cause of stress, organisational stressors such as working in a bureaucratic environment are also important to understanding staff wellbeing.

Effectiveness of pharmacovigilance: multifaceted educational intervention related to the knowledge, skills and attitudes of multidisciplinary hospital staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiana Rossi Varallo

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Most educational interventions in pharmacovigilance are designed to encourage physicians to report adverse drug reactions. However, multidisciplinary teams may play an important role in reporting drug-related problems. This study assessed the impact of a multifaceted educational intervention in pharmacovigilance on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of hospital professionals. METHOD: This prospective, open-label, non-randomized study was performed in a medium-complexity hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. The intervention involved four activities: 1 an interactive lecture, 2 a practical class, 3 a pre-post questionnaire administered to professionals on a multidisciplinary team, and 4 educational material. The intervention’s impact on the professionals’ knowledge and skills was assessed using the World Health Organization’s definitions. The intervention’s effect on the professionals’ attitudes was analysed by the prevalence of adverse drug event reports (adverse drug reactions, medication errors, therapeutic failure and drug quality deviations and the relevance (seriousness and expectancy of the events. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-three professionals were enrolled. A 70-fold increase in the number of adverse drug event reports was observed during the 12 months post-intervention. The intervention improved the professionals’ form-completion skills (p<0.0001 and their knowledge of pharmacovigilance (p<0.0001. The intervention also contributed to detecting serious drug-induced events. The nursing staff reported medication errors, and pharmacists and physiotherapists recognized serious adverse drug reactions. Physicians communicated suspicions of therapeutic failure. CONCLUSIONS: A multidisciplinary approach to drug-safety assessments contributes to identifying new, relevant drug-related problems and improving the rate of adverse drug event reporting. This strategy may therefore be applied to improve risk communication in

Police, Design, Plan and Manage: Developing a Framework for Integrating Staff Roles and Institutional Policies into a Plagiarism Prevention Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Christopher; White, Melanie

2014-01-01

When student plagiarism occurs, academic interest and institutional policy generally assume the fault rests with the student. This paper questions this assumption. We claim that plagiarism is a shared responsibility and a complex phenomenon that requires an ongoing calibration of the relative skills and experiences of students and staff in…

Managing social difficulties: roles and responsibilities of patients and staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Penny; Bingham, Laura; Taylor, Sally; Hanif, Naheed; Podmore, Emma; Velikova, Galina

2012-01-01

Implementation of guidance on assessment and management of psychosocial and supportive-care problems or needs will be successful only if consideration is given to existing skills, experience and expectations of staff and patients. This study examines the roles and responsibilities of staff, patients and families in relation to management of social difficulties and proposes a pathway for response. A qualitative study was performed using staff and patient interviews. Seventeen doctors and 16 nurses were interviewed using patient scenarios and a support service questionnaire. Patients (n = 41) completed a screening questionnaire (the Social Difficulties Inventory) and were interviewed. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and subjected to a Framework analysis. Analysis examined (1) actions taken by staff and patients in response to social difficulties, (2) reasons given for action taken and (3) perceptions of staff and patients of who was responsible for taking action. Staff were confident concerning clinically related issues (i.e. mobility) but more hesitant concerning difficulties related to money, work and family concerns. Patients liked to cope with problems on their own where possible, would have liked information or support from staff but were uncertain how to access this. Results led to development of a hierarchy of interventions in response to detected social difficulties. For routine assessment of social difficulties, patients, nurses and doctors will have to work collaboratively, with nurses taking a lead in discussion. For specific clinically related problems doctors would play a more primary role. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A qualitative study of continuing education needs of rural nursing unit staff: the nurse administrator's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Fairchild, Roseanne Moody; Everly, Marcee; Bozarth, Lisa; Bauer, Renee; Walters, Linda; Sample, Marilyn; Anderson, Louise

2013-04-01

This study reports perceptions of the continuing education (CE) needs of nursing unit staff in 40 rural healthcare facilities (10 hospitals and 30 long-term care facilities) in a rural Midwestern U.S. region from the perspective of nurse administrators in an effort to promote a community-based academic-practice CE partnership. Qualitative data collection involving naturalistic inquiry methodology was based on key informant interviews with nurse administrators (n=40) working and leading in the participating health care facilities. Major themes based on nurse administrators' perceptions of CE needs of nursing unit staff were in four broad conceptual areas: "Cultural issues", "clinical nursing skills", "patient care", and "patient safety". Major sub-themes for each conceptual area are highlighted and discussed with narrative content as expressed by the participants. Related cultural sub-themes expressed by the nurse administrators included "horizontal violence" (workplace-hospital and LTC nursing unit staff) and "domestic violence" (home-LTC nursing unit staff). The uniqueness of nurses' developmental learning needs from a situational point of view can be equally as important as knowledge-based and/or skill-based learning needs. Psychological self-reflection is discussed and recommended as a guiding concept to promote the development and delivery of relevant, empowering and evidence-based CE offerings for rural nursing unit staff. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The emergent relevance of care staff decision-making and situation awareness to mobility care in nursing homes: an ethnographic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Janice; Sims, Jane; Haines, Terry P

2014-12-01

To explore mobility care as provided by care staff in nursing homes. Care staff regularly assist residents with their mobility. Nurses are increasingly reliant on such staff to provide safe and quality mobility care. However, the nature of care staff decision-making when providing assistance has not been fully addressed in the literature. A focused ethnography. The study was conducted in four nursing homes in Melbourne, Australia. Non-participant observations of residents and staff in 2011. Focus groups with 18 nurses, care and lifestyle staff were conducted at three facilities in 2012. Thematic analysis was employed for focus groups and content analysis for observation data. Cognitive Continuum Theory and the notion of 'situation awareness' assisted data interpretation. Decision-making during mobility care emerged as a major theme. Using Cognitive Continuum Theory as a guide, nursing home staff's decision-making was described as ranging from system-aided, through resident- and peer-aided, to reflective and intuitive. Staff seemed aware of the need for resident-aided decision-making consistent with person-centred care. Habitual mobility care based on shared mental models occurred. It was noted that levels of situation awareness may vary among staff. Care staff may benefit from support via collaborative and reflective practice to develop decision-making skills, situation awareness and person-centred mobility care. Further research is required to explore the connection between staff's skills in mobility care and their decision-making competence as well as how these factors link to quality mobility care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of a Staff Training Intervention on Seclusion Rates on an Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Julie; Paun, Olimpia; Fogg, Louis

2018-06-01

The current article presents the effects of a 90-minute staff training intervention aimed at reducing inpatient psychiatric seclusion rates through strengthened staff commitment to seclusion alternatives and improved de-escalation skills. The intervention occurred at an 18-bed adult inpatient psychiatric unit whose seclusion rates in 2015 were seven times the national average. Although the project's primary outcome compared patient seclusion rates before and after the intervention, anonymous staff surveys measured several secondary outcomes. Seclusion rates were reduced from a 6-month pre-intervention average of 2.95 seclusion hours per 1,000 patient hours to a 6-month post-intervention average of 0.29 seclusion hours per 1,000 patient hours, a 90.2% reduction. Completed staff surveys showed significant staff knowledge gains, non-significant changes in staff attitudes about seclusion, non-significant changes in staff de-escalation skill confidence, and use of the new resource sheet by only 17% of staff. The key study implication is that time-limited, focused staff training interventions can have a measurable impact on reducing inpatient seclusion rates. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(6), 23-30.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

Development of Learning to Learn Skills in Primary School

Science.gov (United States)

Vainikainen, Mari-Pauliina; Wüstenberg, Sascha; Kupiainen, Sirkku; Hotulainen, Risto; Hautamäki, Jarkko

2015-01-01

In Finland, schools' effectiveness in fostering the development of transversal skills is evaluated through large-scale learning to learn (LTL) assessments. This article presents how LTL skills--general cognitive competences and learning-related motivational beliefs--develop during primary school and how they predict pupils' CPS skills at the end…

The Effects of Basketball Basic Skills Training on Gross Motor Skills Development of Female Children

Science.gov (United States)

Bayazit, Betul

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of basketball basic skills training on gross motor skills development of female children in Turkey. For that purpose, 40 female children took part in the study voluntarily. Basketball basic skills test was used to improve the gross motor skills of the female children in the study. Also,…

Critical care staff rotation: outcomes of a survey and pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Annette; Douglas, Margaret; Shuttler, Rachel; Hagland, Martin R

2003-01-01

Staff rotation is defined as a reciprocal exchange of staff between two or more clinical areas for a predetermined period of time. The rationale for introducing a 'Critical Care Nurse Rotation Programme' includes important issues such as improving nurses' knowledge and skills, providing development opportunities, networking, the ability to recruit and retain nurses and the provision of a more versatile and flexible workforce. To gain the understanding of nurses' views and opinions on critical care rotation programmes, evidence was collected by means of questionnaires involving 153 critical care nurses and by undertaking semi-structured interviews with four nurses. On the basis of the responses, a pilot of three Critical Care Nurse Rotation Programmes was introduced. An evaluation of the pilot project assessed participants, supervisors and senior nurses' experience of rotation and revealed very positive experiences being reported. The benefits highlighted included improving clinical skills and experience, improving interdepartmental relationships, heightened motivation and opportunities to network. The disadvantages focused on the operational and managerial issues, such as difficulties maintaining supervision and providing an adequate supernumerary period. Evidence from the survey and pilot study suggests that in the future, providing rotational programmes for critical care nurses would be a valuable strategy for recruitment, retention and developing the workforce.

Competencies Setup for Nuclear Regulatory Staff in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pingish, Panupong; Siripirom, Lopchai; Nakkaew, Pongpan; Manuwong, Theerapatt; Wongsamarn, Vichian

2010-01-01

Competencies setup for regulatory bodies oversee a research reactor and nuclear power reactors in Thailand, concentrating on staff development in areas of review and assessment, inspection and enforcement, authorization, and development of regulations and guides. The regulatory body in Thailand is the Bureau of Nuclear Safety Regulation (BNSR) which belongs to the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP). The BNSR is divided into 4 groups according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These groups are the nuclear safety administration group, nuclear safety technical support group, nuclear safety assessment and licensing group, and the nuclear installations inspection group. Each group is divided into senior and junior positions. The competencies model was used for implementation of staff qualification, career planning and professional progression by BNSR. Competencies are related to knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) needed to perform their job. A key issue is obtaining competencies for the regulatory bodies. The systematic approach to training (SAT) has been used in several countries for improvement regulator performance. The SAT contains 5 steps, including analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation, to achieve competencies. The SAT provides a logical progression from the identification of competencies required to perform a job to the design, development and implementation of training using the competencies model. In the first step, BNSR performs an operating analysis of training needs assessment (TNA) by using gap analysis technique, as suggested by IAEA. Individual regulatory bodies address the gap using appropriate training program, after comparing the actual and desired competency profiles to determine the gap. This paper examines competencies setup for regulatory staff of BNSR as a result of gaps analysis to establish a scheme for design characteristics of regulatory staff and training courses, thereby enhancing the regulatory

Self-management-support in dementia care: A mixed methods study among nursing staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Verkaik, Renate; van Antwerpen-Hoogenraad, Paulien; de Veer, Anke; Francke, Anneke; Huis In Het Veld, Judith

2017-11-01

Background Self-management in patients and family caregivers confronted with dementia is not self-evident. Self-management skills may be limited because of the progressive cognitive decline of the patient and because family caregivers are often also very aged. Self-management support by nursing staff is therefore of paramount importance. Objectives To gain insight into how nursing staff perceive their self-management support tasks, and how they put them into practice. Research questions are: 'What are the opinions and experiences of Dutch nursing staff working in home care or residential elderly care regarding self-management support for people with dementia and their family caregivers?' and 'Do nursing staff feel sufficiently trained and skilled for self-management support?'. Methods A mixed methods approach was used, combining cross-sectional quantitative survey data from 206 Dutch nursing professionals with qualitative interviews among 12 nursing staff working in home care or residential elderly care in The Netherlands. Results Nursing staff working in home care experienced self-management support of people with dementia as a part of their job and as an attractive task. They consider 'helping people with dementia to maintain control over their lives by involving them in decisions in daily care' the essence of self-management support. Nursing staff saw family caregivers as their main partners in providing self-management support to the patient. They were less aware that family caregivers themselves might also need self-management support. Nursing staff often felt insufficiently trained to give adequate self-management support. RN's and CNA's did not differ in their opinions, experiences and training needs. Conclusions Nursing staff in home care do consider self-management support an important and attractive task in dementia care. Their skills for providing self-management support to patients with dementia and family caregivers need improvement. Recommendations

Influence of professional skills and personal competencies on job ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigated the influences of professional skills and personal competencies on job performances of registry staff in University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research deign while 102 registry staff participated. Finding from the study revealed that registry staff in University of Ibadan presses ...

How volunteering helps students to develop soft skills

Science.gov (United States)

Khasanzyanova, Albina

2017-06-01

It is widely recognised that tertiary education does not provide all of the knowledge and skills required to succeed in modern societies. Personal and interpersonal skills - so-called "soft skills" - are also needed to complement professional skills and expertise, and become an essential part of an individual's personality. One way of acquiring soft skills is volunteering with associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This paper discusses the involvement of French third-level students in voluntary activities and the skills they acquire as a result. The author presents the findings of a study involving a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Results show that many students develop skills linked to their future professional career, that they reflect on this consciously and feel enriched by the experience. The author argues that "non-professional" activities like volunteering can be actively incorporated into students' learning process, making their overall experience of higher education more active, enjoyable and relevant. Learning through action was found to be the most important factor in the acquisition of soft skills. This article aims to contribute to research on the educational dimension of volunteering, demonstrating that it benefits both personal and professional development.

Staff Development for Rural Middle Schools through Regional Conferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, William F.

1994-01-01

Isolation, limited access to colleges and universities, and financial constraints restrict staff development opportunities for rural school systems. Recognizing these problems, the Virginia Middle School Association has adopted a regional conference structure that shifts meeting locations throughout seven major areas. The "hot topics"…

Skilled migration and health outcomes in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Uprety, Dambar

2018-04-30

Many studies have found that health outcomes decline when health professionals leave the country, but do such results remain consistent in gender- and income-disaggregated skilled migration? To help uncover explanations for such a pro-migration nature of health outcomes, the present study revisits this topic but allows for associations of skilled migration with mortality and life expectancy to differ between male and female, and between low- and high-income countries. Using a panel of 133 developing countries as source and 20 OECD countries as destination from 1980 to 2010 allowing the coefficient on emigration across different education levels to differ, the study finds the negative effect of high-skilled emigration on health outcomes. Such effect is more pronounced for high-skilled female migration than those for male and for low-income countries than for middle-and high-income countries. Results also show that such adverse effect is larger for African countries than non-African ones. However, the low-skilled migration appears to be insignificant to affect health outcomes in developing countries. Thus, skilled migration is detrimental to longevity in developing countries but unskilled migration is not.

The Effects of Development Team Skill on Software Product Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.

2006-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of the effect of the skill/experience of the software development team on the quality of the final software product. A method for the assessment of software development team skill and experience is proposed, and was derived from a workforce management tool currently in use by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Using data from 26 smallscale software development projects, the team skill measures are correlated to 5 software product quality metrics from the ISO/IEC 9126 Software Engineering Product Quality standard. in the analysis of the results, development team skill is found to be a significant factor in the adequacy of the design and implementation. In addition, the results imply that inexperienced software developers are tasked with responsibilities ill-suited to their skill level, and thus have a significant adverse effect on the quality of the software product. Keywords: software quality, development skill, software metrics

Leadership Skills Development Through Service Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James A. Ejiwale

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The engagement of students in service learning will help them acquire and improve on necessary leadership skills required of them upon graduation. This is essential to help prepare and put the graduates of STEM programs at the forefront of employment in the new industrial revolution. It is therefore important that STEM majors should participate in service learning so as to discharge their civic responsibility and to improve their leadership skills. This paper addresses the forms, assessment and the need for service learning in STEM programs and how it can help develop the leadership skills of  the participants.

Outdoor Leadership Skills: A Program Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Shooter, Wynn; Sibthorp, Jim; Paisley, Karen

2009-01-01

Successful hiring, training, and pairing or grouping of staff requires administrators to consider the relationship between their programs' goals and the specific outdoor leadership skills of individual leaders. Authors have divided outdoor leadership skills into a three-category structure, and models of outdoor leadership have focused on skills…

Development of the life skills for promotion of health with art-therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavormina, Romina; Diamare, Sara; D'Alterio, Vittorio; Nappi, Bianca; Ruocco, Claudia; Guida, Enrico

2014-11-01

Individuals, who work in an organization, develop a shared perception that influences their behavior and emotions. This perception guides operators in the interpretation of the main business processes and in the modes of decision-making. The Italian Ministry of Public Administration in 2004 issued a directive to improve the organizational well-being and the emotional state of the environment in the workplace. This law identifies the necessity of an organizational climate that fosters creativity at the workplace, for the development and the efficiency of public administration. Several studies have shown that the development of creativity in the operators becomes a resource for the organization to facilitate the adaptation to change and to the solution of problems. So the techniques of creativity can be used as a training strategy for the quality management and human resources, optimizing services. The following pilot study evaluates the effectiveness of a training course for veterinary staff of ASL Napoli 1 Centre The aim of the course has been promoting the well-being, the development of life skills and the resilience of the learners using techniques of creativity and art therapy.

Managing deliberate self-harm in young people: An evaluation of a training program developed for school welfare staff using a longitudinal research design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McGorry Patrick D

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although deliberate self-harm is prevalent among young people, many who engage in deliberate self-harm receive sub-optimal care. Although schools are a well placed setting to support young people who engage in self-harm there are no specific training packages designed to assist school welfare staff to support these young people. The current study aimed to design, deliver and evaluate a training course specifically for school staff. Methods The study employed a longitudinal design. Two hundred and thirteen people participated in the training and evaluation. A questionnaire was administered at baseline, immediately after the training and at 6-month follow-up in order to determine if the training led to improvements in confidence when working with young people who self-harm, perceived skill, knowledge of, and attitudes towards people who self harm. Results Prior to the course, the majority of participants demonstrated relatively high levels of confidence, perceived skill and knowledge of self-harm and endorsed relatively positive attitudes towards people who engage in self-harm. Despite this, significant improvements were observed in terms of increased confidence, increased perceptions of skill along with increased knowledge of deliberate self-harm. These improvements were sustained over the follow-up period. Conclusion The results demonstrated that the provision of specifically designed training can help school welfare staff to feel better equipped to support young people who are engaging in deliberate self-harm.

Soft Skills Assessment: Theory Development and the Research Agenda

Science.gov (United States)

Gibb, Stephen

2014-01-01

Soft skills have become a subject of increasing interest in lifelong learning. Soft skills development is intended to enable and enhance personal development, participation in learning and success in employment. The assessment of soft skill is therefore widely practised, but there is little in the way of research or evidence on how well this…

staff development of Library Assistants in the Kwame Nkrumah

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

of staff development of Library Assistants in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and. Technology. ... Only 29% of them had enjoyed study leave with pay, while over ... opportunity to participate in seminars, workshops, Library Association Meetings and Confer- ences. ... ing his career and the forthcoming requirements.

Developing Research Skills across the Undergraduate Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Simon; Coates, Lee; Fraser, Ann; Pierce, Pam

2015-01-01

This chapter describes consortial efforts within the Great Lakes Colleges Association to share expertise and programming to build research skills throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Strategies to scaffold research skill development are provided from Allegheny College, Kalamazoo College, and The College of Wooster.

The effect of anger management levels and communication skills of Emergency Department staff on being exposed to violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildiz Das, Gozde; Aydin Avci, Ilknur

2015-02-01

To determine the effect of anger management levels and communication skills of emergency department staff on their frequency of being exposed to violence. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey between 11 April and 15 October 2013 by using a questionnaire including descriptive features, anger management scale, and communication skills scale applied to 283 health personnel working in children and adult emergency department clinics. Statistically significant differences were found between the health workers' ages and their anger control levels, marital status and anger-in and anger control levels, working position and anger-in levels, and between anger-in, anger-out and anger control levels based on their level of education. Statistically significant differences were also found between age and communication levels based on the personnel's working position. Statistically significant difference between the anger-in subscale of health personnel based on their state of being exposed to violence was found (78.4% of the health workers had been exposed to violence). In the in-service programs of institutions, there should be trainings conducted about anger management and effective communication techniques so that the health personnel can be aware of their own feelings and express anger in a suitable way

The effect of anger management levels and communication skills of Emergency Department staff on being exposed to violence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GozdeYildiz Das

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Aim To determine the effect of anger management levels and communication skills of emergency department staff on their frequency of being exposed to violence. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey between 11 April and 15 October 2013 by using a questionnaire including descriptive features, anger management scale, and communication skills scale applied to 283 health personnel working in children and adult emergency department clinics. Results Statistically significant differences were found between the health workers’ ages and their anger control levels, marital status and anger-in and anger control levels, working position and anger-in levels, and between anger-in, anger-out and anger control levels based on their level of education. Statistically significant differences were also found between age and communication levels based on the personnel’s working position. Statistically significant difference between the anger-in subscale of health personnel based on their state of being exposed to violence was found (78.4% of the health workers had been exposed to violence. Conclusion In the in-service programs of institutions, there should be trainings conducted about anger management and effective communication techniques so that the health personnel can be aware of their own feelings and express anger in a suitable way.

Social conversational skills development in early implanted children.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerzoni, Letizia; Murri, Alessandra; Fabrizi, Enrico; Nicastri, Maria; Mancini, Patrizia; Cuda, Domenico

2016-09-01

Social conversational skills are a salient aspect of early pragmatic development in young children. These skills include two different abilities, assertiveness and responsiveness. This study investigated the development of these abilities in early implanted children and their relationships with lexical development and some language-sensitive variables. Prospective, observational, nonrandomized study. Participants included 28 children with congenital profound sensorineural hearing loss. The mean age at device activation was 13.3 months (standard deviation [SD] ±4.2). The Social-Conversational Skills Rating Scale was used to evaluate assertiveness and responsiveness. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Words and Sentences form) was used to analyze the lexical development. The device experience was 12 months for each child, and the mean age at testing was 25.9 months (SD ±4.6). Assertiveness and responsiveness scores were within the normal range of normal-hearing age-matched peers. Age at cochlear implant activation exerted a significant impact, with the highest scores associated to the youngest patients. The residual correlations between assertiveness and responsiveness with the lexical development were positive and strongly significant (r = 0.69 and 0.73, respectively). Preoperative hearing threshold demonstrated an associated significant coefficient on the assertiveness score. Age at diagnosis and maternal education level were not correlated with the social conversational skills. Early-implanted children developed social conversational skills that are similar to normal-hearing peers matched for age 1 year after device activation. Social conversational skills and lexical development were strongly correlated, but the present study design cannot specify the direction of this relationship. Children with better preoperative residual hearing exhibited better assertive ability. 4 Laryngoscope, 126:2098-2105, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological

Negotiation Skill Development Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Gregory E.; Chau, Ngan N.

2017-01-01

Conflict occurs naturally in all marketing related activities. When such conflict is handled well through proper negotiation, it helps solve problems and build stronger, deeper relationships between the negotiating parties. Nevertheless, many students feel uneasy about negotiating, yet they know it is a crucial skill that needs to be developed.…

Identifying Determinants of Organizational Development as the Key Developers of Employee Soft Skill

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Shahjahan Laghari

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to identify the determinants of organizational development as the key developers of employee soft skills. Various studies have been taken where determinants of organizational development defining soft skills in employees are discussed. However, the current study is different in Pakistani industry context as the link was missing about the determinants of organizational development which in synchronized way help in developing soft skills in employees of firm. This research uses explanatory approach; incorporating secondary data extracted under the light of existing school of thoughts paired with quantification through data collected from respondents in Pakistani corporate sector. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation model (SEM technique. Results This research showed an affirmative link between determinants of organizational development and development of soft skills in employees. Finally, the study proposes enriching insights on few missing links that can be researched and triggered achieving maximized outcomes.

Education Graduate Skill Development as Perceived by Employers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Skill development and training in institution and industries serves as a veritable tool for the improvement of technical education graduates. Skill development through training and on-job-training constitute an inevitable strategy if standard must be improved in the institution and industries. It appears from available evidence ...

Funding Staff Development for School Improvement and Student Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Applewhite, Ann Simpson

1999-01-01

When Thornton (Colorado) High School organized for site-based management, the structuring committee understood the importance of providing a professional-development fund for staff members. The school decided to restructure with one central umbrella committee for site-based governance and several subcommittees reporting to the main committee. (MLH)

Ekspertyza dokumentu „Skills Development and Employability in Europe: The New Skills Agenda”

OpenAIRE

Przyszczypkowski, Kazimierz; Cytlak, Izabela; Jarmużek, Joanna; Pawłowski, Roman; Szafran, Joanna

2017-01-01

This article is a critical analysis of the "Skills Development and Employability in Europe: The New Skills Agenda" document. The purpose of the discussion is to analyze the 10 problem areas identified and formulated in the document, paying particular attention to the perception and implementation of these issues from the perspective of European countries. The recommendations presented for each of the issues may provide important guidance for developing a vision of vocational education targeti...

School Library Development and Use by Staff and Students of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigated school library development and use by staff and students of secondary schools in the Federal capital territory, Abuja. The overall objective of the study is to examine the state of secondary school library development and its usage, find out if these libraries have achieved the expected level of ...

A management framework for training providers to improve workplace skills development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Govender

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Deputy President, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, says a skills revolution is necessary for South Africa’s (SA skills crisis. The SA skills revolution began with the skills legislation of 1998-9 when the Departments of Labour (DOL and Education (DOE intended a seamless, integrated approach to rapid skills development. The National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS, the Sector Education and Training Providers (SETAs, the South African Qualifications Authorities (SAQA and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF were established to drive the human resource and skills development revolutionary strategy. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of the 2001-3 research investigating an internal management framework for training providers, employers and managers to accelerate workplace skills development. Design/Methodology/Approach: An integrated, multi-method research model was employed to gather empirical evidence on skills practices. A robust quantitative survey was conducted within 600 organisations. Simultaneously, rich, descriptive data was gathered from managers and employees using a structured qualitative interview strategy. The integrated data pool was factor analysed. The research findings, conclusion and recommended framework were reported in a PhD thesis. Findings: The research findings reveal major gaps in the effectiveness of SA training providers to radically accelerate and improve workplace skills development as per national skills legislation, implementation and management criteria. Implications: If the skills revolution in SA is to succeed, training providers especially, must become less complacent, more assertive and fully equipped when participating in the skills development arena. Originality/Value: Via this research, training providers will gain critical, reflective insight into their management framework for meeting skills legislative criteria and for managing training interventions and skills projects.

Staff development and employee welfare practices and their effect ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Every organization primarily needs committed and dedicated staff that will help the ... are being offered to increase staff competence, efficiencies and performance. ... staff welfare practices and how these affect productivity and performance.

Disseminating contingency management: impacts of staff training and implementation at an opiate treatment program.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartzler, Bryan; Jackson, T Ron; Jones, Brinn E; Beadnell, Blair; Calsyn, Donald A

2014-04-01

Guided by a comprehensive implementation model, this study examined training/implementation processes for a tailored contingency management (CM) intervention instituted at a Clinical Trials Network-affiliate opioid treatment program (OTP). Staff-level training outcomes (intervention delivery skill, knowledge, and adoption readiness) were assessed before and after a 16-hour training, and again following a 90-day trial implementation period. Management-level implementation outcomes (intervention cost, feasibility, and sustainability) were assessed at study conclusion in a qualitative interview with OTP management. Intervention effectiveness was also assessed via independent chart review of trial CM implementation vs. a historical control period. Results included: 1) robust, durable increases in delivery skill, knowledge, and adoption readiness among trained staff; 2) positive managerial perspectives of intervention cost, feasibility, and sustainability; and 3) significant clinical impacts on targeted patient indices. Collective results offer support for the study's collaborative intervention design and the applied, skills-based focus of staff training processes. Implications for CM dissemination are discussed. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Work-related learning and skill development in Europe: Does initial skill mismatch matter?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ferreira Sequeda, Maria; Künn-Nelen, Annemarie; de Grip, Andries

2017-01-01

This paper provides more insight into the assumption of human capital theory that the productivity of job-related training is driven by the improvement of workers’ skills. We analyze the extent to which training and informal learning on the job are related to employee skill development and consider

Improving patients' and staff's experiences of acute care.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaplin, Rob; Crawshaw, Jacob; Hood, Chloe

2015-03-01

The aim of this audit was to assess the effect of the Quality Mark programme on the quality of acute care received by older patients by comparing the experiences of staff and older adults before and after the programme. Data from 31 wards in 12 acute hospitals were collected over two stages. Patients and staff completed questionnaires on the perceived quality of care on the ward. Patients rated improved experiences of nutrition, staff availability and dignity. Staff received an increase in training and reported better access to support, increased time and skill to deliver care and improved morale, leadership and teamwork. Problems remained with ward comfort and mealtimes. Overall, results indicated an improvement in ratings of care quality in most domains during Quality Mark data collection. Further audits need to explore ways of improving ward comfort and mealtime experience.

Develop your leadership skills

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Adair, John

2016-01-01

"Develop Your Leadership Skills "is John Adair s most accessible title on leadership. Full of exercises and checklists, it can help boost confidence levels and guide and inspire anyone on their journey to becoming a leader of excellence. Acknowledged as a world expert, John Adair offers stimulating insights into recognizing and developing individual leadership qualities, acquiring personal authority, and mastering core leadership functions such as planning, communicating and motivating. The new edition includes summary points for each chapter.

Molecular Biology Masterclasses--Developing Practical Skills and Building Links with Higher Education in Years 12/13

Science.gov (United States)

Hooley, Paul; Cooper, Phillippa; Skidmore, Nick

2008-01-01

A one day practical course in molecular biology skills suitable for year 12/13 students is described. Colleagues from partner schools and colleges were trained by university staff in basic techniques and then collaborated in the design of a course suitable for their own students. Participants carried out a transformation of "E.coli"…

I. SPATIAL SKILLS, THEIR DEVELOPMENT, AND THEIR LINKS TO MATHEMATICS.

Science.gov (United States)

Verdine, Brian N; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Newcombe, Nora S

2017-03-01

Understanding the development of spatial skills is important for promoting school readiness and improving overall success in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields (e.g., Wai, Lubinski, Benbow, & Steiger, 2010). Children use their spatial skills to understand the world, including visualizing how objects fit together, and can practice them via spatial assembly activities (e.g., puzzles or blocks). These skills are incorporated into measures of overall intelligence and have been linked to success in subjects like mathematics (Mix & Cheng, 2012) and science (Pallrand & Seeber, 1984; Pribyl & Bodner, 1987). This monograph sought to answer four questions about early spatial skill development: 1) Can we reliably measure spatial skills in 3- and 4-year-olds?; 2) Do spatial skills measured at 3 predict spatial skills at age 5?; 3) Do preschool spatial skills predict mathematics skills at age 5?; and 4) What factors contribute to individual differences in preschool spatial skills (e.g., SES, gender, fine-motor skills, vocabulary, and executive function)? Longitudinal data generated from a new spatial skill test for 3-year-old children, called the TOSA (Test of Spatial Assembly), show that it is a reliable and valid measure of early spatial skills that provides strong prediction to spatial skills measured with established tests at age 5. New data using this measure finds links between early spatial skill and mathematics, language, and executive function skills. Analyses suggest that preschool spatial experiences may play a central role in children's mathematical skills around the time of school entry. Executive function skills provide an additional unique contribution to predicting mathematical performance. In addition, individual differences, specifically socioeconomic status, are related to spatial and mathematical skill. We conclude by exploring ways of providing rich early spatial experiences to children. © 2017 The Society for Research in Child

Young Athletes: A Special Olympics Motor Skill Development Program

Science.gov (United States)

Favazza, Paddy C.; Siperstein, Gary N.

2013-01-01

While motor skills develop naturally among most typically developing preschoolers, young children with disabilities often experience deficits in this area. Therefore, it is important that children with disabilities are provided with "direct and intentional instruction" for motor skill development during the preschool years. One program…

Staff Development and Instructional Improvement: Response to Robbins and Wolfe.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lorin W.

1987-01-01

Critiques the Napa/Vacaville project for being exceptionally well designed yet being ineffective. The key to effective staff development is to find ways of increasing teachers' ability to accept innovations and incorporate them into their teaching repertoires. (MD)

Developing Communication Skills of EFL Teacher Trainees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kadriye Dilek Akpınar

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Higher Education Council of Turkey has added a one term course named as “Effective Communication Skills” to the curriculum since 2006 in Foreign Language Education Departments because of the crucial importance of communication in the information society. In order to test the effectiveness of this course, a research project was developed by looking at the pre-and post course interviews conducted with first year teacher trainees about communication skills compared with the fourth year students’ ideas who did not take the course. This paper describes both the significance of effective communication skills and the benefits of the course for developing teacher trainees’ effective communication skills. The implementations and suggestions for teacher education has also been discussed.

MOVEMENT SKILL ASSESSMENT OF TYPICALLY DEVELOPING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A REVIEW OF SEVEN MOVEMENT SKILL ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wouter Cools

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The importance of movement is often overlooked because it is such a natural part of human life. It is, however, crucial for a child's physical, cognitive and social development. In addition, experiences support learning and development of fundamental movement skills. The foundations of those skills are laid in early childhood and essential to encourage a physically active lifestyle. Fundamental movement skill performance can be examined with several assessment tools. The choice of a test will depend on the context in which the assessment is planned. This article compares seven assessment tools which are often referred to in European or international context. It discusses the tools' usefulness for the assessment of movement skill development in general population samples. After a brief description of each assessment tool the article focuses on contents, reliability, validity and normative data. A conclusion outline of strengths and weaknesses of all reviewed assessment tools focusing on their use in educational research settings is provided and stresses the importance of regular data collection of fundamental movement skill development among preschool children.

Professional development of teaching staff for the international higher education environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Werf, Els; van der Poel, Marcel H.

The professional development of teaching staff in relation to the internationalisation of higher education institutions has not received the attention that it deserves from managers in higher education. This requires an HRM policy that explicitly addresses the issue of competence development of

DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS SKILLS MODULE FOR HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moré, Dailien

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Today firms advocate buy a business improvement depends on proper reach staff selection considering the level of commitment, work attitude, skills and competencies of each person in the performance of the functions of the various fees and jobs. This research proposes a module occupational competency (CL that would strengthen the Human Capital Management (GCH. The proposal may encourage national institutions and increase their productivity sustained employment success for the country. For the realization of the solution was carried out the study of business processes and methods of multicriterial decision-making. Following the completion of the design, the solution was implemented and the identified components were integrated, the results of the data obtained showed the feasibility of the contribution to the solution of the problem.

Proceedings of an Infonex conference on finding, hiring and developing skilled staff in the energy, oil and gas industry : long-term solutions for building a strong and enduring workforce

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-07-01

Presentations focused on a range of issues dealing with the labour force profile and the projected supply and demand of current students and new graduates. The issue of First Nations, new immigrants and a foreign skill base was also addressed with reference to the challenges of tapping into this trained skilled resource. Lessons learned from the Canadian Electricity Association in 2004 were reviewed along with measures taken by the Alberta government in improving the supply of skilled workers for the energy industry in that province. The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) were both highlighted as being proactive in developing collaborative targeted training and development programs that provide the energy industry with a skilled workforce. Options for recruiting and retaining skilled workers were also presented. The conference featured 12 presentations, of which 3 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. tabs., figs.

The impact of development of customer online banking skills on customer adviser skills

OpenAIRE

Dubois, M.; Bobillier Chaumon, M.-E.; Retour, Didier

2011-01-01

International audience; The object of this article is the development of customer banking skills as a result of using online banking and its impact on the competence of customer advisers in face-to-face customer contacts. We focus on the use of software applications by customer advisers (CA) during customer contacts. The main results show that online banking enables customers to develop a range of banking skills. In order to deliver the service required by the context, advisers select the req...

Factors influencing the development of end-of-life communication skills: A focus group study of nursing and medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillett, Karen; O'Neill, Bernadette; Bloomfield, Jacqueline G

2016-01-01

Poor communication between health care professionals and dying patients and their families results in complaints about end-of-life care. End-of-life communication skills should be a core part of nursing and medical education but research suggests that qualified doctors and nurses find this a challenging area of practice. The aim of this study was to explore factors influencing the development of end-of-life communication skills by nursing and medical students. A qualitative study comprising five focus groups. Second year undergraduate nursing (n=9 across 2 focus groups) and fourth year undergraduate medical students (n=10 across 3 focus groups) from a London University. Barriers and facilitators influenced nursing and medical students' experience of communication with dying patients and their families in clinical practice. Extrinsic barriers included gatekeeping by qualified staff and lack of opportunity to make sense of experiences through discussion. Intrinsic barriers included not knowing what to say, dealing with emotional responses, wasting patients' time, and concerns about their own ability to cope with distressing experiences. Facilitating factors included good role models, previous experience, and classroom input. In addition to clinical placements, formal opportunities for reflective discussion are necessary to facilitate the development of students' confidence and skills in end-of-life communication. For students and mentors to view end-of-life communication as a legitimate part of their learning it needs to be specified written practice-learning outcome. Mentors and supervisors may require training to enable them to facilitate students to develop end-of-life communication skills. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of early communication skills in the first two years of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Beuker, Karin T; Rommelse, Nanda N J; Donders, Rogier; Buitelaar, Jan K

2013-02-01

The first two years of life is a crucially important period for the development of communication skills. In this study joint attention and language development were monthly assessed between 8 and 24 months of age in a sample of 23 typically developing children to establish the developmental trajectory of specific joint attention skills, to investigate the developmental interrelations of these different joint attention skills with vocabulary size, and to examine whether the order of development of following and directing attention influences the development of other early communication skills such as language. All joint attention skills emerged between 8 and 15 months of age and responsive joint attention skills tend to emerge before initiative joint attention. Early joint attention skills influenced later language development, but not the other way around. Children in whom directing attention with gaze alternation developed early (in age or order) showed a relatively larger early vocabulary growth. A fine grained mapping of the normal development of early communication skills can be helpful in the early detection of abnormalities in these skills. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching home care electronic documentation skills to undergraduate nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Nokes, Kathleen M; Aponte, Judith; Nickitas, Donna M; Mahon, Pamela Y; Rodgers, Betsy; Reyes, Nancy; Chaya, Joan; Dornbaum, Martin

2012-01-01

Although there is general consensus that nursing students need knowledge and significant skill to document clinical findings electronically, nursing faculty face many barriers in ensuring that undergraduate students can practice on electronic health record systems (EHRS). External funding supported the development of an educational innovation through a partnership between a home care agency staff and nursing faculty. Modules were developed to teach EHRS skills using a case study of a homebound person requiring wound care and the Medicare-required OASIS documentation system. This article describes the development and implementation of the module for an upper-level baccalaureate nursing program located in New York City. Nursing faculty are being challenged to develop creative and economical solutions to expose nursing students to EHRSs in nonclinical settings.

Skill and tactical development during a sport education season.

Science.gov (United States)

Hastie, P A

1998-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of skill competence and tactical sophistication during a games unit conducted following the features of sport education provided by Siedentop (1994). One team of six players was followed through a 30-lesson season of "Ultimate." Using Gréhaigne, Godbout, and Bouthier's (1997) formula for an efficiency index, together with a number of other measures of skill and tactical competence, it was determined that these students made significant improvements in selection and execution dimensions of the game. Furthermore, lower skilled students did not feel marginalized within their teams and believed they had equal opportunities for improvement. The key reasons for developing competence in this setting were the sufficient length of the season to allow for significant practice opportunities and the consistent team membership throughout season, which allowed all players to develop a sense of usefulness. This curriculum model provides one way students can develop skills through a system of game playing, provided sport education units are structured to prevent the more skillful players from dominating the games.

Exploring training needs of nursing staff in rural Cretan primary care settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Markaki, Adelais; Alegakis, Athanasios; Antonakis, Nikos; Kalokerinou-Anagnostopoulou, Athena; Lionis, Christos

2009-05-01

The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess occupational profile, level of performance, and on-the-job training needs of nursing staff employed in all government primary health care centers in rural Crete, Greece. The translated, culturally adapted, and validated Greek version of the Training Needs Assessment questionnaire was used. There were no significant differences between 2-year degree graduates (LPNs) and 3- or 4-year degree graduates (RNs, midwives, and health visitors) in terms of importance for 28 of 30 assigned tasks, whereas level of performance did not differ in any tasks. Significant training needs were reported by all staff, mainly in research/audit and clinical skills. Systematic overview of skill deficits in relation to skill requirements should be implemented by regional health authorities to enhance delivery of on-the-job training targeting group-specific, local needs.

Implementing a Cardiac Skills Orientation and Simulation Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Hemingway, Maureen W; Osgood, Patrice; Mannion, Mildred

2018-02-01

Patients with cardiac morbidities admitted for cardiac surgical procedures require perioperative nurses with a high level of complex nursing skills. Orienting new cardiac team members takes commitment and perseverance in light of variable staffing levels, high-acuity patient populations, an active cardiac surgical schedule, and the unpredictability of scheduling patients undergoing cardiac transplantation. At an academic medical center in Boston, these issues presented opportunities to orient new staff members to the scrub person role, but hampered efforts to provide active learning opportunities in a safe environment. As a result, facility personnel created a program to increase new staff members' skills, confidence, and proficiency, while also increasing the number of staff members who were proficient at scrubbing complex cardiac procedures. To address the safe learning requirement, personnel designed a simulation program to provide scrubbing experience, decrease orientees' supervision time, and increase staff members' confidence in performing the scrub person role. © AORN, Inc, 2018.

A prospective study evaluating cochlear implant management skills: development and validation of the Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, R J; Jayakody, D M P; Eikelboom, R H; Taljaard, D S; Atlas, M D

2016-02-01

To investigate the ability of cochlear implant (CI) recipients to physically handle and care for their hearing implant device(s) and to identify factors that may influence skills. To assess device management skills, a clinical survey was developed and validated on a clinical cohort of CI recipients. Survey development and validation. A prospective convenience cohort design study. Specialist hearing implant clinic. Forty-nine post-lingually deafened, adult CI recipients, at least 12 months postoperative. Survey test-retest reliability, interobserver reliability and responsiveness. Correlations between management skills and participant demographic, audiometric, clinical outcomes and device factors. The Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey was developed, demonstrating high test-retest reliability (0.878), interobserver reliability (0.972) and responsiveness to intervention (skills training) [t(20) = -3.913, P = 0.001]. Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey scores range from 54.69% to 100% (mean: 83.45%, sd: 12.47). No associations were found between handling skills and participant factors. This is the first study to demonstrate a range in cochlear implant device handling skills in CI recipients and offers clinicians and researchers a tool to systematically and objectively identify shortcomings in CI recipients' device handling skills. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of managerial leadership skills

OpenAIRE

VEJVODOVÁ, Klára

2013-01-01

This work summarizes the most important theoretical approaches of leadership, describes the main styles leadership styles and task of managers in the organization, influences on the effectiveness of leadership, and how to develop leadership skills. The practical part applies this knowledge in practice and provides the particular company guidance of management development on the basis of data collected by questionnaire survey.

Capacity, commitment, and culture: The 3 Cs of staff development in a learning organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Seibold, Michael; Gamble, Kelley

2015-09-01

If an agency desires changes in practice and a consistent approach to services, psychiatric rehabilitation staff development requires more than a single session of training. This column describes one agency's approach to a comprehensive staff training and development program, designed to enhance the 3 Cs of capacity, commitment, and culture. The program described has been in place, with frequent adjustments, for over 20 years, and the experiences of the authors and their colleagues form the primary source for the paper. Staff development requires an ongoing investment--competency-based training, supervision congruent with the service vision and mission, accountability through performance evaluation, and opportunities for growth. We have a firm belief that our employees learn to treat others, in part, from how they are treated by our agency leadership. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal associations of nursing staff turnover with patient outcomes in long-term care hospitals in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yoonseo; Han, Kihye

2018-01-10

To describe the characteristics of long-term care hospitals in 2010-2013 and to examine the longitudinal associations of nursing staff turnover with patient outcomes. The number of long-term care hospitals has exploded in Korea since the national long-term care insurance was launched in 2008. The care quality deviation across long-term care hospitals is large. This was a longitudinal secondary data analysis using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's data. From 2010 to 2013, the nursing staff turnover rate decreased. The number of patients per registered nurse increased while that per total nursing staff and skill mix decreased. All adverse patient outcomes decreased. Higher nursing staff turnover and lower RN proportions were associated with adverse patient outcomes. Since the launch of the long-term care insurance, total nursing staffing, turnover rate and patient outcomes have improved, while the skill mix has decreased. Systematic efforts to decrease nursing staff turnover should be implemented for better long-term care patient outcomes. In addition to maintaining high levels of nurse staffing and skill mix, supportive work environments and competitive wages and benefits could reduce turnover, and ultimately adverse patient outcomes. Health care policy should separate nursing staffing levels for registered nurses and certified nursing assistants. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Geriatric nursing staff retention. Opportunities, potentials, and strategies].

Science.gov (United States)

Joost, A

2013-08-01

Retaining geriatric nurses in their line of work could be an important strategy to prevent the shortage of skilled staff in the future. A prerequisite for this is detailed knowledge of the length and structure of professional careers. The IWAK ( Institut für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Kultur) evaluated data from the German Social Insurance and carried out a structural analysis of the professional careers of geriatric nurses. Results showed that the average duration of professional careers is 20 years, of which 11.7 years constitute the period of employment and 7.8 years account for periods of inactivity. According to these findings, there is a considerable potential in extending professional careers and reducing the periods of inactivity to make better use of the existing skilled staff and to reduce staff shortage in this area. Concrete measures could involve improvement of working conditions (with the aim of avoiding long periods of inactivity and illness-related premature career endings as well as of increasing job satisfaction), creating better conditions for a good balance between work and family life, as well as setting up individual strategies to expand weekly working hours. Key players are businesses but also local authorities and politicians.

Cooptation of Peer Support Staff: Quantitative Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony J. Alberta

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective In 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS sent a letter to state Medicaid directors outlining requirements for implementing peer-based recovery support services (P-BRSS as a Medicaid-funded service. Since then, 30 states have implemented these services. Although the literature describing implementation of P-BRSS has identified the cooptation of peer support staff (PSS as a barrier to the effective provision of P-BRSS, the evidence for it remains anecdotal. This study attempts to determine if the context of employment in either a treatment organization or peer organization affected cooptation. Methods We conducted a survey of PSS in the fall of 2013. In all, 92 of the 181 respondents were working as PSS at the time, 53 in treatment organizations. Chi-square analysis was used to determine if the context of employment had an effect on the cooptation of peer staff. Results Peer staff working in treatment organizations reported that they were supervised by treatment staff and participated in employment-related training to improve their skills at providing treatment services more frequently than their counterparts in peer organizations. Peer staff working in treatment organizations also participated in training and education to prepare for employment as treatment professionals more frequently than peer staff working in peer organizations. Conclusions and Implications for Practice Peer staff members working in treatment organizations are subject to processes of acculturation into professional cultures that peer staff working in peer organizations are not. Effective implementation of P-BRSS should include specific efforts to minimize the cooptation of peer staff.

developing skills of giving and receiving feedbacks between

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

could be by developing the skill of giving and receiving feedbacks among the individuals involved in the ... education rather than damaging their self esteem against to improve the teaching – process (David ..... A better skill of communication.

Supporting law students’ skills development online – a strategy to improve skills and reduce student stress?

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Anne Hewitt

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Law students internationally suffer from a high level of psychological distress compared with the general and student populations, and anecdotal evidence suggests that students developing skills without adequate support experience significant stress and anxiety. This article considers an initiative at one Australian law school to develop a degree-wide structured online skills development programme as a means to both improve student skills acquisition and reduce student stress. The project implements, through the use of learning technology, the principles proposed by McKinney for making small changes to law school teaching, informed by self-efficacy theory, which can have powerful results.

Organisational development.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-30

The aim of the NHS Improvement national leadership and improvement strategy is to encourage leaders at all levels to develop leadership skills in their staff and themselves. It focuses on fostering compassionate, collaborative and inclusive leadership.

Clinical skill development for community pharmacists.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnette, D J; Murphy, C M; Carter, B L

1996-09-01

The importance of establishing clinical pharmacy services in the community cannot be understated in light of current challenges to the traditional dispensing role as the primary service of the community pharmacist. Advancements in automated dispensing technology and declining prescription fee reimbursement are rapidly forcing pharmacists to seek alternative sources of revenue. Providing pharmaceutical care is a viable option to increase customer loyalty job satisfaction, and reimbursement. To support the development of clinical services, academic institutions are forming partnerships with individual community practitioners to overcome perceived educational and training barriers. The authors describe the design and development of two unique clinical skill development programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This paper also outlines the patient focused services that the participants have established upon completing the training. These programs successfully enhanced participants' therapeutic knowledge base and facilitated development of the clinical skills necessary for direct patient care.

A Systems Approach to Scaffold Communication Skills Development

Science.gov (United States)

Er, Nelson L.

2008-01-01

Objectives To implement a communication skills development (CSD) system and evaluate its effectiveness in a clinical communications course. Design Students conducted baseline interviews and wrote SOAP notes, and based on faculty, patient, self- and peer assessments, set goals for improvement of their communication skills. Students participated in various activities to scaffold their learning, several of which took place in a web-based environment to enhance access and function for both students and faculty members. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Assessment Students' communication skills improved as evidenced by assessment scores. Student and faculty comments offered additional evidence of the effectiveness of standardized patient interviews, learning strategies, and assessment methods. Conclusion The CSD system effectively integrated various types of learning activities and feedback processes. The use of scaffolding strategies appeared to enhance the development of students' communication skills. PMID:18483601

Hi-Tech Skills Anticipation for Sustainable Development in Russia

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Valery Gurtov

2014-12-01

Full Text Available It is evident that there is a heightened importance in Russia attributed to ensuring that students develop skills, which will enable them to be more productive and engaged citizens. This article deals with a skills anticipation methodology for seven hi-tech industries in Russia that resulted in the development of models for both soft and hard skills. There is a variety of widely applied methods – qualitative projection of labor market parameters, desk studies, documents analysis, foresight sessions, employers' and experts' surveys. As a result, new skills models are to help the specialists to effectively overcome the challenges, apply innovative decisions, and increase their technological knowledge.

Student and Tutor Perceptions of Learning and Teaching on a First-Year Study Skills Module in a University Computing Department

Science.gov (United States)

Coughlan, Jane; Swift, Stephen

2011-01-01

The level of student preparedness for university-level study has been widely debated. Effective study skills modules have been linked to supporting students' academic development during the transition phase. However, few studies have evaluated the learning experience on study skills modules from both a student and staff perspective. We surveyed…

Evaluating STORM skills training for managing people at risk of suicide.

Science.gov (United States)

Gask, Linda; Dixon, Clare; Morriss, Richard; Appleby, Louis; Green, Gillian

2006-06-01

This paper reports a study evaluating the Skills Training On Risk Management (STORM) training initiative in three mental health services in the North-West of England, UK. Training for health workers has been widely advocated as a key route to suicide prevention. However, reports of evaluations are scarce in the literature. In previous research, we have demonstrated that the STORM intervention results in acquisition of new skills and can be disseminated in a community setting. The training was delivered during a 6-month period in 2002 by three mental health nurses who were seconded part-time to the project. The quantitative evaluation, which assessed change in attitudes, confidence, acquisition of skills and satisfaction, used a pretest/post-test design, with participants acting as their own controls. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 participants to explore the impact on clinical practice, and with the three trainers at the end of the study. Data from 458 staff members were collected during a 6-month period. Positive changes in attitudes and confidence were shown, but previous evidence of skill acquisition was not replicated. Qualitative interviews revealed important insights into changes in clinical practice, particularly for less experienced or unqualified nursing staff, but also concerns about the lack of an educational culture to foster and support such interventions in practice within the organizations. STORM training for the assessment and management of suicide risk is both feasible and acceptable in mental health trusts. However, we remain uncertain of its longer-term impact, given the lack of engagement of senior staff in the enterprise and the absence of linked supervision and support from the organizational management to reinforce skill acquisition and development. We consider that regular supervision that links STORM training to actual clinical experience would be the ideal.

Developing Entrepreneurial Skills. An Educational and Intercultural Perspective

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Ramona – Diana Leon

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The research aims to determine how the economic and business administraton facultes within the European Union member states are contributng to the development of students’ entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, a case study strategy is employed which concentrates on the most important business schools from the European Union member states; thus, 267 syllabuses from 21 higher educaton insttutons are identfed and analyzed. The results prove that European business schools manage to develop most of the required entrepreneurial skills among their students. Their graduates are both task and people oriented. On the one hand, they value performance, are capable of solving problems and taking calculated risks. On the other hand, they know how to communicate and collaborate within a team. Besides, it may be stated that the analyzed educatonal programs are combining the “about entrepreneurship” approach with “for entrepreneurship” perspectve; they focus on developing cognitve, functonal, and behavioral competences by combining lectures with actve learning techniques. These actons are infuenced by cultural specifcity and have an impact on a country’s capacity to be a top performer, in terms of entrepreneurship development. These fndings have both theoretcal and practcal implicatons. On a theoretcal level, they extend the literature regarding the development of entrepreneurial skills by providing concrete informaton about the skills on which the academic curricula focus. On a practcal level, they provide valuable insights regarding the skills that the future entrepreneurs will have; these will infuence their behavior in a business environment no mater whether they will choose to be the owner of a business or an enterprising employee.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff development of the license application review plan for a high-level radioactive waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, R.L.; Holonich, J.J.; Lee, M.P.; Delligatti, M.S.

1993-01-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has recently started a new initiative to develop the License Application Review Plan (LARP) which the staff will use in its reviews of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) license application (LA) for a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). This paper describes the staff's approach for developing the LARP, the development schedule and current status, the organization and content of the LARP, and the staff's LA review strategy. Therefore, it gives a preview of the draft LARP which will be made available in late 1993. It also describes how the LARP will be used as guidance to the staff in conducting reviews of regulatory and technical issues important to the licensing of a geologic repository. Finally, the benefits to the NRC staff, DOE, and other parties are discussed

Assessing the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities of Public Health Professionals in Big City Governmental Health Departments.

Science.gov (United States)

McGinty, Meghan D; Castrucci, Brian C; Rios, Debra M

2017-12-13

To identify essential knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for and characterize gaps in KSAs of professionals working in large, urban health departments. A survey was disseminated to potentially eligible supervisors within 26 of 28 health departments in the largest, most urban jurisdictions in the country. A supervisor was eligible to participate if he or she supervised at least 1 staff member whose highest level of education was a master's degree. A total of 645 eligible supervisors participated in the workforce survey for a response rate of 27.1% and cooperation rate of 55.2%. Supervisors were asked to rate the importance of KSAs to their masters-level staffs' work and indicate their staffs' proficiency. Fifty-eight percent of supervisors reported supervising staff with a master of public health/master of science in public health degree. More than 30% of supervisors indicated that all of the 30 KSAs were essential. Four of the top 10 KSAs rated as essential by supervisors pertained to the ability to communicate. The top skills gaps perceived by supervisors were professional staffs' ability to apply quality improvement concepts to their work (38.0%), understanding of the political system (37.7%), and ability to anticipate changes (33.8%). Public health practitioners receive training in methods, theories, and evidence-based approaches, yet further investment in the workforce is necessary to advance population health. A focus should be placed developing strategic skills rather than advancing narrow specialties. Findings from this research can guide the creation and implementation of training curricula and professional development programs offered within local health departments or targeted to their staff, as well as satisfaction of accreditation requirements. By focusing on building strategic skills, we can ensure a public health workforce that is equipped with the KSAs necessary to practice Public Health 3.0 and leaders who are able to serve as their communities

Staff competencies at health facilities implementing an ... - Lusaka

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Malnutrition continues to be a major cause of disease burden, especially in low-income countries, killing millions of children. In order to reduce morbidity and mortality, the management of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) requires knowledgeable and skilled staff. In the study reported on in this ...

E3 Staff Database

Data.gov (United States)

US Agency for International Development — E3 Staff database is maintained by E3 PDMS (Professional Development & Management Services) office. The database is Mysql. It is manually updated by E3 staff as...

An assessment of student satisfaction with peer teaching of clinical communication skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Jonathan K A; Dalleywater, William J; Tischler, Victoria

2014-10-13

Peer teaching is now used in medical education with its value increasingly being recognised. It is not yet established whether students differ in their satisfaction with teaching by peer-teachers compared to those taught by academic or clinical staff. This study aimed to establish satisfaction with communication skills teaching between these three teaching groups. Students participated in a role-play practical facilitated either by clinicians, peer-teachers or non-clinical staff. A questionnaire was administered to first-year medical students after participating in a communication skills role-play session asking students to evaluate their satisfaction with the session. Data were analysed in SPSS 20. One hundred and ninety eight students out of 239 (83%) responded. Students were highly satisfied with the teaching session with no difference in satisfaction scores found between those sessions taught by peers, clinical and non-clinical staff members. 158 (80%) considered the session useful and 139 (69%) strongly agreed tutors facilitated their development. There was no significant difference in satisfaction scores based on tutor background. Satisfaction is as high when tutored by peer-teachers compared to clinicians or non-clinical staff. Constructive feedback is welcomed from a range of personnel. Final-year students could play an increasing role in the teaching of pre-clinical medical students.

Improving Elderly's Dental Hygiene Through Nursing Home Staff's Dental Health Education at the Nursing Home

OpenAIRE

Santoso, Bedjo; Eko Ningtyas, Endah Aryati; Fatmasari, Diyah

2017-01-01

Stomatitis often occurs in elderly at nursing home. They need nursing home staff assistance to maintain their dental and oral health. Therefore, nursing home staff need dental health education. Lecture or discussion methods, which are more effective to improve knowledge, attitude and skill of nursing home staff was the purpose of this research. The research design was quasi-experiment research and pretest-posttest with control group. The sample was 42 nursing home staffs and 74 elderlies, div...

DEVELOPING THE 21ST-CENTURY SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

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Mohammad Imam FARISI

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, technology has become an educational necessity in global-digital era. Facing these phenomena, social studies (SS should make innovations related to changes of 21st-century skills and learning paradigm, which is characterized by the principles of disclosure of information, computing, automation, and communication. Technology integration into SS learning is one of the learning innovations in the global-digital era, and powerfully supports the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS as stated in their visions: meaningful, powerful, value-based, challenging, and active. It also strongly supports the development of three core skills of the 21st-century, including learning and innovation skills; information, media and technology skills; life and career skills that developed in partnership with the Partnership Forum for 21st-Century Skills (P21. This paper examines and describes academics evolution toward a commitment and further developments in research; 21stcentury skills map for the SS; and the implications for developing teachers’ competences and teachers’ education curriculum.

Cognitive skill training for nuclear power plant operational decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mumaw, R.J.; Swatzler, D.; Roth, E.M. [Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Thomas, W.A. [Quantum Technologies, Inc., Oak Brook, IL (United States)

1994-06-01

Training for operator and other technical positions in the commercial nuclear power industry traditionally has focused on mastery of the formal procedures used to control plant systems and processes. However, decisionmaking tasks required of nuclear power plant operators involve cognitive skills (e.g., situation assessment, planning). Cognitive skills are needed in situations where formal procedures may not exist or may not be as prescriptive, as is the case in severe accident management (SAM). The Westinghouse research team investigated the potential cognitive demands of SAM on the control room operators and Technical Support Center staff who would be most involved in the selection and execution of severe accident control actions. A model of decision making, organized around six general cognitive processes, was developed to identify the types of cognitive skills that may be needed for effective performance. Also, twelve SAM scenarios were developed to reveal specific decision-making difficulties. Following the identification of relevant cognitive skills, 19 approaches for training individual and team cognitive skills were identified. A review of these approaches resulted in the identification of general characteristics that are important in effective training of cognitive skills.

Cognitive skill training for nuclear power plant operational decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mumaw, R.J.; Swatzler, D.; Roth, E.M.; Thomas, W.A.

1994-06-01

Training for operator and other technical positions in the commercial nuclear power industry traditionally has focused on mastery of the formal procedures used to control plant systems and processes. However, decisionmaking tasks required of nuclear power plant operators involve cognitive skills (e.g., situation assessment, planning). Cognitive skills are needed in situations where formal procedures may not exist or may not be as prescriptive, as is the case in severe accident management (SAM). The Westinghouse research team investigated the potential cognitive demands of SAM on the control room operators and Technical Support Center staff who would be most involved in the selection and execution of severe accident control actions. A model of decision making, organized around six general cognitive processes, was developed to identify the types of cognitive skills that may be needed for effective performance. Also, twelve SAM scenarios were developed to reveal specific decision-making difficulties. Following the identification of relevant cognitive skills, 19 approaches for training individual and team cognitive skills were identified. A review of these approaches resulted in the identification of general characteristics that are important in effective training of cognitive skills

Medical students' perceptions of their development of 'soft skills' Part ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

One of the aims of the reform was to provide more teaching and learning opportunities for the development of soft skills. Soft skills include professional interpersonal and social skills, communication skills, and professional and ethical attitudes. Methods As symbolic interactionism was used as the theoretical framework to ...

Change and predictors of change in social skills of nursing home residents with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chappell, Neena L; Kadlec, Helena; Reid, Colin

2014-02-01

Social skills are of primary importance for those with dementia and their care providers, yet we know little about the extent to which basic social skills can be maintained over time and the predictors of change. A total of 18 nursing homes with 149 newly admitted residents with moderate to severe dementia, 195 direct care staff, and 135 family members, in British Columbia, Canada, contributed data on change in social skills from admission to 6 months and 1 year later. Three-quarters of residents maintained or improved their basic social skills during both the time periods. Decline was explained primarily by cognitive status at the time of admission, notably present orientation. However, staff-to-resident communication becomes more important over time. Social skills appear to present an opportunity to maintain interaction with these residents. The findings also suggest that a focus on the present orientation before and following admission and on staff-to-resident communication may be beneficial.

El Salvador - Non-Formal Skills Development

Data.gov (United States)

Millennium Challenge Corporation — The Non-Formal Skills Development Sub-Activity had a budget of $5 million (USD) to provide short-term training to vulnerable populations in El Salvador's Northern...

Nurses' information retrieval skills in psychiatric hospitals - are the requirements for evidence-based practice fulfilled?

Science.gov (United States)

Koivunen, Marita; Välimäki, Maritta; Hätönen, Heli

2010-01-01

Nursing professionals have long recognized the importance to practice of research and the value of research evidence. Nurses still do not use research findings in practice. The purpose of this paper was to describe nurses' skills in using literature databases and the Internet in psychiatric hospitals and associations of nurses' gender, age, and job position with their information retrieval skills. The study was carried out in 2004 among nursing staff (N=183) on nine acute psychiatric wards in two psychiatric hospitals in Finland (n=180, response rate 98%). The Finnish version of the European Computer Driving Licence test (ECDL) was used as a data collection instrument. The study showed that there were clear deficits in information retrieval skills among nurses working in psychiatric hospitals. Thus, nurses' competence does not support the realization of evidence-based practice in the hospitals. Therefore, it is important to increase nurses' information retrieval skills by tailoring continuing education modules. It would be also advisable to develop centralized systems for the internal dissemination of research findings for the use of nursing staff.

Integrating Doulas Into First-Trimester Abortion Care: Physician, Clinic Staff, and Doula Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Chor, Julie; Lyman, Phoebe; Ruth, Jean; Patel, Ashlesha; Gilliam, Melissa

2018-01-01

Balancing the need to provide individual support for patients and the need for an efficient clinic can be challenging in the abortion setting. This study explores physician, staff, and specially trained abortion doula perspectives on doula support, one approach to patient support. We conducted separate focus groups with physicians, staff members, and doulas from a high-volume, first-trimester aspiration abortion clinic with a newly established volunteer abortion doula program. Focus groups explored 1) abortion doula training, 2) program implementation, 3) program benefits, and 4) opportunities for improvement. Interviews were transcribed and computer-assisted content analysis was performed; salient findings are presented. Five physicians, 5 staff members, and 4 abortion doulas participated in separate focus group discussions. Doulas drew on both their prior personal skills and experiences in addition to their abortion doula training to provide women with support at the time of abortion. Having doulas in the clinic to assist with women's emotional needs allowed physicians and staff to focus on technical aspects of the procedure. In turn, both physicians and staff believed that introducing doulas resulted in more patient-centered care. Although staff did not experience challenges to integrating doulas, physicians and doulas experienced initial challenges in incorporating doula support into the clinical flow. Staff and doulas reported exchanging skills and techniques that they subsequently used in their interactions with patients. Physicians, clinic staff, and doulas perceive abortion doula support as an approach to provide more patient-centered care in a high-volume aspiration abortion clinic. © 2018 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Enhancing Human Capital Development and Service Delivery in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions through Effective Academic Staff

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Chinyeaka Igbokwe-Ibeto

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Within the framework of bureaucratic and human capital theories, an eclectic approach, the study examines the nexus between academic staff recruitment in Nigerian tertiary institutions and human capital development as well as service delivery with specific reference to universities. It is generally agreed that higher education is a sine-qua-non for human capital development and efficient service delivery. Higher education is a prerequisite for the production of highly competent experts, which in turn, contributes to the development of organizations and the economy at large. For these to be achieved, the right content and academic staff  must be in place to perform this varied function.  However, over the years the quality of human capital coming out of Nigerian universities and its impact on service delivery has become a source of concern to employers of labour and all stakeholders. Inferential opinions have traced the problem to the recruitment of incompetent academic staff. To investigate the issues raised, the study relied heavily on primary and secondary data and multi stage sampling was used to select the sample population. The data collected was presented in pie chart and simple percentage. Similarly, in order to test the hypotheses and establish the degree of dependence or independence of the variables under investigation, the chi-square statistical technique was used. The findings of the study revealed among others, that Nigerian universities do not employ merit, qualification and competency in the academic staff recruitment. It also established that there is a significant relationship between merit, qualification and competency based academic staff recruitment and human capital development and service delivery. To enhance human capital development and service delivery in Nigerian universities, the study recommends among others, that an independent body like the National University Commission (NUC should be given the responsibility of

VTAE Equity Staff Development Workshops and Services--Phase II. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldus, Lorayne; Nelson, Orville

The Phase II Equity Staff Development project was revised in response to a need to develop an equity strategic planning model with a vision statement, goals, and objectives. The Equity Strategic Planning Model was presented to administrators of Wisconsin Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) colleges for their use in district strategic…

Haptic Glove Technology: Skill Development through Video Game Play

Science.gov (United States)

Bargerhuff, Mary Ellen; Cowan, Heidi; Oliveira, Francisco; Quek, Francis; Fang, Bing

2010-01-01

This article introduces a recently developed haptic glove system and describes how the participants used a video game that was purposely designed to train them in skills that are needed for the efficient use of the haptic glove. Assessed skills included speed, efficiency, embodied skill, and engagement. The findings and implications for future…

Efficiency of Motivation Development Models for Hygienic Skills

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Alexander V. Tscymbalystov

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The combined influence of a family and a state plays an important role in the development of an individual. This study is aimed at the model effectiveness evaluation concerning the development of oral hygiene skills among children living in families (n = 218 and being under the care of a state (n = 229. The groups were created among the children who took part in the study: the preschoolers of 5-7 years, schoolchildren of 8-11 years and adolescents of 12-15 years. During the initial examination, the hygienic status of the oral cavity before and after tooth brushing was evaluated. After that, subgroups were formed in each age group according to three models of hygienic skills training: 1 computer presentation lesson; 2 one of the students acted as a demonstrator of the skill; 3 an individual training by a hygienist. During the next 48 hours children did not take hygienic measures. Then the children were invited for a control session to demonstrate the acquired skills of oral care and evaluate the effectiveness of a model developing the skills of individual oral hygiene. During the control examination, the hygienic status was determined before and after the tooth cleaning, which allowed to determine the regimes of hygienic measure performance for children with different social status and the effectiveness of hygiene training models.

The C's of Our Sea Change: Plans for Training Staff, from Core Competencies to Learning 2.0

Science.gov (United States)

Blowers, Helene; Reed, Lori

2007-01-01

This article explains a two-part plan, created by the people at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC), to help staff members keep up with the sea change of technology. A core competencies training program was developed. This keeps workers afloat by providing them with the technology skills they need to support the change…

Developing Elementary Math and Science Process Skills Through Engineering Design Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Strong, Matthew G.

This paper examines how elementary students can develop math and science process skills through an engineering design approach to instruction. The performance and development of individual process skills overall and by gender were also examined. The study, preceded by a pilot, took place in a grade four extracurricular engineering design program in a public, suburban school district. Students worked in pairs and small groups to design and construct airplane models from styrofoam, paper clips, and toothpicks. The development and performance of process skills were assessed through a student survey of learning gains, an engineering design packet rubric (student work), observation field notes, and focus group notes. The results indicate that students can significantly develop process skills, that female students may develop process skills through engineering design better than male students, and that engineering design is most helpful for developing the measuring, suggesting improvements, and observing process skills. The study suggests that a more regular engineering design program or curriculum could be beneficial for students' math and science abilities both in this school and for the elementary field as a whole.

Helping Preschoolers Prepare for Writing: Developing Fine Motor Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, J. Michelle; Fortenberry, Callie

2011-01-01

Early childhood is the most intensive period for the development of physical skills. Writing progress depends largely on the development of fine motor skills involving small muscle movements of the hand. Young children need to participate in a variety of developmentally appropriate activities intentionally designed to promote fine motor control.…

The Development of Fine Motor Skills and its Relation to Cognitive Development in Young Children

OpenAIRE

Geng, Da; Zhang, Xingli; Shi, Jiannong

2015-01-01

Fine motor skills refer to any movement where an individual uses the small muscles or muscle areas of the hands and fingers; these movements serve to development of muscle while also improving the cognitive recognition of the object. Automatic fine motor skills can save limited attention resources for advanced cognition tasks as required by an individual; in the development of fine motor skills and cognition, the two abilities interact, some motor skills are the prerequisite for some cognitio...

LOW COMPRESSION TENNIS BALLS AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Hammond

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Coaching aims to improve player performance and coaches have a number of coaching methods and strategies they use to enhance this process. If new methods and ideas can be determined to improve player performance they will change coaching practices and processes. This study investigated the effects of using low compression balls (LCBs during coaching sessions with beginning tennis players. In order to assess the effectiveness of LCBs on skill learning the study employed a quasi-experimental design supported by qualitative and descriptive data. Beginner tennis players took part in coaching sessions, one group using the LCBs while the other group used standard tennis balls. Both groups were administered a skills at the beginning of a series of coaching sessions and again at the end. A statistical investigation of the difference between pre and post-test results was carried out to determine the effect of LCBs on skill learning. Additional qualitative data was obtained through interviews, video capture and the use of performance analysis of typical coaching sessions for each group. The skill test results indicated no difference in skill learning when comparing beginners using the LCBs to those using the standard balls. Coaches reported that the LCBs appeared to have a positive effect on technique development, including aspects of technique that are related to improving power of the shot. Additional benefits were that rallies went on longer and more opportunity for positive reinforcement. In order to provide a more conclusive answer to the effects of LCBs on skill learning and technique development recommendations for future research were established including a more controlled experimental environment and larger sample sizes across a longer period of time

Student Leadership Development in Australian and New Zealand Secondary Girls' Schools: A Staff Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Archard, Nicole

2012-01-01

This paper reports on a qualitative study regarding the phenomenon of student leadership development as reported by staff members in girls' schools located in Australia and New Zealand. Electronic survey was used as the method of data collection, facilitating both closed and open-ended responses. Using staff responses, the understanding and type…

Teaching Women with Intellectual Disabilities to Identify and Report Inappropriate Staff-to-Resident Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Bollman, Jessica R.; Davis, Paula K.

2009-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of behavioral skills training in teaching 2 adult women with mild intellectual disabilities to report inappropriate staff-to-resident interactions. The reporting skill included making a self-advocacy response, walking away, and reporting the interaction. Participants' performance was measured during baseline,…

Strategic Lines of Communication in Development of Management and Human Skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rider Antonio Moreno Guillen

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to propose strategic lines of communication in the development of managerial and human skills at the Rural School Nucleus (NER 187, Calderas parish, Bolívar municipality of Barinas state. The nature of the study was embedded in the quantitative paradigm, the type of research in the Feasible Project modality and the research design focused on a field study. The population and the sample were made up of thirty (30 teachers. For the collection of information, a questionnaire survey was designed with Likert scaling with five (05 response alternatives: Always, Almost Always, Sometimes, Almost Never and Never. The study concludes: infrequently the passive communication style is developed for the development of managerial and human skills. They consider that moderately the manager uses aggressive communication style to develop managerial skills. In addition, it lacks the use of assertive communication to develop managerial skills. Likewise, they lack technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. These are relevant for the proposal of strategic lines in communication because it will accede to the strengthening of the managerial and human abilities of both the teacher and the school manager.

Screening for depression: integrating training into the professional development programme for low vision rehabilitation staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees, Gwyneth; Holloway, Edith E; Craig, Graeme; Hepi, Niky; Coad, Samantha; Keeffe, Jill E; Lamoureux, Ecosse L

2012-12-01

To describe the integration of depression screening training into the professional development programme for low vision rehabilitation staff and report on staff evaluation of this training. Pre-post intervention study, in a single population of low vision rehabilitation staff. Three hundred and thirty-six staff from Australia's largest low vision rehabilitation organization, Vision Australia. Staff completed the depression screening and referral training as part of a wider professional development programme. A pre-post-training questionnaire was administered to all staff. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were used to determine differences in self-reported knowledge, confidence, barriers to recognition and management of depression between baseline and post training. One hundred and seventy-two participants completed both questionnaires. Following training, participants reported an increased knowledge of depression, were more likely to respond to depression in their clients and reported to be more confident in managing depression (P training incorporating more active and 'hands-on' sessions are likely to be required. This training is a promising first step in integrating a depression screening tool into low vision rehabilitation practice. Further work is needed to determine the barriers and facilitators to implementation in practice and to assess clients' acceptability and outcomes. © 2012 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology © 2012 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

Staff Training in Autism: The One-Eyed Wo/Man…

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karola Dillenburger

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Having well-trained staff is key to ensuring good quality autism services, especially since people affected with autism generally tend to have higher support needs than other populations in terms of daily living, as well as their mental and physical health. Poorly-trained staff can have detrimental effects on service provision and staff morale and can lead to staff burn-out, as well as increased service user anxiety and stress. This paper reports on a survey with health, social care, and education staff who work within the statutory autism services sector in the UK that explored their knowledge and training with regards to autism. Interview data obtained from staff and service users offer qualitative illustrations of survey findings. Overall, the findings expose an acute lack of autism-specific training that has detrimental impacts. At best, this training was based on brief and very basic awareness raising rather than on in-depth understanding of issues related to autism or skills for evidence-based practice. Service users were concerned with the effects that the lack of staff training had on the services they received. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy routes to achieving quality staff training based on international best practice. The focus is on improving the quality of life and mental health for services users and staff, as well as making potentially significant cost-savings for governments.

Staff Training in Autism: The One-Eyed Wo/Man….

Science.gov (United States)

Dillenburger, Karola; McKerr, Lyn; Jordan, Julie-Ann; Keenan, Mickey

2016-07-16

Having well-trained staff is key to ensuring good quality autism services, especially since people affected with autism generally tend to have higher support needs than other populations in terms of daily living, as well as their mental and physical health. Poorly-trained staff can have detrimental effects on service provision and staff morale and can lead to staff burn-out, as well as increased service user anxiety and stress. This paper reports on a survey with health, social care, and education staff who work within the statutory autism services sector in the UK that explored their knowledge and training with regards to autism. Interview data obtained from staff and service users offer qualitative illustrations of survey findings. Overall, the findings expose an acute lack of autism-specific training that has detrimental impacts. At best, this training was based on brief and very basic awareness raising rather than on in-depth understanding of issues related to autism or skills for evidence-based practice. Service users were concerned with the effects that the lack of staff training had on the services they received. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy routes to achieving quality staff training based on international best practice. The focus is on improving the quality of life and mental health for services users and staff, as well as making potentially significant cost-savings for governments.

Moving NSDC's Staff Development Standards into Practice: Innovation Configurations. Volume I

Science.gov (United States)

National Staff Development Council, 2003

2003-01-01

NSDC's groundbreaking work in developing standards for staff development has now been joined by an equally important book that spells out exactly how those standards would look if they were being implemented by school districts. An Innovation Configuration map is a device that identifies and describes the major components of a new practice--in…

ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY: DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH EXPRESSIVE DRAWING TECHNIQUES

OpenAIRE

Marfu’i, Lucky Nindi Riandika

2017-01-01

Adolescent is a formal operational stage of cognitivedevelopment. The development of an educational program prioritizes four skillsto support success in meeting the challenges of the 21st century. One of thepriority skills of the four skills is critical thinking skill. Criticalthinking skill is a skill which shows the performance of individual cognitionin interpreting, analyzing, and doing self-regulation regarding problems andinformation received. Critical thinking skill is closely related t...

Employee Development Capabilities of the Regulatory Authority in the Nuclear Field in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghinea, P.

2016-01-01

Full text: The paper provides information about CNCAN (general presentation of CNCAN responsibilities as a regulatory body) and about the general human resources management within our institution regarding the following: legal framework regarding resources; knowledge management; staff employment financial resources continuous focus on improvement of staff performances through dedicated training programmes. The process to develop and maintain the necessary competence and skills of staff of the regulatory body, as an element of knowledge management. Training for CNCAN staff is provided either in-house or through technical cooperation programmes with the IAEA. CNCAN has made arrangements for specific staff training using training courses and programmes provided by international organizations. The specific training is provided predominantly with the economic support from outside of the country. CNCAN has a process to develop and maintain the necessary competence and skills of staff of the regulatory body, as an element of knowledge management. To maintain an appropriate competence level, an annual plan for staff training is in place and each staff member has an individual training plan. Project supports CNCAN in the development of knowledge management and capacity building frameworks to secure long-term availability of regulatory competency. (author

Training Needs of Vocational Forestry Staff in Ogun State Nigeria.

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Onyii Ogbonna

Vocational staff perceived their knowledge level and skill level as medium ... Many state forest reserves in the country were originally set up in recognition of the .... officers are not expected to know anything in marketing of timber( = 3.225) .

Pairing students in clinical assignments to develop collaboration and communication skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartges, Mali

2012-01-01

Skillful collaboration and communication among healthcare team members are associated with favorable patient outcomes. Student nurses need opportunities for supervised development of these crucial and intertwined skills. The author describes the implementation of a practice-change project for simultaneously developing collaboration and communication skills by pairing prelicensure student nurses in clinical assignments. This easily adapted strategy increases options for faculty looking to stimulate student acquisition of these professional skills.

The use of advanced physical assessment skills by cardiac nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmunds, Linda; Ward, Susan; Barnes, Rhian

To establish what advanced physical assessment skills are being used by cardiac nurses after they undertook a clinical patient assessment module; and to explore the factors that influence their use of these skills. A longitudinal descriptive approach using convenience sampling was employed. Qualitative data was obtained from individual interviews, non-participant observation within the participants' clinical environment and self-reported activity logs. Five key themes emerged: use of advanced physical assessment skills varied; use and development of skills was linked to personal characteristics; use influenced by perceptions of role boundaries, permission and cooperation; use influenced by participants' perception of nursing and the development of their own nursing practice; and use influenced by the physical environment and the human support within it. Cardiac nurses selectively use physical assessment skills, predominately related to the cardiorespiratory systems. Organisational structure, professional relationships and the professionalism of the individual nurse appear to play a significant part in the use of physical assessment skills. Although the findings from this qualitative study cannot be generalized, they concur with findings from recent research into physical assessment skills used by a variety of UK nurses. The implications identified are: first, for those who provide the education, in terms of what should be taught and facilitated; and second, for organizations, in ensuring staff have assessment skills relevant to their role and that systems are in place to enable the development of a supportive and progressive culture that embraces modernization congruent with healthcare policy.

Does Practice Make Perfect? A Randomized Control Trial of Behavioral Rehearsal on Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Seaburn, David; Gibbs, Danette; Schmeelk-Cone, Karen; White, Ann Marie; Caine, Eric D.

2011-01-01

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 10–24-year-olds and the target of school-based prevention efforts. Gatekeeper training, a broadly disseminated prevention strategy, has been found to enhance participant knowledge and attitudes about intervening with distressed youth. Although the goal of training is the development of gatekeeper skills to intervene with at-risk youth, the impact on skills and use of training is less known. Brief gatekeeper training programs are largely educational and do not employ active learning strategies such as behavioral rehearsal through role play practice to assist skill development. In this study, we compare gatekeeper training as usual with training plus brief behavioral rehearsal (i.e., role play practice) on a variety of learning outcomes after training and at follow-up for 91 school staff and 56 parents in a school community. We found few differences between school staff and parent participants. Both training conditions resulted in enhanced knowledge and attitudes, and almost all participants spread gatekeeper training information to others in their network. Rigorous standardized patient and observational methods showed behavioral rehearsal with role play practice resulted in higher total gatekeeper skill scores immediately after training and at follow-up. Both conditions, however, showed decrements at follow-up. Strategies to strengthen and maintain gatekeeper skills over time are discussed. PMID:21814869

Does practice make perfect? A randomized control trial of behavioral rehearsal on suicide prevention gatekeeper skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Wendi F; Seaburn, David; Gibbs, Danette; Schmeelk-Cone, Karen; White, Ann Marie; Caine, Eric D

2011-08-01

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 10-24-year-olds and the target of school-based prevention efforts. Gatekeeper training, a broadly disseminated prevention strategy, has been found to enhance participant knowledge and attitudes about intervening with distressed youth. Although the goal of training is the development of gatekeeper skills to intervene with at-risk youth, the impact on skills and use of training is less known. Brief gatekeeper training programs are largely educational and do not employ active learning strategies such as behavioral rehearsal through role play practice to assist skill development. In this study, we compare gatekeeper training as usual with training plus brief behavioral rehearsal (i.e., role play practice) on a variety of learning outcomes after training and at follow-up for 91 school staff and 56 parents in a school community. We found few differences between school staff and parent participants. Both training conditions resulted in enhanced knowledge and attitudes, and almost all participants spread gatekeeper training information to others in their network. Rigorous standardized patient and observational methods showed behavioral rehearsal with role play practice resulted in higher total gatekeeper skill scores immediately after training and at follow-up. Both conditions, however, showed decrements at follow-up. Strategies to strengthen and maintain gatekeeper skills over time are discussed.

Peer assisted learning: teaching dental skills and enhancing graduate attributes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, D A; Binnie, V I; Sherriff, A; Bissell, V

2015-09-25

This study describes a pilot project in which peer assisted learning (PAL) is used to teach dental clinical skills. A cluster randomised controlled trial compared opinions of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students from peer-led groups versus staff-led groups in a clinical (impression taking) and a pre-clinical (handpiece skills) task. BDS5 (peer tutors) in their final year delivered teaching to BDS1 (tutees) for each task. Quantitative data from tutees and the peer tutors was gathered from questionnaires, along with open written comments. PAL was well received by both tutees and peer tutors. BDS1 tutees rated BDS5 peer tutors highly for delivery of information, and level of feedback. The tutees considered peer tutors more approachable and less intimidating than staff. Peer tutors reported their own knowledge had increased as a result of teaching. In a summative OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) four months following the teaching, no statistical significant difference between the performance of peer-led and staff-led groups was found at stations related to the subject matter in question. It is argued that PAL, as well as being a useful method of delivering subject-specific teaching, is able to contribute to the development of graduate attributes.

A comparison of linear speed, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility qualities between backcourt and frontcourt adult semiprofessional male basketball players.

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlan, Aaron T; Tucker, Patrick S; Dalbo, Vincent J

2014-05-01

The measurement of fitness qualities relevant to playing position is necessary to inform basketball coaching and conditioning staff of role-related differences in playing groups. To date, sprinting and agility performance have not been compared between playing positions in adult male basketball players. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe and compare linear speed, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility qualities between backcourt (point guard and shooting guard positions) and frontcourt (small forward, power forward, and center positions) semiprofessional basketball players. Six backcourt (mean ± SD: age, 24.3 ± 7.9 years; stature, 183.4 ± 4.0 cm; body mass, 85.5 ± 12.3 kg; VO2max, 51.9 ± 4.8 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) and 6 frontcourt (mean ± SD: age, 27.5 ± 5.5 years; stature, 194.4 ± 7.1 cm; body mass, 109.4 ± 8.8 kg; VO2max, 47.1 ± 5.0 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) adult male basketball players completed 20-m sprint, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility performance tests. Magnitude-based inferences revealed that backcourt players (5 m, 1.048 ± 0.027 seconds; 10 m, 1.778 ± 0.048 seconds; 20 m, 3.075 ± 0.121 seconds) possessed likely quicker linear sprint times than frontcourt players (5 m, 1.095 ± 0.085 seconds; 10 m, 1.872 ± 0.127 seconds; 20 m, 3.242 ± 0.221 seconds). Conversely, frontcourt players (1.665 ± 0.096 seconds) held possible superior closed-skill agility performance than backcourt players (1.613 ± 0.111 seconds). In addition, unclear positional differences were apparent for open-skill agility qualities. These findings indicate that linear speed and change of direction speed might be differently developed across playing positions. Furthermore, position-related functions might similarly depend on the aspects of open-skill agility performance across backcourt and frontcourt players. Basketball coaching and conditioning staff should consider the development of position-targeted training drills to improve speed, agility

Developing Critical Thinking Skills: Assessing the Effectiveness of Workbook Exercises

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Elise D.; Jefferson, Renee N.

2015-01-01

To address the challenge of developing critical thinking skills in college students, this empirical study examines the effectiveness of cognitive exercises in developing those skills. The study uses Critical Thinking: Building the Basics by Walter, Knudsvig, and Smith (2003). This workbook is specifically designed to exercise and develop critical…

Non-Technical Skills in Undergraduate Degrees in Business: Development and Transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Denise; Hancock, Phil

2010-01-01

The development of discipline-specific skills and knowledge is no longer considered sufficient in graduates of Bachelor level degrees in Business. Higher education providers are becoming increasingly responsible for the development of a generic skill set deemed essential in undergraduates. This required skill set comprises a broad range of…

Human Resource Development in Hybrid Libraries

OpenAIRE

Prakasan, E. R.; Swarna, T.; Vijai Kumar, *

2000-01-01

This paper explores the human resources and development implications in hybrid libraries. Due to technological changes in libraries, which is a result of the proliferation of electronic resources, there has been a shift in workloads and workflow, requiring staff with different skills and educational backgrounds. Training of staff at all levels in information technology is the key to manage change, alleviate anxiety in the workplace and assure quality service in the libraries. Staff developmen...

Metabolic Pathways Visualization Skills Development by Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

dos Santos, Vanessa J. S. V.; Galembeck, Eduardo

2015-01-01

We have developed a metabolic pathways visualization skill test (MPVST) to gain greater insight into our students' abilities to comprehend the visual information presented in metabolic pathways diagrams. The test is able to discriminate students' visualization ability with respect to six specific visualization skills that we identified as key to…

Developing Employability Skills: Peer Assessment in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Simon

2006-01-01

Purpose: Reports examining graduate employment issues suggest that employers are concerned by the lack of employability skills exhibited by entry-level job applications. It is also suggested that employers consider it the responsibility of educational institutions to develop such skills. The current study seeks to identify peer assessment as a…

Philosophical Perspectives of Skill Development in Teacher Education

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... communication, management, and critical thinking, as well as the skill to identify, compare, and contrast qualities, perform analyses, and appropriately interpret the meaning of signs. Educator must possess these skills so as to have the capability to develop them in students; and this is the crucial task of teacher education.

Clerkship maturity: does the idea of training clinical skills work?

Science.gov (United States)

Stosch, Christoph; Joachim, Alexander; Ascher, Johannes

2011-01-01

With the reformed curriculum "4C", the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne has started to systematically plan practical skills training, for which Clerkship Maturity is the first step. The key guidelines along which the curriculum was development were developed by experts. This approach has now been validated. Both students and teachers were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding preclinical practical skills training to confirm the concept of Clerkship Maturity. The Cologne training program Clerkship Maturity can be validated empirically overall through the activities of the students awaiting the clerkship framework and through the evaluation by the medical staff providing the training. The subjective ratings of the advantages of the training by the students leave room for improvement. Apart from minor improvements to the program, the most likely solution providing sustainable results will involve an over-regional strategy for establishing skills training planned as part of the curriculum.

Movement Skill Assessment of Typically Developing Preschool Children: A Review of Seven Movement Skill Assessment Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Cools, Wouter; Martelaer, Kristine De; Samaey, Christiane; Andries, Caroline

2009-01-01

The importance of movement is often overlooked because it is such a natural part of human life. It is, however, crucial for a child’s physical, cognitive and social development. In addition, experiences support learning and development of fundamental movement skills. The foundations of those skills are laid in early childhood and essential to encourage a physically active lifestyle. Fundamental movement skill performance can be examined with several assessment tools. The choice of a test will depend on the context in which the assessment is planned. This article compares seven assessment tools which are often referred to in European or international context. It discusses the tools’ usefulness for the assessment of movement skill development in general population samples. After a brief description of each assessment tool the article focuses on contents, reliability, validity and normative data. A conclusion outline of strengths and weaknesses of all reviewed assessment tools focusing on their use in educational research settings is provided and stresses the importance of regular data collection of fundamental movement skill development among preschool children. Key pointsThis review discusses seven movement skill assessment tool’s test content, reliability, validity and normative samples.The seven assessment tools all showed to be of great value. Strengths and weaknesses indicate that test choice will depend on specific purpose of test use.Further data collection should also include larger data samples of able bodied preschool children.Admitting PE specialists in assessment of fundamental movement skill performance among preschool children is recommended.The assessment tool’s normative data samples would benefit from frequent movement skill performance follow-up of today’s children. Abbreviations MOT 4-6: Motoriktest fur vier- bis sechsjährige Kinder, M-ABC: Movement Assessment Battery for Children, PDMS: Peabody Development Scales, KTK: K�

Early language and executive skills predict variations in number and arithmetic skills in children at family-risk of dyslexia and typically developing controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J; Göbel, Silke M; Hulme, Charles

2015-08-01

Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3-4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4-5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder.

The development of aerobic and skill assessment in soccer.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Reilly, John; Wong, Stephen H S

2012-12-01

Methods of assessing soccer players' performance have developed significantly in recent times. The fitness profiles and skill levels of a prospective elite soccer player is a valuable resource for coaches in the process of identifying talent. Traditional means to measure aerobic fitness have centred on the 'aerobic capacity' or '&OV0312;O(2max)' test (also known as the maximal oxygen consumption test) but, over time, this has been shown not to be a sensitive measure for specific aspects of soccer in a match situation. Therefore, numerous soccer-specific simulations have been designed to re-create exercise patterns similar to those experienced during a match. Some of these studies have yet to be validated, while others have been shown to result in a similar physiological load to that encountered during regular match play. Further developments have led to specifically designed intermittent sprint tests, which are used as a sensitive tool to accurately measure the fluctuations in players' ability both between and within soccer seasons. Testing procedures have also been developed that incorporate elements of both skill and physical ability. Soccer-specific field tests have been designed, incorporating skill and dynamic movements, and this opens up the possibility of teams testing the aerobic capacity of their elite players using soccer-specific movements. Valid studies assessing soccer-specific skills in an ecologically sound environment have been quite rare until recently. Some test protocols have been deemed largely irrelevant to soccer match play, while others have had limited impact on scientific literature. More recently, skill tests have been developed and shown to be valid and reliable methods of assessing soccer skill performance. Many new skill tests continue to be developed, and some have been shown to be highly reliable, but further study of these relatively novel concepts is required before a more solid recommendation can be made. Overall, while significant

Skills development programme: The UNISA/CSIR model

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Sparrow, RW

2010-09-01

Full Text Available development programmes and industry. A key component will be the use of Information Learning Technology. The skills development programmes are vocational and centred on research and industrial requirements. This programme is modelled on vocational...

Factors associated with staff development processes and the creation of innovative science courses in higher education

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Jeanelle Bland

1999-11-01

The purpose of the study was to determine factors associated with staff development processes and the creation of innovative science courses by higher education faculty who have participated in a model staff development project. The staff development program was designed for college faculty interested in creating interdisciplinary, constructivist-based science, mathematics, or engineering courses designed for non-majors. The program includes workshops on incorporating constructivist pedagogy, alternative assessment, and technology into interdisciplinary courses. Staff development interventions used in the program include grant opportunities, distribution of resource materials, and peer mentoring. University teams attending the workshops are comprised of faculty from the sciences, mathematics, or engineering, as well as education, and administration. A purposeful and convenient sample of three university teams were subjects for this qualitative study. Each team had attended a NASA Opportunities for Visionary Academics (NOVA) workshop, received funding for course development, and offered innovative courses. Five questions were addressed in this study: (a) What methods were used by faculty teams in planning the courses? (b) What changes occurred in existing science courses? (c) What factors affected the team collaboration process? (d) What personal characteristics of faculty members were important in successful course development? and (e) What barriers existed for faculty in the course development process? Data was collected at each site through individual faculty interviews (N = 11), student focus group interviews (N = 15), and classroom observations. Secondary data included original funding proposals. The NOVA staff development model incorporated effective K--12 interventions with higher education interventions. Analysis of data revealed that there were four factors of staff development processes that were most beneficial. First, the team collaborative processes

Teaching Skill Acquisition and Development in Dental Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyon, Lucinda J; Hoover, Terry E; Giusti, Lola; Booth, Mark T; Mahdavi, Elham

2016-08-01

Development of dental faculty members is paramount to providing outstanding education and role modeling for students. With the large number of second career educators in dental schools, an efficient method of acquiring teaching skills is important for new faculty members. Knowing the skill progression and learning experiences identified by dental educators of varying rank may lead to more efficient, effective faculty development. The aims of this study were to identify the perceptions of a group of faculty members about the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and learning experiences that contribute to developing teaching expertise and to compare and contrast the perceptions of new and more senior faculty members on these subjects. The Dreyfus skill acquisition continuum of novice to expert performance was used as a construct reference. The study used a mixed-methods approach in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently in an electronic survey of faculty members at one U.S. dental school. Of the 492 total faculty members, 80 survey responses were received, for a 16% response rate. Open coding and analysis of responses revealed some common themes. Building rich content knowledge and learning varied methodologies for teaching and assessment, supported by an awareness of peer role models, were perceived to be features of early growth. Content prioritization, clarity, and customization appropriate for the learner characterized mid growth. As theorized in the Dreyfus model, more experienced faculty members described a fluid, less structured teaching process, increased reflection, and appreciation of the strength of the educational community. The results of this study may help increase dental educators' understanding of teaching skill acquisition and inform faculty development and support.

Life Skills Developed on the Camp "Stage."

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Gwynn M.

2000-01-01

Draws on research concerning the components of sense of place, the rootedness of college students to their hometowns, and categories of environmental competence. Offer insights to camp staff into fostering sense of place and the emotional attachments to camp that comprise place attachment, and to developing environmental competence among campers…

Development of emergency response training focusing on non-technical skills. (2) Extraction of non-technical skills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, Yuko; Hikono, Masaru; Iwasaki, Mari; Morita, Mizuho

2017-01-01

This study aimed at characterizing a non-technical skill exercise for on-site managers in charge of initial response at an emergency response center by extracting and clarifying the behavior examples of non-technical skills shown in the exercise scenario. From video observations, the non-technical skill examples were identified from seven of the eight nontechnical skill categories which had been defined when the training program was developed. Especially, they included many skills of 'Communication', 'Situation Understanding' and 'Organizational management'. At the same time, the limitation when extracting the cases by observations was identified. The extracted non-technical skill cases are expected to be used for characterizing exercise scenarios, as well as provide knowledge to raise the awareness of exercise participants. (author)

Professional development status of teaching staff in a Ugandan public university

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kasule, George Wilson; Wesselink, Renate; Mulder, Martin

2016-01-01

A study was conducted to determine general professional development activities perceived to be important in enhancing university teaching staff’s job performance, and the extent to which teaching staff participate in these activities in Uganda. Data were collected through semi-structured

Developing Teaching Assistants' Skills in Positive Behaviour Management: An Application of Video Interaction Guidance in a Secondary School

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Ben; Richardson, Sally; Hindle, Sarah; Grayson, Katy

2011-01-01

This paper reports an action research project in a school in the UK designed to investigate the impact of a brief Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) intervention in promoting skills of non-teaching staff in positive behaviour management. A summary of the literature in relation to VIG is provided before describing the project and data collected. Ten…

Health Promoting Behaviors and the Expectations for the Environment of the Hospital Administrative Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hilal Ozcebe

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Amac: It is important to learn how the people perceive their environment to promote health and to improve their perspectives. This study is aimed to determine the behaviors of smoking, physical activity, stres management and healthy eating of the administrative hospital staff and evaluate their perspectives about hospital environment. Gerec ve Yontem: The universe of the study was the administrative staffs working at a hospital. The questionnarie developed by the researchers .were used to collect data. The official permission was taken from hospital management, and the verbal permission was from the staff. Bulgular: The mean age of the participants was 34.4±7.43 and the mean year of working in this hospital was 10.7±7.1 years. The most common nutritional habit seen among all staff was drinking excess amount of tea, coffee, coke. Among the participants, 51.8% of the participants did not do any physical activity. The people interviewed in the study pointed out that the most given information among all topics was tobacco control (36.7%. Hospital staff declared the first desired expectations for their workplace as “having a seperate place to rest”, “professional support on communication skills”, “professional support on stress management”. The least expectation declared by the staff was "removing salt from the table". Sonuc: It is found that the hospital administrative staff interviewed in our study did not have enough awareness about health promoting behaviors and their accessibility to health promoting environment. The interventions should be developed to improve institutional policies, environmental infrastructure and also the level of awareness of staff. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2012; 11(6.000: 707-716

The Effects of Working Abroad on the Development of Teaching Skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bünyamin Çelik

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Teaching overseas has always been a great opportunity for academic and social development. Teachers who have international experiences stand a better chance of not only developing their teaching skills, communication skills and classroom management but also learning new languages and about other cultures. Teaching abroad can help teachers promote their skills for efficiency and effectiveness. It is important to stress that teachers with international experience can teach effectively and contribute to the achievement of their students more. This paper focuses on the effects of working abroad as a teacher on the development of teaching skills.

Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills in First Year Environmental Management Students: A Tale of Curriculum Design, Application and Reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Whiley, Dona; Witt, Bradd; Colvin, R. M.; Sapiains Arrue, Rodolfo; Kotir, Julius

2017-01-01

This paper chronicles the experience of academic staff in developing a course to enhance the critical thinking skills of environmental management undergraduates. We outline our considerations and process for course development, discuss insights from course evaluations, and reflect on the challenges encountered. We believe these perspectives will…

Development of the Self-Directed Learning Skills Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Ayyildiz, Yildizay; Tarhan, Leman

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale for assessing high school students' self-directed learning skills. Based on a literature review and data obtained from similar instruments, all skills related to self-directed learning were identified. Next, an item pool was prepared and administered to 255 students from various…

Generic skills in medical education: developing the tools for successful lifelong learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Murdoch-Eaton, Deborah; Whittle, Sue

2012-01-01

Higher education has invested in defining the role of generic skills in developing effective, adaptable graduates fit for a changing workplace. Research confirms that the development of generic skills that underpin effectiveness and adaptability in graduates is highly context-dependent and is shaped by the discipline within which these skills are conceptualised, valued and taught. This places the responsibility for generic skills enhancement clearly within the remit of global medical education. Many factors will influence the skill set with which students begin their medical training and experience at entry needs to be taken into account. Learning and teaching environments enhance effective skill development through active learning, teaching for understanding, feedback, and teacher-student and student-student interaction. Medical curricula need to provide students with opportunities to practise and develop their generic skills in a range of discipline-specific contexts. Curricular design should include explicit and integrated generic skills objectives against which students' progress can be monitored. Assessment and feedback serve as valuable reinforcements of the professed importance of generic skills to both learner and teacher, and will encourage students to self-evaluate and take responsibility for their own skill development. The continual need for students to modify their practice in response to changes in their environment and the requirements of their roles will help students to develop the ability to transfer these skills at transition points in their training and future careers. If they are to take their place in an ever-changing profession, medical students need to be competent in the skills that underpin lifelong learning. Only then will the doctors of the future be well placed to adapt to changes in knowledge, update their practice in line with the changing evidence base, and continue to contribute effectively as societal needs change. © Blackwell

Fine motor skills development of children with autism sepctrum disorder.

OpenAIRE

Marešová, Petra

2010-01-01

My diploma thesis topic is Fine motor skills development of children with autism spectrum disorder. The objective of this document is to create a well arranged group of exercises and structured tasks aimed to develop fine motor skills of children at pre-school age with autism spectrum disorder. Theoretical part of this diploma thesis contains basic information related to autism and various details about motor skills. Practical section describes individual jobs and structured tasks used for fi...

Developing a Marketing Mind-Set: Training and Mentoring for County Extension Employees

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Sneed, Christopher T.; Elizer, Amy Hastings; Hastings, Shirley; Barry, Michael

2016-01-01

Marketing the county Extension program is a critical responsibility of the entire county staff. This article describes a unique peer-to-peer training and mentoring program developed to assist county Extension staff in improving marketing skills and successfully developing and implementing a county Extension marketing plan. Data demonstrating…

Literacy Skills Development for Tertiary Institutions: A Case Study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Literacy Skills Development for Tertiary Institutions: A Case Study of the University of Calabar. ... These were drawn from five faculties, namely Education, Social Sciences, Law, Arts and Agriculture. The study observed that there is a ... more literacy skills. Key Words: Literacy skills, university, Nigeria, tertiary institution ...

Early language and executive skills predict variations in number and arithmetic skills in children at family-risk of dyslexia and typically developing controls

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Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J.; Göbel, Silke M.; Hulme, Charles

2015-01-01

Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3–4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4–5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder. PMID:26412946

Features of Graphomotor Skills Development in Primary School Children

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Kuzeva O.V.

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The results of the study of serial graphic skills and writing formation in elementary school children are represented in the article. Special characteristics of the development of these skills in 7 and 9 years old children in norm and with learning disabilities (LD were found using computerized experimental methods and general neuropsychological diagnostics. Third-formers in norm achieve significant results in the development of graphomotor skills and writing while children with LD have difficulties in its automating. 1st grade students with LD show complex cognitive difficulties that influence the formation of graphomotor skills and handwriting, in the 3d grade tempo characteristics and quality of writing primarily suffer. The main reason of such dysfunction is the decrease of serial organization of movements, planning and control functions, as well as the deficit of neurodynamic components of activity.

Safety Culture and Senior Leadership Behavior: Using Negative Safety Ratings to Align Clinical Staff and Senior Leadership.

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O'Connor, Shawn; Carlson, Elizabeth

2016-04-01

This report describes how staff-designed behavior changes among senior leaders can have a positive impact on clinical nursing staff and enhance the culture of safety in a community hospital. A positive culture of safety in a hospital improves outcomes for patients and staff. Senior leaders are accountable for developing an environment that supports a culture of safety. At 1 community hospital, surveys demonstrated that staff members did not view senior leaders as supportive of or competent in creating a culture of safety. After approval from the hospital's institutional review board was obtained, clinical nurses generated and selected ideas for senior leader behavior change. The new behaviors were assessed by a convenience sample survey of clinical nurses. In addition, culture of safety survey results were compared. Risk reports and harm events were also measured before and after behavior changes. The volume of risk and near-miss reports increased, showing that clinical staff were more inclined to report events after senior leader communication, access, and visibility increased. Harm events went down. The culture of safety survey demonstrated an improvement in the senior leadership domain in 4 of 6 units. The anonymous convenience survey demonstrated that staff members recognized changes that senior leaders had made and felt that these changes positively impacted the culture of safety. By developing skills in communication, advocacy, visibility, and access, senior leaders can enhance a hospital's culture of safety and create stronger ties with clinical staff.

Communicating about Death and Dying: Developing Training for Staff Working in Services for People with Intellectual Disabilities

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Tuffrey-Wijne, Irene; Rose, Tracey; Grant, Robert; Wijne, Astrid

2017-01-01

Background: Many people with intellectual disabilities are affected by death, yet conversations about death are often avoided by staff working with them. This study aimed to assess staff training needs and to develop, trial and evaluate a training course on communicating about death and dying. Method:(i) Semi-structured interviews with 20 staff in…

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTING DISCIPLINES TO DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL SKILLS

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Ștefan BUNEA

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Expectations of teachers and employers are not always confirmed by student response and performance. The objective of our research is to find out the perception of final-year undergraduate students towards the contribution of accounting disciplines to shaping and developing skills and competencies, but also to developing student personality. We have found that students prefer courses based on detailed rules rather than courses based on general principles and concepts which require ongoing recourse to professional judgment, scenarios, assumptions, tests, simulations, etc. Concerning professional judgment, students prefer judgments made in financial accounting rather than judgments made for management purposes, which are heavily based on the use of certain competencies such as communication skills, persuasion skills, critical thinking skills, interdisciplinary thinking skills, and decision-making skills.

Using constructive alignment theory to develop nursing skills curricula.

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Joseph, Sundari; Juwah, Charles

2012-01-01

Constructive alignment theory has been used to underpin the development of curricula in higher education for some time (Biggs and Tang, 2007), however, its use to inform and determine skills curricula in nursing is less well documented. This paper explores the use of constructive alignment theory within a study of undergraduate student nurses undertaking clinical skill acquisition in the final year of a BSc (Hons) Nursing course. Students were followed up as newly qualified nurses (NQN) (n = 58) to ascertain the impact of skill acquisition in this way. Comparisons were made with newly qualified nurses who did not participate in a constructively aligned curriculum. This mixed methods study reported skill identification within the immediate post-registration period and evaluated the constructively aligned curriculum as having positive benefits for NQNs in terms of confidence to practice. This was supported by preceptors' views. The study recommends two process models for nursing skills curriculum development and reports that constructive alignment is a useful theoretical framework for nurse educators. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility in young soccer players.

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Forsman, Hannele; Gråstén, Arto; Blomqvist, Minna; Davids, Keith; Liukkonen, Jarmo; Konttinen, Niilo

2016-07-01

The objective of this 1-year, longitudinal study was to examine the development of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics of young Finnish soccer players. We also examined associations between latent growth models of perceived competence and other recorded variables. Participants were 288 competitive male soccer players ranging from 12 to 14 years (12.7 ± 0.6) from 16 soccer clubs. Players completed the self-assessments of perceived competence, tactical skills, and motivation, and participated in technical, and speed and agility tests. Results of this study showed that players' levels of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics remained relatively high and stable across the period of 1 year. Positive relationships were found between these levels and changes in perceived competence and motivation, and levels of perceived competence and speed and agility characteristics. Together these results illustrate the multi-dimensional nature of talent development processes in soccer. Moreover, it seems crucial in coaching to support the development of perceived competence and motivation in young soccer players and that it might be even more important in later maturing players.

Skill set development of doctoral and post-doctoral graduates in life sciences.

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Kanwar, R S

2010-01-01

researcher and a good teacher; researchers and teachers must be good team players and leaders to lead interdisciplinary research programs, and exceptional managers to effectively manage their research staff, MS and PhD students, and post doctoral researchers. Doctoral students have exceptional opportunities during their PhD degree programs to acquire these skills from their world class supervisors and participate in available workshops on how to develop successful and winning grant proposals, improving communication skills, and participate in "future faculty programs" on their campuses.

Political-ethical skill development in nursing undergraduates

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Maria Dyrce Dias Meira

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to identify political-ethical skills developed in a training process compatible with the expected profile set by the National Curriculum Guidelines for the Undergraduate Nursing Degree. A case study was conducted with units represented by 32 former students from a particular religious teaching institution who already were in the job market. The content of the interviews was analyzed using the thematic analysis technique, which resulted in the following categories: "Political-ethical skills in the formative process" and "Political-ethical skills as a product of the educational process." From the former students’ perspective, these categories reinforced the social role of the nurse and the need for students to be reflective, understanding and participative in the transformation of society.

'Students-as-partners' scheme enhances postgraduate students' employability skills while addressing gaps in bioinformatics education.

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Mello, Luciane V; Tregilgas, Luke; Cowley, Gwen; Gupta, Anshul; Makki, Fatima; Jhutty, Anjeet; Shanmugasundram, Achchuthan

2017-01-01

Teaching bioinformatics is a longstanding challenge for educators who need to demonstrate to students how skills developed in the classroom may be applied to real world research. This study employed an action research methodology which utilised student-staff partnership and peer-learning. It was centred on the experiences of peer-facilitators, students who had previously taken a postgraduate bioinformatics module, and had applied knowledge and skills gained from it to their own research. It aimed to demonstrate to peer-receivers, current students, how bioinformatics could be used in their own research while developing peer-facilitators' teaching and mentoring skills. This student-centred approach was well received by the peer-receivers, who claimed to have gained improved understanding of bioinformatics and its relevance to research. Equally, peer-facilitators also developed a better understanding of the subject and appreciated that the activity was a rare and invaluable opportunity to develop their teaching and mentoring skills, enhancing their employability.

B-WEST Regional Workforce Training Center. Building Workers Entering Skilled Trades. Employer Training Guide.

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Portland Community Coll., OR.

This guide, which was developed during the B-WEST (Building Workers Entering Skilled Trades) project, includes materials for use in training and providing on-site consultations to contractors, managers, supervisors, office/technical staff, and others in two areas: diversity in the workplace and sexual harassment in the workplace. Part 1, which…

A management framework for training providers to improve skills development in the workplace

OpenAIRE

2011-01-01

D.Ed. A skills revolution was launched in the South African workplace by the Department of Labour in 1998. Various skills development legislation were introduced to meet international standards, redress skills imbalances, curb skills shortages and improve the general skills in the current workforce. Training providers were the drivers of workplace training, yet are now displaced by skills authorities, such as the SET As, the ETQAs and SAQA. While the custody of skills development is placed...

Research on the Development and Teaching of Thinking Skills

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Margarita Amestoy de Sánchez

2002-05-01

Full Text Available In this presentation it is proposed and justified an integrated model of research and development that could be applicable to the building, implementation and evaluation of the teaching and transfer of thinking skills. First, the principles underlying the development of thought are presented; next, the role of research in the construction and application of the intellectual development and process-based learning model; its components and interrelations are identified. Finally, the role of research in the design and application of projects aiming at the development of thinking skills is analyzed.

Empowering Staff Nurses With Essential Skills: Training Strategies for Success.

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Czekanski, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Nurse leaders in the mental health field are challenged to ensure the mental health environment is safe and therapeutic. They must also continually evaluate whether nurses are effectively engaging therapeutically with patients in their care. Undergraduate nursing students and practicing nurses usually receive little or no training in facilitating nurse-led groups. Nurses who are trained and capable of facilitating groups may enhance therapeutic relationships and engage patients to improve treatment outcomes. Training staff and disseminating educational materials in an efficient manner are often challenges for nurse leaders. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Nursing Services (ONS) Mental Health Field Advisory Committee (MH-FAC) developed a nursing guide for conducting psychoeducation groups. This was followed up with a complementary live virtual training with "on-demand" features that included discussion and demonstration of nurse-led group implementation strategies. Both products were disseminated to nurse leaders throughout the VHA ONS Web site. Responses to both the guide and video were overwhelmingly positive. This article discusses the importance of nurse-led psychoeducational groups and describes a project implemented by the ONS MH-FAC, which helped provide an essential training to more than 1100 RNs within the Veterans Affairs Health System nationally.

An Innovative Approach to Pulic School Staff Development. A Collaborative Mode.

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Lavin, Richard J.; Schuttenberg, Ernest M.

This paper describes the planning and implementation of a Staff Development Program for teachers and administrators in the 22 school systems served by MEC (Merrimack Education Center). This program, which provided in-service learning experiences for educational practitioners, is discussed following an introductory statement. Information concerning…

Measuring Life Skills: Standardizing the Assessment of Youth Development Indicators

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Mat D. Duerden

2012-03-01

Full Text Available While the development of life skills (e.g., communication, problem solving, etc. is a commonly targeted youth program outcome, the lack of standardized conceptualizations and instrumentation make it difficult to compare impacts across programs and develop validated best practices. In order to promote a more unified approach to life skill development, literature reviews were conducted for 10 life skill domains to identify common definitions and, if available, appropriate outcome measures. Data were then collected from an ethnically diverse sample (N = 758 of elementary, middle, and high school aged youth for the 10 identified instruments. Analyses were conducted to ascertain the psychometric qualities of each measure, the interrelationships among measures, and the measures’ relationships with gender, ethnicity, and school level. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to life skill theory and measurement.

Mentored residential writing retreats: a leadership strategy to develop skills and generate outcomes in writing for publication.

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Jackson, Debra

2009-01-01

There is an increasing expectation that academic and clinical nurses will contribute to disciplinary and professional discourses through scholarly writing. However, the difficulties and challenges associated with writing for publication mean that many papers will never be written. This current paper describes an innovative approach developed to support skill development and outcomes in writing for publication. Intensive residential writing retreats informed by the principles of servant leadership and incorporating strategies such as mentoring and peer learning were conducted in 2005 and 2007. Positive outcomes and benefits included publications submitted to peer-reviewed journals, as well as positive effects on collegial relationships, and team building. Novice writers benefited from intensive and sustained support and coaching by experienced writers. Organisational benefits included increased participation by staff and research higher degree students in publication activities, enhanced collegial relationships and opportunities for senior established writers to work with inexperienced writers.

Moving Away from Social Work and Half Way Back Again: New Research on Skills in Probation

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Raynor, Peter; Vanstone, Maurice

2016-01-01

Research on social work in the criminal justice system was well represented in the social work literature until the 1990s. Since then, changes in the organisation, training and research base of probation practice, particularly in England and Wales, have all contributed to a separation between probation research and the mainstream social work research literature. However, recent probation research, by focusing on individual practice skills and on the quality of relationships, is producing findings which resonate with traditional social work concerns. The study presented here, based on analysis of videotaped interviews between probation staff and the people they are supervising, shows what skills are used and the effects of skilled supervision. People supervised by more skilled staff were significantly less likely to be reconvicted over a two-year follow-up, and the most effective supervisors combined good relationship skills with a range of ‘structuring’ or change-promoting skills. In effect, this can be regarded as a test of the impact of social work skills used by probation staff and suggests that a closer relationship between mainstream social work research and probation research could be productive for both. PMID:27559218

A Mathematical Program to Develop the Skills of Thinking of Children

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Magda M. Saleh

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The importance of this study emerges from the importance of the points it discusses as it attempts to study the effectiveness of the suggested program of mathematics that develop the thinking skill of the children in preschool age. Accordingly, it comes from the attempt to teach the children the skill of thinking as one of the important and required skills for the children to accommodate with the surrounded environment and to help them develop and grow completely and to accommodate with themselves and their society. The purpose of this study is, thus, summarized in the answering of the following questions: 1- How can we create a program that uses mathematical activities and that contribute in the development of thinking skill of the preschool child? 2- To what extent is that program effective to develop the skills of thinking of the preschool child? The research sample is composed of 35 children for the experimental group and the same number for the controller group from the KJ2 children. The results of the research showed the effectiveness of the suggested program and its obvious contribution in the development of the thinking skills for the preschool children in a more effective way than the traditional methods used.

Iranian parent-staff communication and parental stress in the neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

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Hasanpour, Marzieh; Alavi, Mousa; Azizi, Fatemeh; Als, Heidelise; Armanian, Amir Mohmmad

2017-01-01

The birth of an infant requiring hospitalization in the neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) uniformly is reported to be stressful for parents and family members. This study aimed to determine parent-staff communication in the NICU and its relationship to parent stress. Two hundred and three Iranian parents with preterm infants hospitalized in the NICU participated in this descriptive-correlational study. The participants were selected by the quota sampling method. Data collected included a three-part: questionnaire, the first part covered demographic parent and infant information, the second was the Parent-Staff Communication Scale (the score of which ranged from 0 to 180), and the third was the Parental Stress Scale (the score of which ranged from 0 to 102). Descriptive and inferential statistics including the Pearson's correlation coefficient test were applied to the data, using SPSS software Version 16. This study revealed that fathers and mothers' stress and communication scores were almost comparable and both higher than expected. The total mean score of the two main variables, i.e., parent-staff communication and parental stress were, respectively, 100.72 ± 18.89 and 75.26 ± 17.6. A significant inverse correlation was found between parental stress and parent-staff communication scores ( r = -0.144, P = 0.041). Based on this study finding showed that better parent-staff communication is related to lower parent stress scores, it is recommended that nurses and physicians receive specific skill training for the establishment of effective parent-staff communication. It is anticipated that such improved staff skills will help decrease parent stress and therewith likely promote parent and infant health in the NICU.

Extra-team connections for knowledge transfer between staff teams

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Ramanadhan, Shoba; Wiecha, Jean L.; Emmons, Karen M.; Gortmaker, Steven L.; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

2009-01-01

As organizations implement novel health promotion programs across multiple sites, they face great challenges related to knowledge management. Staff social networks may be a useful medium for transferring program-related knowledge in multi-site implementation efforts. To study this potential, we focused on the role of extra-team connections (ties between staff members based in different site teams) as potential channels for knowledge sharing. Data come from a cross-sectional study of afterschool childcare staff implementing a health promotion program at 20 urban sites of the Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Boston. We conducted a sociometric social network analysis and attempted a census of 91 program staff members. We surveyed 80 individuals, and included 73 coordinators and general staff, who lead and support implementation, respectively, in this study. A multiple linear regression model demonstrated a positive relationship between extra-team connections (β = 3.41, P knowledge transfer. We also found that intra-team connections (within-team ties between staff members) were also positively related to skill receipt. Connections between teams appear to support knowledge transfer in this network, but likely require greater active facilitation, perhaps via organizational changes. Further research on extra-team connections and knowledge transfer in low-resource, high turnover environments is needed. PMID:19528313

Facilitation Processes and Skills Supporting EcoCity Development

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Carmen Antuña-Rozado

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Ecocities can provide solutions for the improvement of human settlements around the world and the living conditions therein, but in the authors’ experience, only as long as they are able to address the following questions correctly: How to formulate an ecocity concept that, considering issues of general concern, can be at the same time adapted to different local conditions? What are the instruments supporting the development and implementation of ecocity solutions? VTT’s EcoCity concept for sustainable community and neighbourhood regeneration and development has been designed in response to the first question. Likewise, specific methodologies and effective facilitation processes and skills have been developed in response to the second question. Since the methodologies have been discussed in a previous scientific article, the present one focuses on the facilitation processes and skills, and also on other related, fundamental aspects like participation, adaptation, capacity building, etc. Facilitation processes supporting EcoCity development require matching “hard” and “soft” skills in a fluid way. The main findings are discussed with the help of two case studies: one in Medellín (Colombia, and the other one in Zambia.

Training the Staff of a Drug Addiction Treatment Facility: A Case Study of Hogar De Encuentro

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Sorensen, Andrew A.; Leske, M. Cristina

1977-01-01

This paper, presented at the American Public Health Association meeting; Chicago, November 1975, discusses a staff training program at a drug addiction treatment facility established for Spanish-speaking (and other) drug addicts. Staff improved counseling skills and knowledge of drug addiction, but changed little in attitudes toward drug use and…

A review of teaching skills development programmes for medical students.

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Marton, Gregory E; McCullough, Brendan; Ramnanan, Christopher J

2015-02-01

The CanMEDS role of Scholar requires that medical trainees develop their skills as medical educators. The development of teaching skills in undergraduate medical students is therefore desirable, especially in view of the teaching obligations in residency programmes. The goal of this review was to identify the characteristics and outcomes of programmes designed to develop the teaching skills of undergraduate medical students. The authors searched medical literature databases using combinations of the search terms 'medical student', 'teacher', 'teaching skills', 'peer teaching', 'near-peer teaching' and 'student as teacher'. Twenty papers fit the predetermined search criteria, which included original characterisations of specific programmes involving undergraduate medical students. Three types of initiative were identified in the reviewed articles: peer teaching programmes; teaching workshops, and community outreach programmes. The majority of study participants were students in Years 3 and 4. Subjective self-evaluation by participants using Likert scale-based surveys was by far the most commonly used method of measuring project outcomes. Objective, quantitative teaching-related outcomes were rarely noted in the reports reviewed. Self-perceived improvements in teaching skills were noted by participants in most of the reports. Other perceived benefits included increases in organisational skills, knowledge and confidence in giving feedback. Although several types of programmes have been shown to subjectively improve the teaching skills of undergraduate medical students, characterisation of the objective outcomes of these initiatives is lacking and requires further study. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Share and share alike: encouraging the reuse of academic resources through the Scottish electronic Staff Development Library

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Lorna M. Campbell

2001-12-01

Full Text Available The Scottish electronic Staff Development Library (http://www.sesdl.scotcit.acuk is an ongoing collaborative project involving the Universities of Edinburgh, Paisley and Strathclyde which has been funded by SHEFC as part of their current ScotCIT Programme (http:llwww.scotcit.ac.uk. This project is being developed in response to the increasing demand for flexible, high-quality staff development materials.

Helping Spanish SMEs Staff to Develop Their Competence in Writing Business Letters

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Foz-Gil, Carmen; Gonzalez-Pueyo, Isabel

2009-01-01

This paper reports on the development of a website tool aimed at helping Spanish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) staff to write their commercial correspondence in English. It describes the steps involved in the tool system design process, making an emphasis on the methodological criteria and rational that guided us to develop the site. In…

The Development of Students' Writing Skills by Teaching Critical Thinking

OpenAIRE

久保田, 祐歌

2011-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present some approaches to teaching critical thinking to college students for developing their Japanese academic writing skills. By examining the literature of critical thinking and writing, this paper shows the following. (1)How philosophy faculty can teach critical thinking skills to their own students the way they can improve their skills necessary for writing argumentative essays. (2)By what class and curriculum students' academic writing skills can be fost...

Development of fundamental movement skills through games and PA in preschool chldren

OpenAIRE

Kašparová, Alena

2014-01-01

Characterization work: Fundamental locomotor skills are: walking, running, jumping, crawling and throwing. Their development is influenced primarily by games and movement activities. Control over those skills guarantees proper physical development of children and also make important prerequisites for an adoption of heavier and more complex skills. The levels of fundamental locomotor skills are evaluated by the diagnostic resources. Goal and purpose:I created inspiromat of games and movement a...

Developing Transferable Management Skills through Action Learning

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Yeadon-Lee, Annie; Hall, Roger

2013-01-01

There has been increasing criticism of the relevance of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in developing skills and competencies. Action learning, devised to address problem solving in the

A model to teach concomitant patient communication during psychomotor skill development.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholls, Delwyn; Sweet, Linda; Muller, Amanda; Hyett, Jon

2018-01-01

Many health professionals use psychomotor or task-based skills in clinical practice that require concomitant communication with a conscious patient. Verbally engaging with the patient requires highly developed verbal communication skills, enabling the delivery of patient-centred care. Historically, priority has been given to learning the psychomotor skills essential to clinical practice. However, there has been a shift towards also ensuring competent communication with the patient during skill performance. While there is literature outlining the steps to teach and learn verbal communication skills, little is known about the most appropriate instructional approach to teach how to verbally engage with the patient when also learning to perform a task. A literature review was performed and it identified that there was no model or proven approach which could be used to integrate the learning of both psychomotor and communication skills. This paper reviews the steps to teach a communication skill and provides a suggested model to guide the acquisition and development of the concomitant -communication skills required with a patient at the time a psychomotor skill is performed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recruitment and Selection of Staff - Key Components for the Reform of the Romanian Police

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Valeria-Liliana-Amelia Purda-Nicoară (Netotea-Suciu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Human resource management is a complex and dynamic process, whose components interrelate and reinforce one another, constantly evolving due to internal influences or because of external pressures. This is a cyclical process, and its "beginning" is represented by the recruitment and selection of staff. In the present context, when the labor market has changed so dramatically, and the demands of the employers are also ever more complex, these activities prove to be essential for the further development and success of any organization. This happens because recruitment and selection of the most suitable people result in obtaining employees who possess multiple skills and qualifications, and who are able to readily obtain high performance, an enhancement of their motivations, building a strong and lasting team, and thus ensure excellent results for the company and the ability to adapt to the present day continuous changes. Therefore, professionally addressing the Romanian Police staff recruitment and selection is absolutely necessary. If the recruitment activities will point out the most suitable people, with potential for development in the organization, a quality selection activity may be the guarantee of identifying the candidates who have the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to transform the potential capabilities into professionalism. Only organizations that will know how to build multidisciplinary, competent and motivated teams will be ready to face new challenges.

Heterogeneity in Parent-Reported Social Skill Development in Early Elementary

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Lamont, Andrea; Van Horn, M. Lee

2013-01-01

Despite known risks associated with aberrant social skill development, there has been a relative dearth of literature on typical developmental changes in social skills over time. In this study, we examine systematic changes in social skills from kindergarten (typical age of 5-6 years) to third grade (typical age of 8-9 years), and focus on…

Skill Development: How Brain Research Can Inform Music Teaching

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Walter, Donald J.; Walter, Jennifer S.

2015-01-01

Practice is a major element in cultivating musical skill. Some psychologists have proposed that deliberate practice, a specific framework for structuring practice activities, creates the kind of practice necessary to increase skill and develop expertise. While psychologists have been observing behavior, neurologists have studied how the brain…

Examining the Effectiveness of Naturalistic Social Skills Training in Developing Social Skills and Theory of Mind in Preschoolers with ASD.

Science.gov (United States)

Szumski, Grzegorz; Smogorzewska, Joanna; Grygiel, Paweł; Orlando, Ann-Marie

2017-11-20

We compared the effectiveness of two programs for developing social skills, 'Play Time/Social Time' (PT/ST) and 'I Can Problem Solve' (ICPS), in improving the social skills and theory of mind (ToM) of preschoolers with ASD. The experiment took place in a classroom setting. Fifty-two children attended and data were analyzed with latent growth curve models. Comparison with a control group indicated that both programs were effective in developing social skills. The PT/ST program was more effective than ICPS in developing interaction skills; both programs improved children's ability to cope with difficult social situations. The ICPS program was marginally effective in developing ToM when compared with PT/ST and control condition. These results are relevant to children with ASD and their teachers.

Functional flexibility good for skills development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goudswaard, A.

2004-01-01

Making optimal use of the employee’s capacity to perform different tasks (‘functional flexibility’) is positively related to skills development and involvement in decision-making. It may lead to emotional exhaustion, however, if an imbalance exists, such as high job demands combined with a lack of

Functional flexibility good for skills development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houtman, I.L.D.

2004-01-01

Functional flexibility, making optimal use of the employee’s capacity to perform different tasks, is positively related to skills development and involvement in decision-making. It may lead to emotional exhaustion, however, if an imbalance exists, such as high job demands combined with a lack of

Coping skills of olympic developmental soccer athletes.

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Meyers, M C; Stewart, C C; Laurent, C M; Leunes, A D; Bourgeois, A E

2008-12-01

Athletes at Olympic Developmental Program (ODP) camps experience unusually high levels of expectations and inherent mental and physical challenges within such a short span of time. With the increasing emphasis on talent development, there has been consensus by the ODP staff to more clearly define present levels of coping skills, in order to enhance athletic prediction, maximize training efforts, identify the predisposition to injury, and focus on areas pertinent to successful performance. This study examined athletic and pain coping skills of U. S. ODP soccer athletes not previously investigated. Following written informed consent, 70 males completed the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory and the Sports Inventory for Pain. Data were analyzed by competitive level (U-14, U-15), and skill position (goalkeeper/defense, midfield/foward). MANOVA indicated a significant main effect across competitive level (Wilks' Lambda F(12,57) = 2.27; p = 0.02; n-beta = 0.915) but no significant effect by skill position (Wilks' Lambda F(12,57) = 0.931; p = 0.523; n-beta = 0.457). Post hoc analyses indicated that U-15 athletes scored significantly higher in concentration (p = 0.01) and body awareness (p = 0.03), but lower in avoidance (p = 0.01) than U-14 competitors. In conclusion, older, more experienced athletes revealed more positive athletic and pain coping skills than younger, less experienced athletes, although athletes in skill positions requiring spontaneous decision-making skills and split-second adjustment in a constantly changing sport environment (forwards, midfielders) did not exhibit more positive athletic and pain coping skills than those positions requiring reaction and protection (defenders, goalkeepers).

‘Students-as-partners’ scheme enhances postgraduate students’ employability skills while addressing gaps in bioinformatics education

Science.gov (United States)

Mello, Luciane V.; Tregilgas, Luke; Cowley, Gwen; Gupta, Anshul; Makki, Fatima; Jhutty, Anjeet; Shanmugasundram, Achchuthan

2017-01-01

Abstract Teaching bioinformatics is a longstanding challenge for educators who need to demonstrate to students how skills developed in the classroom may be applied to real world research. This study employed an action research methodology which utilised student–staff partnership and peer-learning. It was centred on the experiences of peer-facilitators, students who had previously taken a postgraduate bioinformatics module, and had applied knowledge and skills gained from it to their own research. It aimed to demonstrate to peer-receivers, current students, how bioinformatics could be used in their own research while developing peer-facilitators’ teaching and mentoring skills. This student-centred approach was well received by the peer-receivers, who claimed to have gained improved understanding of bioinformatics and its relevance to research. Equally, peer-facilitators also developed a better understanding of the subject and appreciated that the activity was a rare and invaluable opportunity to develop their teaching and mentoring skills, enhancing their employability. PMID:29098185

Gross motor skill development of 5-year-old Kindergarten children in Myanmar.

Science.gov (United States)

Aye, Thanda; Oo, Khin Saw; Khin, Myo Thuzar; Kuramoto-Ahuja, Tsugumi; Maruyama, Hitoshi

2017-10-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the gross motor skill development of 5-year-old Kindergarten children in Myanmar. [Subjects and Methods] Total 472 healthy Kindergarten children (237 males, 235 females) of 2016-2017 academic year from four schools in urban area and four schools in rural area of Myanmar were recruited. The gross motor skill development of all subjects was assessed with the test of gross motor development second edition (TGMD-2). All subjects performed two trials for each gross motor skill and the performance was video recorded and scored. The assessment procedures were done according to the standardized guidelines of TGMD-2. [Results] The majority of subjects had average level of gross motor skill rank. The significant differences were found on the run and gallop of locomotor skills and the most of object control skills except the catch between males and females. The significant differences were also found between subjects from urban and rural areas. [Conclusion] Gross motor skill development of 5-year-old Kindergarten children in Myanmar had gender-based and region-based differences on both locomotor and object control skills. This study added a valuable information to the establishment of a normative reference of Kindergarten aged children for future studies.

Audio Haptic Videogaming for Developing Wayfinding Skills in Learners Who are Blind.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Jaime; de Borba Campos, Marcia; Espinoza, Matías; Merabet, Lotfi B

2014-01-01

Interactive digital technologies are currently being developed as a novel tool for education and skill development. Audiopolis is an audio and haptic based videogame designed for developing orientation and mobility (O&M) skills in people who are blind. We have evaluated the cognitive impact of videogame play on O&M skills by assessing performance on a series of behavioral tasks carried out in both indoor and outdoor virtual spaces. Our results demonstrate that the use of Audiopolis had a positive impact on the development and use of O&M skills in school-aged learners who are blind. The impact of audio and haptic information on learning is also discussed.

STAFF MARKETING IN MODERN RUSSIAN CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataliya N. Kretova

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The conception of staff marketing, which was developed abroad, is effectively used in the developed countries for a long time. Its main advantage consists in the possibility of organizing some planning for the implementation of staff strategy: staff marketing provides the enterprise on the long-term basis with human resources capable of forming strategic potential, which would allow to implement the planned activities. Numerous problems of formation and development of civilized market relations in our country do not allow to fully implement the detailed models of staff marketing in domestic realities. On the basis of the analysis of theoretical developments and factors that have a practical impact on the implementation of marketing personnel in modern Russian conditions, the authors describe the essential elements of the conception. The primary purposes of staff marketing for domestic enterprises, grouped into the internal and external marketing are substantiated and disclosed. The special attention is paid to increasing the staff loyalty, which has dominant influence on business outcomes. The algorithm of events for the development of motivation system is proposed; at the stage of studying job satisfaction it is recommend to apply analytical calculations with the use of Shewhart control charts. Unlike traditional statistical tools based on the inspection of already implemented results, this approach is aimed at preventing negative tendencies and avoids losses associated with dissatisfaction with difficulty, as the individual employee and the team as a whole. Modern Russian enterprises can fully realize the conception of staff marketing only through rethinking of the consequences for all directions of work with the staff, as reflected in the definition of objectives, motivating staff and ensuring social responsibility of the enterprise.

Medical School Hotline: Developing communication skills for leading family meetings.

Science.gov (United States)

Inaba, Michiko; Bell, Christina; Tamura, Bruce; Kasuya, Richard; Masaki, Kamal

2011-06-01

Good clinician-family communication is essential for the provision of high-quality patient care. Families rate the communication skills of clinicians as critical clinical skills. However, there has been no structured training of fellow communication skills while leading family meetings in the University of Hawai'i Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program. Effective training to develop communication skills with families will better prepare Geriatric Medicine fellows for this important task, and ultimately improve the quality of care they provide to these patients and patients' families.

Developing 21st Century Process Skills through Project Design

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Jeong-Ju; MacDonald, Nora M.

2014-01-01

The goal of this paper is to illustrate how the promotion of 21st Century process skills can be used to enhance student learning and workplace skill development: thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, leadership, and management. As an illustrative case, fashion merchandising and design students conducted research for a…

Enhancing the Communication and Speaking Skills of Mathematics Undergraduates

OpenAIRE

Groves, James

2012-01-01

In June 2011, the University of Lancaster delivered a substantially-enhanced course in Communication and Presentation Skills to 108 second-year undergraduate mathematicians. The course was delivered jointly by staff in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and CETAD, the Centre for Training and Development at Lancaster. Funding for the course and its increased staffing requirement came from an MSOR HE Curriculum Innovation Fund grant of £5,000. CETAD is a specialist unit which focuses ...

Using research evidence to inform staff learning needs in cross-cultural communication in aged care homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillham, David; De Bellis, Anita; Xiao, Lily; Willis, Eileen; Harrington, Ann; Morey, Wendy; Jeffers, Lesley

2018-04-01

Developed countries worldwide are facing an unprecedented demand for aged care services, with recent migrants of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds increasingly recruited as care workers while at the same time there is growing cultural diversity among aged care residents. This situation is compounded by rapidly changing technology and varied educational levels of care workers from diverse backgrounds. The objectives were threefold: to identify staff learning needs to enable them to provide high-quality cross-cultural care; to improve team cohesion; and identify preferred learning approaches. An interpretive qualitative study utilising focus group and interview data informed the development of an education resource. Fifty six care workers from four residential aged care facilities participated in either focus groups or interviews conducted in private meeting rooms within the care facilities. Participants included personal care attendants, registered and clinical nurses, managers, hospitality staff and allied health professionals. Focus group and interview data were categorised and thematically analysed. Data relevant to cross-cultural care, team cohesion and preferred learning approaches informed education resource development, including case studies. Major themes identified the need to promote cultural awareness and understanding, and strategies for cross-cultural care and communication. Themes related to team cohesion demonstrated that staff were already sympathetic and sensitive to cross-cultural issues, and that culturally and linguistically diverse staff add value to the workforce and are supported by the organisation. Staff required clear, uncomplicated education resources to equip them with skills to address problematic cultural situations. Preferred learning approaches varied and highlighted the need for varied educational materials and approaches, as well as time efficient, opportunistic education strategies for the busy workplace. An education

Soft Skill: Its Urgency and Development at Islamic Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Sabri

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The success of a person in a career work is not only determined by his or her technical capability, but also the non-technical skills which is so called ‘soft-skills’.  It is an attitude which is exemplified among the cognitive and values in the interaction with people around. Several identified falures in the community’s life indicate that many Islamic university graduates suffered from lack of ability to build  harmonious relationship with the environment.  Therefore, it is a high time for this institution to consistently instil some types of soft-skills on the parts of the students.  The current study shares the urgent needs for developing students’ soft-skills for Islamic colleges and universities. The paper ends up with several conclusions while promoting some commitments to be held by the faculty development including: the identification of soft-skills that have already existed in the students’ minds and which need to be developed, the exploration of soft skills attributes for the next 5 years based on the inspiration or opinion of the stake holders and alumnaes, the setting of action plan for academic and non-cademic agendas, acting out the planned activities, as well as the sustainable blue-print of valid soft-skills. Copyright © 2014 by Al-Ta'lim All right reserved

Development of life skills through physics content

Science.gov (United States)

Pivarči, Tomáš; Raganová, Janka

2017-01-01

The paper deals with students' life skills which the physics teacher should intentionally develop through physics content. An attention is given not only to the physics content and activities connected with it, but also to the development of responsibility, freedom, ability to make decisions, group cooperation, self-evaluation and experience of success. Three activities implemented in the seventh class of the elementary school are described in the paper. Authors describe reasons for class selection, the physics content and the used methods as well as the skills which they decided to purposely develop. They emphasize the importance of activities requiring students' inquiry-based learning and the need to change organization and philosophy of physics teaching at secondary schools. At the end of the paper authors analyze the achievement of objectives, positives as well as negatives of the implemented approaches and propose changes for a future realization.

Sit to Talk: Relation between Motor Skills and Language Development in Infancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Libertus, Klaus; Violi, Dominic A

2016-01-01

Relations between walking skills and language development have been reported in 10- to 14-month-old infants. However, whether earlier emerging motor milestones also affect language skills remains unknown. The current research fills this gap by examining the relation between reaching and sitting skills and later language development, respectively. Reaching and sitting were assessed eight times, starting when infants (N = 29) were around 3 months of age. All assessments were completed and recorded remotely via videoconference using Skype or FaceTime. Subsequently, infants' language and motor skills were assessed via parent questionnaires (Communicative Development Inventories and Early Motor Questionnaire) at 10 and 14 months of age. Results revealed a significant correlation between the emergence of sitting skills and receptive vocabulary size at 10 and 14 months of age. Regression analyses further confirmed this pattern and revealed that the emergence of sitting is a significant predictor of subsequent language development above and beyond influences of concurrent motor skills. These findings suggest that the onset of independent sitting may initiate a developmental cascade that results in increased language learning opportunities. Further, this study also demonstrates how infants' early motor skills can be assessed remotely using videoconference.

Sit to talk: Relation between motor skills and language development in infancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaus eLibertus

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Relations between walking skills and language development have been reported in 10- to 14-month-old infants. However, whether earlier emerging motor milestones also affect language skills remains unknown. The current research fills this gap by examining the relation between reaching and sitting skills and later language development respectively. Reaching and sitting were assessed eight times, starting when infants (N=29 were around three months of age. All assessments were completed and recorded remotely via videoconference using Skype or FaceTime. Subsequently, infants’ language and motor skills were assessed via parent questionnaires (Communicative Development Inventories and Early Motor Questionnaire at 10 and 14 months of age. Results revealed a significant correlation between the emergence of sitting skills and receptive vocabulary size at 10 and 14 months of age. Regression analyses further confirmed this pattern and revealed that the emergence of sitting is a significant predictor of subsequent language development above and beyond influences of concurrent motor skills. These findings suggest that the onset of independent sitting may initiate a developmental cascade that results in increased language learning opportunities. Further, this study also demonstrates how infants’ early motor skills can be assessed remotely using videoconference.

76 FR 30939 - Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of Experts for SAB Libby Amphibole...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-27

... all racial and ethnic groups. The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. The... financial conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an appearance of a lack of impartiality; and (e) skills... expertise and viewpoints. The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial conflicts of interest...

Development of Prosocial Skills. Final Report

Science.gov (United States)

Parrila, Rauno K.; Ma, Xin; Fleming, Darcy; Rinaldi, Christina

2002-01-01

In part, this focus is a result of substantial research demonstrating strong links between early social competence and later life adjustment and healthy development. The close connection between prosocial skills and a wide variety of future developmental outcomes provides a compelling rationale to examine what factors are associated with…

Introduction--Improving Skills Development for Employability in an Ever-Changing World

Science.gov (United States)

Maclean, Rupert; Jagannathan, Shanti

2014-01-01

The article provides an overview of the global economic landscape in which the contemporary skills development discourse is located. Effective skills development oriented to market needs and to competitiveness in high-value global value chains will help developing economies to avoid the middle income trap. It outlines major issues and challenges…

Development of Foundational Movement Skills: A Conceptual Model for Physical Activity Across the Lifespan.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulteen, Ryan M; Morgan, Philip J; Barnett, Lisa M; Stodden, David F; Lubans, David R

2018-03-09

Evidence supports a positive association between competence in fundamental movement skills (e.g., kicking, jumping) and physical activity in young people. Whilst important, fundamental movement skills do not reflect the broad diversity of skills utilized in physical activity pursuits across the lifespan. Debate surrounds the question of what are the most salient skills to be learned which facilitate physical activity participation across the lifespan. In this paper, it is proposed that the term 'fundamental movement skills' be replaced with 'foundational movement skills'. The term 'foundational movement skills' better reflects the broad range of movement forms that increase in complexity and specificity and can be applied in a variety of settings. Thus, 'foundational movement skills' includes both traditionally conceptualized 'fundamental' movement skills and other skills (e.g., bodyweight squat, cycling, swimming strokes) that support physical activity engagement across the lifespan. A proposed conceptual model outlines how foundational movement skill competency can provide a direct or indirect pathway, via specialized movement skills, to a lifetime of physical activity. Foundational movement skill development is hypothesized to vary according to culture and/or geographical location. Further, skill development may be hindered or enhanced by physical (i.e., fitness, weight status) and psychological (i.e., perceived competence, self-efficacy) attributes. This conceptual model may advance the application of motor development principles within the public health domain. Additionally, it promotes the continued development of human movement in the context of how it leads to skillful performance and how movement skill development supports and maintains a lifetime of physical activity engagement.

STAFF MARKETING IN MODERN RUSSIAN CONDITIONS

OpenAIRE

Nataliya N. Kretova; Natalya N. Mitina

2017-01-01

The conception of staff marketing, which was developed abroad, is effectively used in the developed countries for a long time. Its main advantage consists in the possibility of organizing some planning for the implementation of staff strategy: staff marketing provides the enterprise on the long-term basis with human resources capable of forming strategic potential, which would allow to implement the planned activities. Numerous problems of formation and development of civilized market relatio...

Training needs of recreation staff at recreation centres: Supervising ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A study in 2008 revealed that 44% of municipal sport and recreation facilities in South Africa were reported to be poorly maintained because of the lack of necessary skills and poorly trained staff. It seems that training could be a major contributor to solving this problem. The aim of this qualitative research was to determine ...

Measuring the Impacts of a Volunteer-Based Community Development Program in Developing Volunteers' Leadership Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Amy; Singletary, Loretta; Hill, George

2012-01-01

This article summarizes the results of an evaluation of the impacts of a community development program to develop leadership skills in its adult volunteers. The evaluation featured 20 questions about leadership skills learned as a result of volunteer experiences. Data analysis strategies beyond a simple means ranking resulted in evidence…

Research Staff | Buildings | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff Photo of Roderick Jackson Roderick Jackson Laboratory Program Manager -related research at NREL. He works closely with senior laboratory management to set the strategic agenda for NREL's buildings portfolio, including all research, development, and market implementation

Facing up to 'challenging behaviour': a model for training in staff-client interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Gerald A; Shafiei, Touran; Salmon, Peter

2010-07-01

This paper draws on theory and evidence to develop a conceptual staff training model for the management of 'challenging behaviour'. Staff working with clients who are experienced as challenging commonly report negative feelings such as anxiety, anger, guilt, fear, self-blame and powerlessness, as well as dissatisfaction with their jobs. Current training programmes in challenging behaviour offer a 'smorgasbord' of content, without a clearly defined conceptual framework. Medline and PsychInfo were searched for papers in English from 1998 to 2008, linking 'nurs*' to 'challenging behavio*' and its related terms. Additional hand-searching identified informative papers from disciplines outside nursing older than the search period. We developed an applied model for training educators in respect of challenging behaviours. The model directs educators to consider: the influence of the nurse, including their values, emotional processes and behavioural skills; features of the client; and features of the situation in which the behaviour occurs, including its culture and working practices and physical environment. The most striking implication of the model is that it explicitly recognizes the importance of domains of learning other than skill. This enables educators to find educationally appropriate responses to resource limitations that inevitably constrain training. Challenging behaviour should be considered as a product of several intertwined factors: the actors involved - nurses, clients and others - and the situation in which the behaviour occurs, including its culture and working practices and physical environment.

Computer Literacy among University Academic Staff: The Case of IIUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaheen Majid

1997-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to investigate the nature and extent of computing skills of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM faculty members. A questionnaire was used to elicit information regarding computer literacy from a sample of 114 faculty members. The study shows that the level of computer literacy among IIUM faculty members is quite low: most of them have been using computers for word processing only. Other computer applications are being used by a limited number of academic staff. Irrespective of the existing level of computer literacy, almost all academic staff showed interest in attending computer courses.

Student and Staff Perceptions of a Vacation Research Assistantship Scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Penn, Felicity; Stephens, Danielle; Morgan, Jessica; Upton, Penney; Upton, Dominic

2013-01-01

There is a push for universities to equip graduates with desirable employability skills and "hands-on" experience. This article explores the perceptions of students and staff experiences of a research assistantship scheme. Nine students from the University of Worcester were given the opportunity to work as a student vacation researcher…

Development of assessment instruments to measure critical thinking skills

Science.gov (United States)

Sumarni, W.; Supardi, K. I.; Widiarti, N.

2018-04-01

Assessment instruments that is commonly used in the school generally have not been orientated on critical thinking skills. The purpose of this research is to develop assessment instruments to measure critical thinking skills, to test validity, reliability, and practicality. This type of research is Research and Development. There are two stages on the preface step, which are field study and literacy study. On the development steps, there some parts, which are 1) instrument construction, 2) expert validity, 3) limited scale tryout and 4) narrow scale try-out. The developed assessment instrument are analysis essay and problem solving. Instruments were declared valid, reliable and practical.

Eden Institute: Using Health Games for ASD Student and Staff Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Moderator Bill; McCool, Participants Thomas; Gasdia, Dominique; Sharp, Tim; Breeman, Lisa; Parikh, Nish; Taub, Bob; Finkler, Nina

2013-02-01

Eden Autism Services is a leading-edge resource for children and adults suffering from more severe effects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The strategic use of games in the development of students, staff, teachers, parents, friends, and employers has advanced the quality of life of Eden's students and, consequently, their relationships, productivity, and happiness.

Problems in Staff and Educational Development Leadership: Solving, Framing, and Avoiding

Science.gov (United States)

Blackmore, Paul; Wilson, Andrew

2005-01-01

Analysis of interviews using critical incident technique with a sample of leaders in staff and educational development in higher education institutions reveals a limited use of classical problem-solving approaches. However, many leaders are able to articulate ways in which they frame problems. Framing has to do with goals, which may be complex,…

South Africa's Nuclear Skills Development Initiatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matube, Ntebatse [NECSA, P.O. BOX 582, 00001 Pretoria (South Africa)

2008-07-01

South Africa's long nuclear history has enabled it to develop and explore new nuclear technologies. The country's nuclear industry is becoming innovative and will soon be able to compete within the global nuclear market. This includes projects such as the Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), a generation IV reactor technology, whose construction is anticipated by 2009. This will put South Africa in the fore-front of new technologies. Globally, the nuclear sector is experiencing a renaissance with political support from most governments. The South African government intends to expand the nuclear component in the energy supply mix of the country as a result of an energy crisis resulting from economic growth and thus high demand which will soon outstrip supply. This increased energy demand requires the country to take measures to counteract the crisis. It has been projected that an additional 40000 Megawatts of electricity will be required over the next 20 years in South Africa. Currently about 90% of South Africa's electricity is generated from coal and about 6% from nuclear. The South African electricity utility, Eskom is investigating the expansion of the utility's nuclear power capacity. These investigations are aimed at a potential increase of nuclear capacity to 20000 Megawatts by 2025. Eskom is in the initial phase of the investigation and is considering advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) with a combined capacity of around 3500 Megawatts. This planned expansion of the nuclear energy generating program has presented a challenge of developing and maintaining skills and competencies required by the program. The South African government has acknowledged that they do have a challenge and are going to have to develop an aggressive approach to acquire the necessary skills and competencies required for the program. This aggressive approach will have to accelerate the development of nuclear human capital capacity by ensuring that we utilize the

Developing Leadership Skills and Resilience in Turbulent Times

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmberg, Robert; Larsson, Magnus; Bäckström, Martin

2016-01-01

Purpose:To evaluate a leadership program in a way that captured leadership self efficacy, political skills and resilience in the form of indicators of health and well being that would have relevance for leadership roles in turbulent organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The design was quasi...... and had better health compared to a year earlier. Research limitations/implications: Concepts like leadership self-efficacy, political skills and measures of health and well-being can be used to operationalize and measure broad and contextually relevant outcomes of leadership development. Practical...... implications: Evaluation of leadership development can benefit from including these more psychologically relevant and generic outcomes. Originality/value: The study illustrates how psychologically based concepts can help to elucidate key outcomes of leadership development that can be critical for meeting...

The Staff Development as a Means of Enhancing the Enterprise Competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zajtzeva Lyudmila O.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at substantiating the importance of continuous development of staff as a means of enhancing the competitiveness of enterprise. A study on the current experience and issues of dissemination of the standard for HR management at the enterprises in Ukraine and abroad has been provided. The role of HR management in the system of competitive factors has been defined. The staff development strategies that are dependent on analysis of the internal environment and the personnel forecast of enterprise have been outlined. The need to apply both material and moral motivation to employees has been determined. The necessity to match the external conditions and the objectives of enterprise with the methods of labor incentives has been substantiated. Features of employee incentive on the basis of wage have been disclosed. There is a need to assess the quantitative and qualitative results of each employee’s individual work through the additional salaries, including in the form of various fringes, increments, lump sum remunerations, which are of a compensatory nature and allow for a significant individualization.