Underlying knowledge of construction management consultants in China

To meet clients/owners’ multidimensional and changing requirements, construction management consultants (CMCs) ought to possess a diverse and dynamic knowledge structure. In China, although the population of CMCs has grown to the point of their being indispensable in the industry, their knowledge structure has not been explored explicitly. The study presented in this paper investigated this by first conducting a comprehensive content analysis of the curricula of the highest ranked construction management university courses in China. This was followed by in-depth interviews with experts, resulting in the identification of 22 main knowledge areas that can be grouped into technology, economy, management and law. A questionnaire survey was then conducted among 115 experienced CMCs to evaluate the current level of knowledge in these areas together with their importance and need-for-improvement. The main findings demonstrate the significance of the identified 22 knowledge areas, and they also need substantial improvement in practice. The research has practical implications for China's CMCs to develop necessary knowledge and the extent to which they need to be improved to provide a better quality of services in future.

Dioxin risk reduction programme at the most severe dioxin hot spot in Vietnam: Residual knowledge, attitude and practices five years post intervention

Bien Hoa Airbase was one of the bulk storage and supply facilities for defoliants during the Vietnam War. Environmental and biological samples taken around the airbase have elevated levels of dioxin. In 2007, a pre-intervention knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey of local residents living in Trung Dung and Tan Phong wards was undertaken regarding appropriate strategies to reduce dioxin exposure. A risk reduction programme was implemented in 2008 and post-intervention KAP surveys were undertaken in 2009 and 2013 to evaluate the longer term impacts. Quantitative assessment was undertaken via a KAP survey in 2013 among 600 local residents randomly selected from the two intervention wards and one control ward (Buu Long). Eight in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were also undertaken for qualitative assessment. Most programme activities had ceased and dioxin risk communication activities had not been integrated into local routine health education programmes; however, main results generally remained and were better than that in Buu Long. In total, 48.2% of households undertook measures to prevent exposure, higher than those in pre- and post-intervention surveys (25.8% and 39.7%) and the control ward (7.7%). Migration and the sensitive nature of dioxin issues were the main challenges for the programme's sustainability

Designing informal learning experiences for early career academics using a knowledge ecosystem model

This article presents a ‘knowledge ecosystem’ model of how early career academics experience using information to learn while building their social networks for developmental purposes. Developed using grounded theory methodology, the model offers a way of conceptualising how to empower early career academics through 1) agency (individual and relational) and 2) facilitation of personalised informal learning (design of physical and virtual systems and environments) in spaces where developmental relationships are formed including programs, courses, events, community, home and social media. It is suggested that the knowledge ecosystem model is suitable for use in designing informal learning experiences for early career academics.

Doctor’s knowledge and practices of traumatic brain injury management in Chinese prehospital settings

Objectives: The incidence and mortality of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has increased rapidly in the last decade in China. Appropriate ambulance service can reduce case-fatality rates of TBI significantly. This study aimed to explore the factors (age, gender, education level, clinical experience, professional title, organization, specialty before prehospital care, and training frequency) that could influence prehospital doctors’ knowledge level and practices in TBI management in China, Hubei Province. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in two cities in Hubei Province. The self-administered questionnaire consisted of demographic information and questions about prehospital TBI management. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze group differences in the average scores in terms of demographic character. General linear regression was used to explore associated factors in prehospital TBI management. Results: A total of 56 questionnaires were handed out and 52 (93%) were returned. Participants received the lowest scores in TBI treatment (0.64; SD=0.08) and the highest scores in TBI assessment (0.80; SD=0.14). According to the regression model, the education level was associated positively with the score of TBI identification (P=.019); participants who worked in the emergency department (ED; P=.011) or formerly practiced internal medicine (P=.009) tended to get lower scores in TBI assessment; participants’ scores in TBI treatment were associated positively with the training frequency (P=.011); and no statistically significant associated factor was found in the overall TBI management. Conclusion: This study described the current situation of prehospital TBI management. The prehospital doctors’ knowledge level and practices in TBI management were quantified and the influential factors hidden underneath were explored. The results indicated that an appropriate continuing medical education (CME) program enables improvement of the quality of ambulance service in China.

Doing Digital Composition on the Social Web: Knowledge Processes in Literacy Learning

The power to influence others in ever-expanding social networks in the new knowledge economy is tied to capabilities with digital media production. This chapter draws on research in elementary classrooms to examine the repertoires of cross-disciplinary knowledge that literacy learners need to produce innovative digital media via the “social web”. It focuses on the knowledge processes that occurred when elementary students engaged in multimodal text production with new digital media. It draws on Kalantzis and Cope’s (2008) heuristic for theorizing “Knowledge Processes” in the Learning by Design approach to pedagogy. Learners demonstrate eight “Knowledge Processes” across different subject domains, skills areas, and sensibilities. Drawing data from media-based lessons across several classroom and schools, this chapter examines what kinds of knowledge students utilize when they produce digital, multimodal texts in the classroom. The Learning by Design framework is used as an analytic tool to theorize how students learn when they engaged in a specific domain of learning – digital media production.

Building instance knowledge network for word sense disambiguation

In this paper, a new high precision focused word sense disambiguation (WSD) approach is proposed, which not only attempts to identify the proper sense for a word but also provides the probabilistic evaluation for the identification confidence at the same time. A novel Instance Knowledge Network (IKN) is built to generate and maintain semantic knowledge at the word, type synonym set and instance levels. Related algorithms based on graph matching are developed to train IKN with probabilistic knowledge and to use IKN for probabilistic word sense disambiguation. Based on the Senseval-3 all-words task, we run extensive experiments to show the performance enhancements in different precision ranges and the rationality of probabilistic based automatic confidence evaluation of disambiguation. We combine our WSD algorithm with five best WSD algorithms in senseval-3 all words tasks. The results show that the combined algorithms all outperform the corresponding algorithms.

Place making facilitators of knowledge and innovation spaces: Insights from European best practices

Knowledge economy seeks its nourishment from diversity and dissemination of ideas and creativity of its talent base. This has led to the acknowledgement of place making as a major strategy to attract and retain the knowledge base into the emerging knowledge and innovation spaces. The study seeks to explore the adoption of place making in this context. Literature and practice provide information to understand the evolution of various spatial typologies and the specialised role of place making in such locations. This helps in determining the key facilitators of place making. The paper takes an interdisciplinary approach and develops an integrated conceptual framework considering dimensions and facilitators of place making. Through the lens of the framework, best practices across Europe—i.e., Cambridge Science Park (UK), 22@Barcelona (Spain), Arabianranta (Finland), Strijp-S (Netherlands), and Digital Hub (Ireland)—are scrutinised to highlight various approaches to place making. The findings provide insights and a discussion into the interplay of form, function, image and underlying processes in globally emerging spatial typologies of contemporary knowledge and innovation spaces.

Pathophysiology team teaching: Bioscientist contribution to knowledge integration in a nursing subject

Bioscience content within undergraduate nursing degrees provides foundational knowledge of pathophysiology, anatomy, physiology, microbiology and pharmacology. However, nursing students often find studying the bioscience components of undergraduate nursing program daunting (Friedel & Treagust 2005, Craft et al. 2013). This is related to factors such as the volume of content, degree of difficulty and insufficient linkage between bioscience concepts and nurses' clinical practice. Students who are unable to conceptualise the relevance of bioscience with nursing subjects and subsequent nursing practice may not appreciate the broader importance of bioscience, and hence may adopt a surface approach to learning (Craft et al. 2013). The aim of this study was to develop a model within Nursing Practice in the Context theory subject, to include a bioscientist lecturing to complement the nursing lecturer, in order to explicitly demonstrate links between physiology, pathophysiology and nursing practice.

Advancing practice in critical care: A model of knowledge integration

It could be argued that advancing practice in critical care has been superseded by the advanced practice agenda. Some would suggest that advancing practice is focused on the core attributes of an individuals practice progressing onto advanced practice status. However, advancing practice is more of a process than identifiable skills and as such is often negated when viewing the development of practitioners to the advanced practice level. For example practice development initiatives can be seen as advancing practice for the masses which ensures that practitioners are following the same level of practice. The question here is; are they developing individually.

Advancing practice in critical care : A model of knowledge integration: A Singaporean context

It could be argued that advancing practice in critical care has been superseded by the advanced practice agenda. Some would suggest that advancing practice is focused on the core attributes of an individuals practice progressing onto advanced practice status. However, advancing practice is more of a process than identifiable skills and as such is often negated when viewing the development of practitioners to the advanced practice level. For example practice development initiatives can be seen as advancing practice for the masses which ensures that practitioners are following the same level of practice. The question here is; are they developing individually. To discuss the potential development of a conceptual model of knowledge integration pertinent to critical care nursing practice. In an attempt to explore the development of leading edge critical care thinking and practice, a new model for advancing practice in critical care is proposed. This paper suggests that reflection may not be the best model for advancing practice unless the individual practitioner has a sound knowledge base both theoretically and experientially. Drawing on the contemporary literature and recent doctoral research, the knowledge integration model presented here uses multiple learning strategies that are focused in practise to develop practice, for example the use of work-based learning and clinical supervision. Ongoing knowledge acquisition and its relationship with previously held theory and experience will enable individual practitioners to advance their own practice as well as being a resource for others.

Advancing practice in critical care: A model of knowledge integration

Explore and describe a conceptual model of knowledge integration pertinent to the development of individual practitioners in critical care. Discussion of how multiple learning strategies that are embedded in practice can be beneficial in developing knowledge.

Transparency and ‘uncomfortable knowledge’ in child protection

Australia's child protection systems and the provision of out-of-home care, in particular, have been subject to sustained criticism for decades from dozens of official inquiries and reviews. It is now well established that many children in state care are treated significantly less well than required by relevant legal frameworks and community standards. Much attention and significant resources have been directed toward trying to ameliorate this ‘wicked problem’ and yet it continues. This article focuses on one reason the problems persists, namely the secrecy and closed cultures that characterize relevant organizations which reinforce strategies of denial that avoid acknowledging or dealing with ‘uncomfortable knowledge’. It is a situation many people in child protection systems confront. It is, for example, when we know abuse is taking place, or when they see or are ourselves party to corrupt or negligent practices. It is knowing that important ethical principles are being abrogated. We draw on recent official reports and inquiries noting the repeated calls for greater transparency and independent oversight. An argument is made for a default position of total transparency subject to caveats that protect privacy and any investigation underway. An account of what this can look like is offered.

Shifting the Focus. Incorporating knowledge about Aboriginal engineering into main stream content

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT The concept of 'Aboriginal engineering' has had little exposure in conventional engineering education programs, despite more than 40,000 years of active human engagement with the diverse Australian environment. The work reported in this paper began with the premise that Indigenous Student Support Through Indigenous Perspectives Embedded in Engineering Curricula (Goldfinch, et al 2013) would provide a clear and replicable means of encouraging Aboriginal teenagers to consider a career in engineering. Although that remains a key outcome of this OLT project, the direction taken by the research had led to additional insights and perspectives that have wide implications for engineering education more generally. There has only been passing reference to the achievements of Aboriginal engineering in current texts, and the very absence of such references was a prompt to explore further as our work developed. PURPOSE OR GOAL Project goals focused on curriculum-based change, including development of a model for inclusive teaching spaces, and study units employing key features of the model. As work progressed we found we needed to understand more about the principles and practices informing the development of pre-contact Aboriginal engineering strategies for sustaining life and society within the landscape of this often harsh continent. We also found ourselves being asked 'what engineering did Aboriginal cultures have?' Finding that there are no easy-to- access answers, we began researching the question, while continuing to engage with specific curriculum trials. APPROACH Stakeholders in the project had been identified as engineering educators, potential Aboriginal students and Aboriginal communities local to Universities involved in the project. We realised, early on, that at least one more group was involved - all the non-Aboriginal students in engineering classes. This realisation, coupled with recognition of the need to understand Aboriginal engineering as a set of viable, long term practices, altered the focus of our efforts. Rather than focusing primarily on finding ways to attract Aboriginal engineering students, the shift has been towards evolving ways of including knowledge about Aboriginal practices and principles in relevant engineering content. DISCUSSION This paper introduces the model resulting from the work of this project, explores its potential influence on engineering curriculum development and reports on implementation strategies. The model is a static representation of a dynamic and cyclic approach to engaging with Aboriginal engineering through contact with local communities in regard to building knowledge about the social beliefs underlying Aboriginal engineering principles and practices. Ways to engage engineering educators, students and the wider community are evolving through the continuing work of the project team and will be reported in more detail in the paper. RECOMMENDATIONS/IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSION While engineering may be considered by some to be agnostic in regard to culture and social issues, the work of this project is drawing attention to the importance of including such issues into curriculum materials at a number of levels of complexity. The paper will introduce and explore the central concepts of the research completed to date, as well as suggesting ways in which engineering educators can extend their knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal engineering principles in the context of their own specialisations.

Development and feasibility testing of an education program to improve knowledge and self-care among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with heart failure

Background/Aim There is a 70% higher age-adjusted incidence of heart failure (HF) amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, three times more hospitalisations and twice as many deaths than non-Aboriginal people. There is a need to develop holistic yet individualised approaches in accord with the values of Aboriginal community healthcare to support patient education and self-care. The aim of this study was to re-design an existing HF educational resource (Fluid Watchers-Pacific Rim©) to be culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, working in collaboration with the local community, and to conduct feasibility testing. Methods This study was conducted in two phases and utilised a mixed methods approach (qualitative and quantitative). Phase 1 of this study used action research methods to develop a culturally safe electronic resource to be provided to Aboriginal HF patients via a tablet computer. A HF expert panel adapted the existing resource to ensure it was evidence-based and contained appropriate language and images that reflects Aboriginal culture. A stakeholder group (which included Aboriginal workers and HF patients, as well as researchers and clinicians) then reviewed the resources and changes were made accordingly. In Phase 2, the new resource was tested on a sample of Aboriginal HF patients to assess feasibility and acceptability. Patient knowledge, satisfaction and self-care behaviours were measured using a before and after design with validated questionnaires. As this was a pilot test to determine feasibility, no statistical comparisons were made. Results - Phase 1: Throughout the process of resource development, two main themes emerged from the stakeholder consultation. These were the importance of identity, meaning that it was important to ensure that the resource accurately reflected the local community, with the appropriate clothing, skin tone and voice. The resource was adapted to reflect this and of the local community voiced the recordings for the resource. The other theme was comprehension; images were important and all text was converted to the first person and used plain language. - Phase 2: Five Aboriginal participants, mean age 61.6 ± 10.0 years, with NYHA Class III and IV heart failure were enrolled. Participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the resource (83.0%). HF knowledge (percentage of correct responses) increased from 48.0 ± 6.7% to 58.0 ± 9.7%, a 20.8% increase and results of the self-care index indicated that the biggest change was in patient confidence for self-care with a 95% increase in confidence score (46.7 ± 16.0 to 91.1 ± 11.5). Changes in management and maintenance scores varied between9275 patients. Conclusion By working in collaboration with HF experts, Aboriginal researchers and patients, a culturally safe HF resource has been developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Engaging Aboriginal researchers, capacity-building, and being responsive to local systems and structures enabled this pilot study to be successfully completed with the Aboriginal community and positive participant feedback demonstrated that the methodology used in this study was appropriate and acceptable; participants were able to engage with willingness and confidence.

Innovations in Knowledge and Learning for Competitive Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific

Competitive advantage in a knowledge economy is dependent on the ability to innovate and create new knowledge products and services, and to find innovative applications for them. Higher education institutions in Asia and the Pacific, modelled on industrial age thinking that demands excellence in routinized capacities, lack the ability to innovate and create new knowledge enterprises. The transition to a knowledge economy is affecting the purpose, content, pedagogy, and methodologies of higher education. Nontraditional stakeholders such as professional bodies, industry experts, think tanks, research institutes, and field experts/practitioners are now involved not only in planning but in providing higher education services. The traditional model of “knowledge versus skills” is no longer relevant. Higher education programs must consider lived experiences, contextual knowledge, and indigenous knowledge.