Participatory Action Research with and within community activist groups: capturing the collective experience of Ireland's Community and Voluntary Pillar

The inclusion of community activists in policy planning is increasingly recognized at the highest international level. This article shows how the use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) can present a deeper and more holistic picture of the experiences of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in shaping national-level social policy. By utilizing action-based research, the Community and Voluntary Pillar (CVP) of Ireland’s system of social partnership is shown to be an important agent in deliberating national bargaining outcomes (known as the Towards 2016 national agreement). The key contribution of this research is the reflective methodological considerations in terms of PAR design, execution and participant integration in the research process as a way to enrich and develop a deeper and more informed community of practice.

Learning and organization in the knowledge-based information economy: Initial findings from a participatory action research case study

This paper reports on an ongoing, multiphase, project-based action learning and research project. In particular, it summarizes some aspects of the learning climate and outcomes for a case study company In the software industry, Using a participatory action research approach, the learning company framework developed by Pedler et al, (1997) is used to initiate critical reflection in the company at three levels: managing director, senior management team and technical and professional staff. As such, this is one of the first systematic attempts to apply this framework to the entire organization and to a company in the knowledge-based learning economy. Two sets of issues are of general concern to the company: internal issues surrounding the company's reward and recognition policies and practices and the provision of accounting and control information in a business relevant way to all levels of staff; and external issues concerning the extent to which the company and its members actively learn from other companies and effectively capture, disseminate and use information accessed by staff in boundary-spanning roles. The paper concludes with some illustrations of changes being introduced by the company as a result of the feedback on and discussion of these issues.

A generic tool for cost estimating in aircraft design

A methodology to estimate the cost implications of design decisions by integrating cost as a design parameter at an early design stage is presented. The model is developed on a hierarchical basis, the manufacturing cost of aircraft fuselage panels being analysed in this paper. The manufacturing cost modelling is original and relies on a genetic-causal method where the drivers of each element of cost are identified relative to the process capability. The cost model is then extended to life cycle costing by computing the Direct Operating Cost as a function of acquisition cost and fuel burn, and coupled with a semi-empirical numerical analysis using Engineering Sciences Data Unit reference data to model the structural integrity of the fuselage shell with regard to material failure and various modes of buckling. The main finding of the paper is that the traditional minimum weight condition is a dated and sub-optimal approach to airframe structural design.

Community participation and inclusion: People with disabilities defining their place

Disability-related public policy currently emphasises reducing the number of people experiencing exclusion from the spaces of the social and economic majority as being the pre-eminent indicator of inclusion. Twenty-eight adult, New Zealand vocational service users collaborated in a participatory action research project to develop shared understandings of community participation. Analysis of their narratives suggests that spatial indices of inclusion are quiet in potentially oppressive ways about the ways mainstream settings can be experienced by people with disabilities and quiet too about the alternative, less well sanctioned communities to which people with disabilities have always belonged. Participants identified five key attributes of place as important qualitative antecedents to a sense of community belonging. The potential of these attributes and other self-authored approaches to inclusion are explored as ways that people with disabilities can support the policy objective of effecting a transformation from disabling to inclusive communities.

PHONOPHORESIS OF METHYL NICOTINATE - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISM OF ACTION

The skin penetration enhancement effect of ultrasound (phonophoresis) on methyl nicotinate was investigated in 10 healthy volunteers in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial. Each treatment consisted of the application of ultrasound massage (3.0 MHz, 1.0 W/cm2 continuous output) or placebo massage (0 MHz) for 5 min to the forearms of the volunteers, followed by a standardized application of methyl nicotinate at intervals of 15 sec, 1 min, and 2 min postmassage. Percutaneous absorption of methyl nicotinate was monitored using laser Doppler velocimetry. Ultrasound treatment applied prior to methyl nicotinate led to enhanced percutaneous absorption of the drug, for example, ultrasound treatment data versus control data at 2 min showed significant increases (P

A model for developing, implementing and evaluating a strategy to improve nursing and midwifery care

Background: Health care organizations world wide are faced with the need to develop and implement strategic organizational plans to meet the challenges of modern health care. There is a need for models for developing, implementing and evaluating strategic plans that engage practitioners, and make a measurable difference to the patients that they serve. This article describes the development of such a model to underpin a strategy for nursing and midwifery in an acute hospital trust. An integrated model: The processes for strategy development (values clarification, critical companionship and focus groups) are discussed, together with the development of processes for implementation, based upon a modification of the PARIHS (Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services) conceptual framework. Finally, the methods for evaluating the strategy (a pre-test/post-test approach measuring the quality of nursing care, the degree to which the organization supports professional nursing care, the leadership styles of ward managers, and patient satisfaction with care) are described. Conclusion: The model is offered as one that may be of use to others who wish to develop an integrated approach to strategic change; an approach in which the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans are informed by the core values of nurses and midwives.