Integrated practice in the early years in Australia: The assumptions, omissions and contradictions of policy reform

The aim of this article is to examine current national early years’ policy reform, which emphasises the importance of service integration, national quality standards and a quality knowledge base for educators concerning the provision of early childhood education and care. Using Queensland, Australia, as an example, a policy discourse analysis identifies two problematics of implementing current national policy – the early childhood education and care problematic and the integration problematic. The article argues that speedy implementation of a national policy in order to meet national targets has unintended consequences for the knowledge base of educators and the possibility of collaboration within service provision. Although government commitment in this area is evident, these consequences and the current difficulties surrounding integration are the result of the lack of a specific integration strategy, and government investment focussed on the development of an integrated workforce.

Sustainable population health : a pressing priority for community wellbeing

Recent developments in primary health care, preventive care, early intervention programs, population health constructs and coordinated care trials in Australia have explored the idea of changing our emphasis in health care from responsive acute care to more integrated, whole population community wellbeing management. This idea accepts that much illness and even trauma experienced by individuals in our communities can be prevented, mitigated or managed in a more constructive and positive manner than has previously been the case. Much disabling illness need not occur at all and can be avoided through better community based management models, education programs, and lifestyle changes that contribute to more healthy communities. As in the wider business world, we are becoming more cognisant of the fact that prevention is not only an appealing idea in terms of health outcomes and quality of life, but that it is good for business also. It can moderate demand for costly health care, assist consumers to understand how to live healthier and fulfilling lives and overall help to sustain a much more dynamic community. This article, based on work in a rural health service in South Australia, points to some elements of sustainable primary care that appear to have potential to take us where we need to go. It asks whether we have the capacity and the will to make the necessary investment in sustainability to ensure our future or whether we are to remain bound in a reactionary model of health care rather than considering the impact of wider social and physical environments as part of the overall community health equation.

Community integration or community exposure? A review and discussion in relation to people with an intellectual disability

Background: This paper reviews the issue of integration as it applies to people with an intellectual disability. A compelling finding is the almost exclusive orientation of the literature to physical integration within the general community of non-disabled people. Moreover, it seems to be generally assumed that the more frequently people experience such integration the better their lives will be. Methods: We question the validity of this assumption on several grounds. It is social, not physical integration, that has a reliable positive influence on well-being. This is an important conclusion as some disabled people find effective social integration with the general community extremely difficult to achieve. Because of this, the consequences of an overly enthusiastic program of integration for such people has more potential to be more stressful than beneficial. Results: We further argue that, as integration is being pursued to benefit the individual, the essential goal of service provision should be to achieve a sense of community connectedness, rather than being concerned with physical integration within the general community.
Conclusion: It is proposed that such connectedness is more likely to be achieved within the community of people with an intellectual disability.

The effectiveness of personalized smoking cessation strategies for callers to a Quitline service

Aim To assess the effectiveness of a program of computer-generated tailored advice for callers to a telephone helpline, and to assess whether it enhanced a series of callback telephone counselling sessions in aiding smoking cessation.

Design Randomized controlled trial comparing: (1) untailored self-help materials; (2) computer-generated tailored advice only, and (3) computer-generated tailored advice plus callback telephone counselling. Assessment surveys were conducted at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months.

Setting Victoria, Australia.

Participants A total of 1578 smokers who called the Quitline service and agreed to participate.

Measurements Smoking status at follow-up; duration of cessation, if quit; use of nicotine replacement therapy; and extent of participation in the callback service.

Findings At the 3-month follow-up, significantly more (χ2(2) = 16.9; P < 0.001) participants in the computer-generated tailored advice plus telephone counselling condition were not smoking (21%) than in either the computer-generated advice only (12%) or the control condition (12%). Proportions reporting not smoking at the 12-month follow-up were 26%, 23% and 22%, respectively (NS) for point prevalence, and for 9 months sustained abstinence; 8.2, 6.0, and 5.0 (NS). In the telephone counselling group, those receiving callbacks were more likely than those who did not to have sustained abstinence at 12 months (10.2 compared with 4.0, P < 0.05). Logistic regression on 3-month data showed significant independent effects on cessation of telephone counselling and use of NRT, but not of computer-generated tailored advice.

Conclusion Computer-generated tailored advice did not enhance telephone counselling, nor have any independent effect on cessation. This may be due to poor timing of the computer-generated tailored advice and poor integration of the two modes of advice.

Enabling successful web-based information technology support for enterprise customers: a service provider perspective of stakeholder-based issues

An understanding by support organisations of the key factors enabling successful enterprise after-sales customer support provision when using Web-based Selfservice Systems (WSSs) is essential to making  improvements in such systems. This paper reports key stakeholder-oriented findings from an interpretive study of critical success factors (CSFs) for the transfer of after-sales support-oriented knowledge from an information technology (IT) service provider to enterprise customers when a WSS is used. The findings suggest that researchers and practitioners should consider WSSs within a complex network of service providers, business partners and customer firms. The paper also clearly points to a need for support organisations to engage in greater collaboration and integration of WSSs with enterprise customers and business partners.

Lack of integration of medical education in Australia: the need for change

The lack of cohesion across health and education sections and national and state jurisdictions is counterproductive to effective national policies in medical education and training. Existing systems in Australia for medical education and training lack coordination, and are under resourced and under pressure. There is a need for a coordinated national approach to assessment of international medical graduates, and for meeting their education and training needs. The links between prevocational and vocational training must be improved. Tensions between workforce planning, education and training can only be resolved if workforce and training agencies work collaboratively. All prevocational positions should be designed and structured to ensure that service, training, teaching and research are appropriately balanced. There is a need for more health education research in Australia.

Effects of online professional development on the integration of technology in schools

This thesis examined how involvement in an online network (The Education Network of Ontario / Reseau educatif de l'Ontario) affected teachers professionally. Findings indicated that the network had supported an online community of practice which encouraged development of information and communication skills but that the community had eventually succombed to social and professional tensions.

Knowledge transfer : a model framework for construction knowledge integration

Managing information and knowledge in the construction industry is an important focus for research. The goal is to expedite better integration of construction knowledge amongst the stakeholders. Better use of this knowledge could allow the building industry to achieve quality outputs making best use of resources – the linked goals of time, cost and quality. Information networks and knowledge transfer are central to this and are recognized as integral to an industry strategy to improve productivity. However, poor delivery of information to those at the construction site and lack of effective methods of transferring knowledge between parties involved in construction become major challenges. Based on a critical review of literature and an interview survey, this paper identifies the information networks adopted in the Malaysian construction industry and models these using four knowledge transfer components classified as ‘control’, ‘innovation’, ‘best practice’ and ‘audit’ element. Knowledge integration practices - attitude, communication, skills, commitment and monitoring; and factors related to information barriers including accessibility, service delivery, information updates and publication, were identified as critical features for the success of knowledge integration in the Malaysian construction industry. A framework for knowledge transfer is proposed to promote better practices in the Malaysian construction industry.

Contemporary service theories integrated into construction project management

Project management plays an important role in successful completion of construction projects. One trend in the construction sector is a growing emphasis on project management. Ineffective integration of project management of project-based enterprises and operational processes of project owners, contractors and consultants prevents synergistic effects and causes resource waste and management inefficiency. Contemporary service theories, specifically service science and service-dominant logic, elucidate the involvement of clients in the creation of value and reinforce the nested relationship between project management service providers and clients. This study expands understanding of service theories by complementing service systems from project management and proposes a new framework for project management service systems, embedding service exchange and value co-creation in the construction processes. Research outcomes represent the importance of project management embedded with service theories in the construction industry and suggestions of research questions for future work.

Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher education practicum

This article reports on a study into student teachers’ perceptions about their professional development during practicum. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective, the study examined to what extent, and how effectively, one group of student teachers was able to integrate theory and practice during a three-week practicum in the first year of their degree. The context for this mixed methods study was a Master of Teaching, graduate-level entry programme in the Faculty of Education at an urban Australian university. Although there is a strong field of literature around the practicum in pre-service teacher education, there has been a limited focus on how student teachers themselves perceive their development during this learning period. Further, despite widespread and longstanding acknowledgement of the ‘gap’ between theory and practice in teacher education, there is still more to learn about how well the practicum enables an integration of these two dimensions of teacher preparation. In presenting three major findings of the study, this paper goes some way in addressing these shortcomings in the literature. First, participants in this study largely valued both the theoretical and practical components of their programme, which stands in contrast to the commonly identified tendency of the student teacher to privilege practice over theory. Second, opportunities to integrate theory and practice were varied, with many participants reporting the detrimental impact of an apparent lack of clarity around stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities. Third, participants overwhelmingly supported the notion of linking university coursework assessment to the practicum as a means of bridging the gap between, on the one hand, the university and the school and, on the other hand, theory and practice.

Ways in which theory and practice are integrated in the pre-service teacher education practicum

This paper reports on a study into pre-service teachers’ perceptions about their professional development during practicum. The study examined to what extent, and how effectively, one group of pre-service teachers was able to integrate theory and practice during a three-week practicum in the first year of their degree. Data for this mixed methods study were drawn from one cohort of first-year students undertaking the Master of Teaching (MTeach), a graduate-level entry program in the Faculty of Education at an urban Australian university. Although there is a strong field of literature around the practicum in pre-service teacher education, there has been a limited focus on how pre-service teachers themselves perceive their development during this learning period. Further, despite widespread and longstanding acknowledgement of the “gap” between theory and practice in teacher education, there is still more to learn about how well the practicum enables an integration of these two dimensions of teacher preparation. In presenting three major findings of the study, this paper goes some way in addressing these shortcomings in the literature. First, opportunities to integrate theory and practice were varied, with many participants reporting supervision and scheduling issues as impacting on their capacity to effectively enact theory in practice. Second, participants’ privileging of theory over practice, identified previously in the literature as commonly characteristic of the pre-service teacher, was found in this study to be particularly prevalent during practicum. Third, participants overwhelmingly supported the notion of linking university coursework assessment to the practicum as a means of bridging the gap between, on the one hand, the university and the school and, on the other hand, theory and practice. The discussion and consideration of findings such as those reported in this paper are pertinent and timely, given the ratification of both the National Professional Standards for Teachers and the Initial Teacher Education Program Standards by the Australian Federal Government earlier this year. Within a number of the seven Professional Standards, graduate teachers are required to demonstrate knowledge and skills associated with both the theory and practice of teaching and with their effective integration in the classroom. To be nationally accredited, pre-service teacher education programs must provide evidence of enabling pre-service teachers to acquire such knowledge and skills.

Data Integration Protocol In Ten-steps (DIPIT) : a new standard for medical researchers

The exponential increase in data, computing power and the availability of readily accessible analytical software has allowed organisations around the world to leverage the benefits of integrating multiple heterogeneous data files for enterprise-level planning and decision making. Benefits from effective data integration to the health and medical research community include more trustworthy research, higher service quality, improved personnel efficiency, reduction of redundant tasks, facilitation of auditing and more timely, relevant and specific information. The costs of poor quality processes elevate the risk of erroneous outcomes, an erosion of confidence in the data and the organisations using these data. To date there are no documented set of standards for best practice integration of heterogeneous data files for research purposes. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe a set of clear protocol for data file integration (Data Integration Protocol In Ten-steps; DIPIT) translational to any field of research.