Community engagement in Belfast: Queen's University and the Sandy Row community

This chapter examines a case study of a university-community civic engagement project involving a homework club in an area of significant educational and social disadvantage. The chapter gives voice to community leaders who talk about the role of the initiative and their relationship with the university.

Symposium - Organisational transformation in policing: Leadership and change in extreme contexts

Nearly 4000 people died in Northern Ireland’s long running conflict, 314 of them police officers (Brewer and Magee 1991, Brewer 1996, Hennessey 1999, Guelke and Milton-Edwards 2000). The republican and loyalist ceasefires of 1994 were the first significant signal that NI society was moving beyond the ‘troubles’ and towards a normalised political environment. The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998 cemented that movement (Hennessey 1999). Policing was a key and seemingly unresolvable element of the conflict, seen as unrepresentative and partisan. Its reform or ‘recasting’ in a new dispensation was an integral part of the conflict transformation endeavour(Ellison 2010). As one of the most controversial elements of the conflicted past, it had remained outside the Agreement and was subject to a specific commission of interest (1999), generally known as the Patten Commission. The Commission’s far reaching proposals included a change of name, badge and uniform, the introduction of 50/50 recruitment (50% Roman Catholic and 50% other), a new focus on human rights, a new district command and headquarter structure, a review of ‘Special Branch’ and covert techniques, a concern for ‘policing with the community’ and a significant voluntary severance process to make room for new recruits, unconnected with the past history of the organisation(Murphy 2013).

This paper reflects upon the first data collection phase of a long term processual study of organisational change within the Royal Ulster Constabulary / Police Service of Northern Ireland. This phase (1996-2002) covers early organisational change initiation (including the pre-change period) and implementation including the instigation of symbolic changes (name, badge, and crest) and structural changes (new HQ structure and District Command structure). It utilises internal documentation including messages from the organisations leaders, interviews with forty key informants (identified through a combination of snow-balling from referrals by initial contacts, and key interviews with significant individuals), as well as external documentation and commentary on public perceptions of the change. Using a processual lens (Langley, Smallman et al. 2013) it seeks to understand this initial change phase and its relative success in a highly politicised environment.

By engaging key individuals internally and externally, setting up a dedicated change team, adopting a non normative, non urgent, calming approach to dissent, communicating in orthodox and unorthodox ways with members, acknowledging the huge emotional strain of letting go of the organisation’s name and all it embodied, and re-emphasising the role of officers as ‘police first’, rather than ‘RUC first’, the organisations leadership remained in control of a volatile and unhappy organisational body and succeeded in moving it on through this initial phase, even while much of the political establishment lambasted them externally. Three years into this change process the organisation had a new name, a new crest, new structures, procedures and was deeply engaged in embedding the joint principles of human rights and community policing within its re-woven fabric. While significant problems remained, the new Police Service of Northern Ireland had successfully begun a long journey to full community acceptance in a post conflict context.

This case illustrates the significant challenges of leading change under political pressure, with external oversight and no space for failure(Hannah, Uhl-Bien et al. 2009). It empirically reflects the reality of change implementation as messy, disruptive and unpredictable and highlights the significance of political skill and contextual understanding to success in the early stages(Buchanan and Boddy 1992). The implications of this for change theory and the practice of change implementation are explored (Eisenhardt and Graebner 2007) and some conclusions drawn about what such an extreme case tells us about change generally and change implementation under pressure.

Individual factors and perceived community characteristics in relation to mental health and mental well-being

Background
It has been argued that though correlated with mental health, mental well-being is a distinct entity. Despite the wealth of literature on mental health, less is known about mental well-being. Mental health is something experienced by individuals, whereas mental well-being can be assessed at the population level. Accordingly it is important to differentiate the individual and population level factors (environmental and social) that could be associated with mental health and well-being, and as people living in deprived areas have a higher prevalence of poor mental health, these relationships should be compared across different levels of neighbourhood deprivation.

Methods
A cross-sectional representative random sample of 1,209 adults from 62 Super Output Areas (SOAs) in Belfast, Northern Ireland (Feb 2010 – Jan 2011) were recruited in the PARC Study. Interview-administered questionnaires recorded data on socio-demographic characteristics, health-related behaviours, individual social capital, self-rated health, mental health (SF-8) and mental well-being (WEMWBS). Multi-variable linear regression analyses, with inclusion of clustering by SOAs, were used to explore the associations between individual and perceived community characteristics and mental health and mental well-being, and to investigate how these associations differed by the level of neighbourhood deprivation.

Results
Thirty-eight and 30 % of variability in the measures of mental well-being and mental health, respectively, could be explained by individual factors and the perceived community characteristics. In the total sample and stratified by neighbourhood deprivation, age, marital status and self-rated health were associated with both mental health and well-being, with the ‘social connections’ and local area satisfaction elements of social capital also emerging as explanatory variables. An increase of +1 in EQ-5D-3 L was associated with +1SD of the population mean in both mental health and well-being. Similarly, a change from ‘very dissatisfied’ to ‘very satisfied’ for local area satisfaction would result in +8.75 for mental well-being, but only in the more affluent of areas.

Conclusions
Self-rated health was associated with both mental health and mental well-being. Of the individual social capital explanatory variables, ‘social connections’ was more important for mental well-being. Although similarities in the explanatory variables of mental health and mental well-being exist, socio-ecological interventions designed to improve them may not have equivalent impacts in rich and poor neighbourhoods.

Historical Dialogue and Memory in Policing Change: the Case of the Police in Northern Ireland

This paper explores the complex relationship between organisational change and historical dialogue in transitional societies. Using the policing reform process in Northern Ireland as an example, the paper does three things: the first is to explore the ways in which policing changes were understood within the policing organisation and ‘community’ itself. The second is to make use of a processual approach, privileging the interactions of context, process and time within the analysis. Thirdly, it considers this perspective through the relatively new lens of ‘historical dialogue’: understood here as a conversation and an oscillation between the past, present and future through reflections on individual and collective memory. Through this analysis, we consider how members’ understandings of a difficult past (and their roles in it) facilitated and/or impeded the organisations change process. Drawing on a range of interviews with previous and current members of the organisation, this paper sheds new light on how institutions deal with and understand the past as they experience organisational change within the a wider societal transition from conflict to non-violence.

Soil microbes and community coalescence

Community coalescence is a recently introduced term describing the interaction of entire communities and their environments. We here explicitly place the concept of community coalescence in a soil microbial context, exploring intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of such coalescence events. Examples of intrinsic events include the action of earthworms and the dynamics of soil aggregates, while extrinsic events are exemplified by tillage, flooding, litter-fall, outplanting, and the addition of materials containing microbial communities. Aspects of global change may alter the frequency or severity of coalescence events. We highlight functional consequences of community coalescence in soil, and suggest ways to experimentally tackle this phenomenon. Soil ecology as a whole stands to benefit from conceptualizing soil biodiversity in terms of dynamic coalescent microbial assemblages.

Da avaliação do impacte à articulação da investigação - práticas - o caso da articulação na formação didáctica pós-graduada de professores de ciências e desafios futuros

A linha de investigação deste estudo é a ‘articulação da Investigação em Didáctica das Ciências e Práticas de Ensino dos Professores de Ciências’. O seu enquadramento teórico e metodológico inicial assentou nos estudos das áreas ‘Relações entre Investigação e as Práticas’ e ‘Avaliação da Formação Pós-Graduada – vertente impacte/articulação’. Inicialmente, fez-se uma análise histórico-epistemológica da Didáctica desde a sua génese até aos dias de hoje, para se compreender quer as raízes do gap entre académicos e práticos em geral, quer a crescente necessidade de articulação. Posteriormente, avançou-se para a primeira área, partindo da polémica despoletada por Hargreaves, ao defender que o ensino deveria ser uma profissão baseada na investigação. Em seguida, partiu-se de uma análise mais geral sobre a Investigação e as Práticas no contexto educacional em vários países antes se centrar especificamente no contexto da Didáctica das Ciências (impacte da IDC nas Práticas e constrangimentos na articulação). Analisou-se também brevemente as relações entre a IDC e Práticas no contexto da Formação de Professores, e não a área da Formação de Professores, para mantermos sempre o foco nas questões inerentes à articulação. Culminou-se na análise das culturas e epistemologias da acção e da investigação, com especial destaque para o conceito de professorinvestigador na actualidade e para a descrição das barreiras epistemológicas e ontológicas. Concluiu-se que as comunidades da investigação e da acção utilizavam o conceito ‘articulação’ indiscriminadamente como sinónimo de interacções, contacto, aproximação, impacte, etc., o que acabou esvaziando-o do seu verdadeiro significado. No que diz respeito à segunda área, a sua análise partiu da descrição da evolução de dez anos (1997-2007) de estudos sobre a Avaliação do Impacte dos CM nas práticas por ser considerada uma forma eficaz de articular as dimensões da Didáctica em direcção a um novo olhar sobre o conceito ‘articulação’. Além disso, apontou a dificuldade de se avaliar o impacte ao nível macro, por um lado, por não se tratar de uma prática investigativa institucionalizada no estatuto da carreira dos professores dos EB e ES e, por outro, por ainda colidir com diferentes concepções da natureza das investigações realizadas por Professores encontradas em ambas as comunidades, entendida ora como processo cognitivo (para o desenvolvimento profissional dos professores), ora como prática social (para construção de conhecimento no campo da Didáctica). Foram compiladas ainda as sugestões para se potenciar o impacte da IDC nas Práticas e/ou a articulação entre a IDC-Práticas em contexto formativo de diversos estudos avaliativos. Finalizou-se a análise chamando a atenção para cinco aspectos que ainda carecem de maior aprofundamento nesta área. Este longo enquadramento evidenciou a complexidade da problemática ‘articulação’ decorrente da interdependência das várias dimensões (epistemológica, política, ontológica, psicológica, ética, entre outras). Por exemplo, a ausência de consenso sobre critérios para a avaliação da qualidade da investigação produzida por professores (dimensões política e epistemológica) acaba, por vezes, por não conferir legitimidade às mesmas e por influenciar a legitimação pela comunidade académica, o que resulta na necessidade de diferenciação dos contributos e no maior afastamento entre as comunidades (dimensão ontológica), entre outros. Assim, optou-se por iniciar a análise do fenómeno ‘articulação entre IDCPráticas’ através dos primeiros modelos de articulação investigação-ensino, os quais visavam, contudo, fundamentalmente o impacte da IDC nas Práticas de Ensino das Ciências. Posteriormente, foram apresentadas as potencialidades da Avaliação ↔ Feedback, TIC e Colaboração (estratégias/métodos) para potenciar a articulação entre Investigação- Práticas. No que diz respeito à investigação empírica, realizou-se um estudo de caso descritivo e explorativo de natureza mista. O caso único, crítico e instrumental foi o fenómeno “articulação entre a IDC-Práticas na Formação Didáctica Pós- Graduada” no contexto da unidade curricular ‘Metodologia do Ensino da Física’ (MEF) do Curso de Mestrado em Ensino de Física. A técnica de análise geral utilizada foi a “descrição do caso” pelo facto de não se ter um referencial teórico especificamente sobre o caso. O caso contemplou três unidades de análise, a saber: Caracterização dos Professores-Formandos; Funcionamento da Unidade Curricular e Dinâmica dos currículos dos módulos articuladores. Estas unidades de análises permitiram evidenciar de que forma as características e/ou alterações implementadas na disciplina MEF contribuíram (ou podem contribuir) para a articulação da IDC-Práticas e descrever as dinâmicas do currículo (intencional – negociado – acção), evidenciando em que medida promoveram (ou inibiram) a articulação IDC – práticas. O estudo de caso aqui descrito revelou, ainda, a existência de dois níveis de articulação entre a Investigação e as Práticas no contexto formativo. O primeiro nível foi a articulação entre a Investigação sobre o Ensino Superior/Formação de Professores de Ciências (patente nas estratégias/métodos utilizados na disciplina) e a prática formativa dos IF no contexto da disciplina. O segundo nível centrou-se na articulação entre a Investigação sobre o Ensino não-Superior/Didáctica das Ciências e as práticas de Ensino das Ciências, base orientadora do currículo da disciplina aqui analisada, concretizado nos dois módulos articuladores descritos. Destacam-se algumas dimensões de análise descritas na presente investigação empírica, a saber: Utilização das TIC; Avaliação do Ensino baseada no feedback dos alunos; Avaliação Formativa das Aprendizagens e feedback; Trabalho de grupo realizado nos módulos articuladores; Currículo centrado na IDC; Currículo centrado na articulação da IDC-Práticas de Ensino das Ciências; Currículo centrado nas Práticas de Ensino das Ciências; Currículo centrado na articulação da Investigação-Práticas formativas e Currículo centrado nas Políticas Educativas. Relativamente a dinâmica dos currículos (intencional - negociado - acção) dos dois módulos articuladores, foram definidos quatro construtos (objectos de ensino, objectos de aprendizagem, objectivos de ensino e objectivos de aprendizagem) que culminaram na discussão de vários aspectos a serem considerados nos próximos cursos como, por exemplo: 1) Importância de o contrato didáctico prever a inclusão de objectos de aprendizagem; 2) Incompatibilidade do objectivo de aprendizagem ‘compreender a importância da IDC e a sua relevância para as práticas lectivas em contextos específicos’ num quadro formativo articulador; e 3) Importância de os cursos de formação de professores explicitarem quais ferramentas investigativas são necessárias à produção autónoma de conhecimento no contexto escolar e académico (mesmo que não sejam mobilizadas), de forma a que os professores possam delinear previamente planos individuais de formação/investigação. O estudo termina com a apropriação do modelo de articulação entre a Investigação Educacional e Práticas de McIntyre (2005) ao contexto da Didáctica das Ciências evidenciando uma relação dialógica com a investigação empírica. Apesar de este modelo priorizar a dimensão epistemológica (que aceita o gap pela impossibilidade epistemológica do seu total desaparecimento), na sua apropriação foi considerada a influência das outras dimensões. Esta apropriação assentou, portanto, numa visão moderada de articulação e na complexidade inerente à interdependência das dimensões. Foram propostos três caminhos epistemológicos complementares para a articulação entre a IDC-Práticas: 1º) Interacções entre Didáctica Investigativa – Didáctica Profissional; 2º) Utilização de estratégias na IDC especialmente desenhadas para informar as práticas de ensino; e 3º) Realização de IDC pela escola. Em cada um destes caminhos procurou-se enquadrar algumas sugestões e iniciativas já levadas a cabo para potenciar o impacte e/ou articulação e que se encontravam referenciadas na literatura em geral e no contexto português em particular. O primeiro caminho (composto por cinco etapas) evidenciou-se como aquele que leva a maior vantagem pelas inúmeras intervenções possíveis. A investigação empírica aqui apresentada enquadrou-se inclusivamente neste primeiro caminho pelo facto de ter sido uma iniciativa com a intencionalidade explícita de articular a Didáctica Investigativa e Profissional e por ter sido realizada no contexto da Formação Pós-Graduada (cenário considerado privilegiado para a promoção de interacções). Esta iniciativa foi realizada exclusivamente no âmbito curricular da Formação Pós-Graduada (Didáctica Curricular) e procurou articular as dimensões epistemológicas da Didáctica através da utilização de ‘mecanismos potencialmente articuladores’ (Avaliação - feedback, TIC e Colaboração). Foram descritas as quatro etapas deste primeiro caminho percorridas empiricamente com variações no grau de concretização, com excepção da quinta etapa ‘Investigação sobre a prática de ensino com generalização situada’ porque a vertente dissertativa do respectivo curso não fez parte do corpus. Assim, a articulação ocorreu fundamentalmente no nível epistemológico (currículo da disciplina). No que diz respeito ao 2º caminho, é aquele em que a comunidade académica mais tem investido, quer pelas críticas voltadas especificamente para a investigação, quer pelo sucesso na potenciação do impacte nas propostas até agora implementadas. Deve ser utilizado de forma complementar ao 1º, envolvendo, de preferência, os Professores que percorrem frequentemente o 1º caminho na sua prática diária. Esta condição justifica-se pela necessidade de se integrar legitimamente os professores nas equipas de investigação, aumentando concomitantemente a contribuição das Práticas para a construção de conhecimento no campo educacional. Finalmente, o 3º caminho é aquele que ainda não pode ser concretizado porque, para as Escolas serem diferentes das actuais na dimensão epistemológica (tornando-se produtoras de conhecimento didáctico), seriam necessárias medidas estruturais e articuladas nas várias dimensões anteriormente referidas. Entretanto, foram apontadas algumas soluções como, por exemplo, a utilização de investigações de generalização situada nas Escolas e a ligação das Escolas em redes. Estas investigações locais não substituiriam, mas mobilizariam a IDC produzida nas Universidades (centradas na construção do campo Didáctica das Ciências). Este caminho visionário culmina por um lado, com uma análise prospectiva assente na relação de complementaridade entre as evidências científicas e experienciais porque uma prática sem suporte investigativo é imprudente e uma investigação sem suporte experiencial é imatura. Por outro com uma constatação tardia (deveras reconfortante) que os estudos centrados na relação entre a Investigação e Práticas são estudos voltados para a Formação de Investigadores-Seniores por exigirem uma meta-reflexão da prática investigativa e do processo investigativo. As implicações do estudo são: (i) futuras iniciativas de articulação entre IDCPráticas; (ii) implementar e avaliar as sugestões advindas em novos contextos formativos; e (iii) na Educação a distância na área da Didáctica e Formação Didáctica de Professores. Assume-se a limitação estrutural da investigação resultante da alteração do projecto inicial que o restringiu a uma única etapa. Faz-se ainda uma reflexão do processo formativo-investigativo mediante a descrição dos constrangimentos de natureza interna e externa. Explicitam-se as limitações de carácter geral e específico e algumas tentativas de minimização dos respectivos efeitos no estudo. Finaliza-se o estudo com algumas sugestões de trabalhos futuros, a saber: (i) Continuidade dos estudos centrados na articulação entre IDC-Práticas; (ii) Continuidade dos estudos de Avaliação da Formação Pós-Graduada em termos de eficiência, eficácia, impacte e articulação; (iii) Análise da Epistemologia da Prática Docente em comunidades de práticas escolares; (iv) Articulação entre a Investigação sobre a Formação de Professores e as práticas dos formadores e futuros-formadores; e (v) Constituição de “Scholarship of teaching” na Formação de Professores.

Microbial community composition and mercury cycling in sediments of tagus estuary

Tese de doutoramento, Farmácia (Toxicologia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2016

Four years on: a longitudinal study assessing the impact of a virtual community of practice

This paper explores the long term impact of a virtual learning community (VLC) from the perspective of community members and their employing organization. It argues that membership potentially has a significant impact on individual identities and careers, and that managed communities provide an important means for strategic workforce development. The study evaluates the impact of membership of a VLC over a four year period within the context of the theoretical frameworks of communities of practice and identity theory. The concept of boundary crossing is also explored in relation to VLCs. The paper considers the benefits to host organisations in supporting structured VLCs as a means of enabling workforce development and supporting change and innovation.

The Advancing MOOCs for Development Initiative: An examination of MOOC usage for professional workforce development outcomes in Colombia, the Philippines, & South Africa

The potential of online learning has long afforded the hope of providing quality education to anyone, anywhere in the world. The recent development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) heralded an exciting new breakthrough by providing free academic instruction and professional skills development from the world’s leading universities to anyone with the sufficient resources to access the internet. The research in Advancing MOOCs for Development Initiative study was designed to analyze the MOOC landscape in developing countries and to better understand the motivations of MOOC users and afford insights on the advantages and limitations of MOOCs for workforce development outcomes. The key findings of this study challenge commonly held beliefs about MOOC usage in developing countries, defying typical characterizations of how people in resource constrained settings use technology for learning and employment. In fact, some of the findings are so contrary to what has been reported in the U.S. and other developed environments that they raise new questions for further investigation.

A qualitative case study of the processes of peer education in a young adult tobacco control initiative, Leave the Pack Behind

Peer education involves peers offering credible and reliable information about sensitive life issues through the means of an informal peer group setting (Topping & Ehly, 1998). The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine the processes of peer education through the exploration of two teams within a young adult tobacco control initiative, Leave the Pack Behind (LTPB). This qualitative case study examined two peer education teams over an eight-month period. Interviews, focus groups and observations were conducted with 12 participants across two peer education teams. Findings show the complexities of the processes of peer education including a connection between the stages of change and the changing role of the peer educator across stages of the empowerment process. Peer education teams and factors in the macro environment were also found to impact the process of peer education. This study provides a new definition for the process of peer education: peer education is a fluid process of knowledge exchange in which peer educators adopt different styles of facilitation as people move through stages of empowerment and change. This study contributes to the academic hterature upon the processes of peer education by providing a definition, a model and an overall understanding through an ecological and empowerment framework. The findings from this study suggest peer educators can be further trained to: use specific peer educational approaches that fit with student smoker's stage of change; better understand their position as a peer educator on the LTPB team; understand the reciprocal relationship between the macro environment and the peer education teams having an effect on one another.

Wellspring: an intrinsic case study of community-based education for adults living with cancer /

This paper presents education research as vital to addressing the issues faced by adults living with cancer. This qualitative study looked at philosophies of practice for cancer patient education. It was about understanding how values and beliefs shape the way program planners and managers operationalize their knowledge of adult education and how this has significant impact on meeting the needs of those touched by cancer. Improved technology has extended life expectancy, so that Canadians living with cancer, or even dying with cancer now spend less time in direct medical care. The notion of cancer as simply a medical concern is outdated. This study found that informational and support needs of adults living with cancer are often unmet, ignored or unknown. This research investigated a community-based education initiative that is inviting, accessible, and promotes a sense of hope. More specifically, this case study uncovered factors contributing to the success of Wellspring, a grass-roots cancer patient support centre which has been recognized nationally for its ability to effectively meet the diverse non-medical supportive care needs of as many cancer patients and caregivers as possible. Therefore, Wellspring was selected as a case study. Educating people to take charge of their own lives and supporting them in making informed decisions about their lifestyle choices made Wellspring part of a social action movement that focused on improving social attitudes toward people living with cancer. Results of this descriptive inquiry and philosophical inquiry evolved into data that was used to devise an organic model of community-based education that encompasses Adler's (1993) four dimensions of philosophy within a socio-cultural context.

Why do some adults change their minds about what is important in the visual arts? : a case study

This-~-case study used ethnographic-methodo-logy. --The research project was an introductory study of one adult's present and past experiences with the visual arts, exploring, in particular, the causes and processes that were related to the individual's changes of mind in order to develop an understanding of why that individual had changed her mind about what was significant in the visual arts. The individual who provided the data was a solid supporter of art galleries: female, middle-aged, graduate of university and college, married with two children, and living in an urban community. The data were collected from two informal conversational interviews and from a written description of one change experience selected by the participant. The individual had positive experiences with art during early childhood, in elementary and secondary school, during university, in avocational drawing and painting studio courses, and in aesthetic experiences. All of these experiences have had individual effects and, together, they have had a cumulative effect on the development of the participant's opinions and ideas about the visual arts. The experiences which had the most effect on the development of the individual's perspectives on the visual arts were handson studio, educational, and aesthetic experiences. Further research is suggested to investigate why some adults change their minds about the visual arts.

Miss-understand-ing: design education in Ontario secondary schools : an exploration of the issues with stakeholders and recommendations for change /

For most people design is a mystery. The products of design are integrated into our daily lives to the point that design has become invisible to us. However. what is subsumed in design practice is a creative problem-solving process that is applicable as a teaching strategy as well as a method for teaching the subject of design. The purpose of this study was to inquire into the current classroom practice of Ontario Visual Arts and Technological Education teachers, understand the goals of Ontario government curriculum developers, and explore the position held by the professional design community on secondary school design education. Data for this study were collected from: (a) a textual analysis of 4 Ministry curriculum documents; (b) interviews with JO stakeholders; (c) unobtrusive observations and informal conversations conducted at 7 secondary school open house events; and (d) observation of 2 sessions of an AQ course for Design and Technology. The research design modeled the design process and was divided into 2 parts: a discovery or problem-finding phase and a discussion or problem-solving phase. The results showed that design is misunderstood and misused; it has become lost between visual arts and technology where neither program holds responsibility for its delivery; students mistake working on computers for design practice; and while there is a desire within the professional community to have a voice in secondary school design education. there is no forum for participation. The technology-driven paradigm shift taking place in society today calls for a new framework for tellching and practicing dcsign. Further research is required; howcvcr. in the meantime. secondary school educators might benefit from professional development and classroom support from the professional dcsign community.

Show me, help me, let me : supporting teachers' changing conceptions of reading assessment and reading instruction

This qualitative inquiry used case study methodology to explore the change processes of 3 primary-grade teachers throughout their participation in 7 -month professional learning initiative focused on reading assessment and instruction. Participants took part in semimonthly inquiry-based professional learning community sessions, as well as concurrent individualized classroom-based literacy coaching. Each participant's experiences were first analyzed as a single case study, followed by cross-case analyses. While their patterns of professional growth differed, findings documented how all participants altered their understandings of the roles and relevancy of individual components of reading instruction (e.g., comprehension, decoding) and instructional approaches to scaffold students' growth (e.g., levelled text, strategy instruction), and experienced some form of conceptual change. Factors identified as affecting their change processes included; motivation, professional knowledge, professional beliefs (self-efficacy and theoretical orientation), resources (e.g., time, support), differentiated professional learning with associated goal-setting, and uncontrollable influences, with the affect of each factor compounded by interaction with the others. Comparison of participants' experiences to the Cognitive-Affective Model of Conceptual Change (CAMCC) and the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) demonstrated the applicability of using both conceptual models, with the IMTPG providing macrolevel insights over time and the CAMCC microlevel insights at each change intervaL Recommendations include the provision of differentiated teacher professional learning opportunities, as well as research documenting the effects of teacher mentorship programs and the professional growth of teacher educators. ii

An analysis of the systemic aspects of rights training for people with intellectual disabilities

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) as a group have been subject to abuse. Individuals with ID need to be made aware of their rights. The 3Rs: Rights, Respect and Responsibility Human Rights Project is promoting rights awareness in individuals with ID, their caregivers and family members. To be effeCtive, abuse prevention must include support from the whole organization and its processes. This research evaluated the impact of the 3Rs initiative on the organization. It focused particularly on descriptions of organizational change perceived by full-time staff and managers in response to the initiation of the 3Rs Project. Behavioural interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis was used to describe changes in the organizational culture and behavioural mechanisms maintaining these changes. Systemic barriers to change were also explored. The results indicate that the Association is effectively implementing and supporting the rights-based philosophy.