Edward W. Taylor / Patricia Cranton, and Associates (Hrsg.): The Handbook of Transformative Learning, Theory, Research, and Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass 2012 [...] [Sammelrezension]

Sammelrezension von: 1. Edward W. Taylor / Patricia Cranton, and Associates (Hrsg.): The Handbook of Transformative Learning, Theory, Research, and Practice, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass 2012 (598 S.; ISBN 978-1-111-21891-4) 2. Jack Mezirow / Edward W. Taylor, and Associates (Hrsg.): Transformative Learning in Practice, Insights from Community, Workplace, and Higher Education, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass 2009 (303 S.; ISBN 978-0-470-25790-6)

The Idiosyncratic Body: Contemporary Clown Theory and Practice

Drawing on historical research, personal interviews, performance analysis, and my own embodied experience as a participant-observer in several clown workshops, I explore the diverse historical influences on clown theatre as it is conceived today. I then investigate how the concept of embodied knowledge is reflected in red-nose clown pedagogy. Finally, I argue that through shared embodied knowledge spectators are able to perceive and appreciate the humor of clown theatre in performance. I propose that clown theatre represents a reaction to the eroding personal connections prompted by the so-called information age, and that humor in clown theatre is a revealing index of socio-cultural values, attitudes, dispositions, and concerns.

Sense-making in theory and practice: a metatheoretical foundation and application for health information seeking

This thesis attempts to provide deeper historical and theoretical grounding for sense-making, thereby illustrating its applicability to practical information seeking research. In Chapter One I trace the philosophical origins of Brenda Dervin’s theory known as “sense making,” reaching beyond current scholarship that locates the origins of sense-making in twentieth-century Phenomenology and Communication theory and find its rich ontological, epistemological, and etymological heritage that dates back to the Pre-Socratics. After exploring sense-making’s Greek roots, I examine sense-making’s philosophical undercurrents found in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), where he also returns to the simplicity of the Greeks for his concept of sense. With Chapter Two I explore sense-making methodology and find, in light of the Greek and Hegelian dialectic, a dialogical bridge connecting sense-making’s theory with pragmatic uses. This bridge between Dervin’s situation and use occupies a distinct position in sense-making theory. Moreover, building upon Brenda Dervin’s model of sense-making, I use her metaphors of gap and bridge analogy to discuss the dialectic and dialogic components of sense making. The purpose of Chapter Three is pragmatic – to gain insight into the online information-seeking needs, experiences, and motivation of first-degree relatives (FDRs) of breast cancer survivors through the lens of sense-making. This research analyses four questions: 1) information-seeking behavior among FDRs of cancer survivors compared to survivors and to undiagnosed, non-related online cancer information seekers in the general population, 2) types of and places where information is sought, 3) barriers or gaps and satisfaction rates FDRs face in their cancer information quest, and 4) types and degrees of cancer information and resources FDRs want and use in their information search for themselves and other family members. An online survey instrument designed to investigate these questions was developed and pilot tested. Via an email communication, the Susan Love Breast Cancer Research Foundation distributed 322,000 invitations to its membership to complete the survey, and from March 24th to April 5th 10,692 women agreed to take the survey with 8,804 volunteers actually completing survey responses. Of the 8,804 surveys, 95% of FDRs have searched for cancer information online, and 84% of FDRs use the Internet as a sense-making tool for additional information they have received from doctors or nurses. FDRs report needing much more information than either survivors or family/friends in ten out of fifteen categories related to breast and ovarian cancer. When searching for cancer information online, FDRs also rank highest in several of sense-making’s emotional levels: uncertainty, confusion, frustration, doubt, and disappointment than do either survivors or friends and family. The sense-making process has existed in theory and praxis since the early Greeks. In applying sense–making’s theory to a contemporary problem, the survey reveals unaddressed situations and gaps of FDRs’ information search process. FDRs are a highly motivated group of online information seekers whose needs are largely unaddressed as a result of gaps in available online information targeted to address their specific needs. Since FDRs represent a quarter of the population, further research addressing their specific online information needs and experiences is necessary.

Motivational factors for language learning classroom situations : the self-determination theory in practice

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

Program for the Spring 2016 MARAC Meeting: Archival Confluence: Connecting Theory and Practice

Conference Program

The Anuvrat Movement: Theory and Practice

The slogan: “Self-restraint is life,” forms the philosophical ideal behind the Anuvrat Movement. The purpose of my thesis is to evaluate the Anuvrat Movement introduced by Acharya Tulsi as a non-sectarian, ethical-spiritual movement. The study considered in some detail the historical context within which the movement emerged. The thesis provides a much-needed analysis of the 11 vows formulated by Tulsi in the model of the traditional vows in Jainism. It explored the question whether these vows are relevant and effective in the contemporary Indian society, and whether Tulsi’s movement can cross the geographical boundaries of the Indian sub-continent to be a part of larger global initiatives. The study explored the social significance of the concepts of nonviolence, social justice and sustainability in the wider global community. The study suggests a positive association between the exemplary charismatic role of a leader and the popularity and longevity of social movements in India.

Rethinking management theory and practice for the Indian context:an international management perspective

The Indian economy characterized variously as a slumbering giant, powerful tiger, and the most promising market has witnessed a slowdown, occasional disturbances in the industrial relations space, and attention of the world in the last five years. In this special issue, we raise pertinent questions and present research on multiple dimensions of the dynamic and rapidly changing business environment of India. The suitability of management models and frameworks developed in the North American contexts in emerging markets like India and China is questioned. One example of how the well-established models in the literature on success of international joint ventures were insufficient to explain the success of three international joint ventures in the insurance space in India is presented as case in point. Finally, the nine papers that materially contribute to the theme of this special issue are introduced. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Governance and effectiveness in regional planning: an analysis of North American, European, and Australasian practice

Over the past several years, there has been resurgent interest in regional planning in North America, Europe and Australasia. Spurred by issues such as metropolitan growth, transportation infrastructure, environmental management and economic development, many states and metropolitan regions are undertaking new planning initiatives. These regional efforts have also raised significant question about governance structures, accountability and measures of effectiveness.n this paper, the authors conducted an international review of ten case studies from the United States, Canada, England, Belgium, New Zealand and Australia to explore several critical questions. Using qualitative data template, the research team reviewed plans, documents, web sites and published literature to address three questions. First, what are the governance arrangements for delivering regional planning? Second, what are the mechanisms linking regional plans with state plans (when relevant) and local plans? Third, what means and mechanisms do these regional plans use to evaluate and measure effectiveness? The case study analysis revealed several common themes. First, there is an increasing focus on goverance at the regional level, which is being driven by a range of trends, including regional spatial development initiatives in Europe, regional transportation issues in the US, and the growth of metropolitan regions generally. However, there is considerable variation in how regional governance arrangements are being played out. Similarly, there is a range of processes being used at the regional level to guide planning that range from broad ranging (thick) processes to narrow and limited (thin) approaches. Finally, evaluation and monitoring of regional planning efforts are compiling data on inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Although there is increased attention being paid to indicators and monitoring, most of it falls into outcome evaluations such as Agenda 21 or sustainability reporting. Based on our review we suggest there is a need for increased attention on input, process and output indicators and clearer linkages of these indicators in monitoring and evaluation frameworks. The focus on outcome indicators, such as sustainability indicators, creates feedback systems that are too long-term and remote for effective monitoring and feedback. Although we found some examples of where these kinds of monitoring frameworks are linked into a system of governance, there is a need for clearer conceptual development for both theory and practice.

Annual Review : practice and research in career counseling and development – 2008

The career development literature published in 2008 is summarized and presented thematically: (a) professional issues, (b) career assessment, (c) career development, (d) career theory and concepts, (e) career interventions, (f) advances in technology, (g) employment, (h) international perspectives, and (i) research design and methodology. Traditional and emerging theories and practices are robust and vibrant.

From literacy to multiliteracies : diverse learners and pedagogical practice

In this paper, we provide specific examples of the educational promises and problems that arise as multiliteracies pedagogical initiatives encounter conventional institutional beliefs and practices in mainstream schooling. This paper documents and characterizes the ways in which two specific digital learning initiatives were played out in two distinctive traditional schooling contexts, as experienced by two different student groups: one comprising an elite mainstream and the other an excluded minority. By learning from the instructive complications that arose out of attempts by innovative and well-meaning educators to provide students with more relevant learning experiences than currently exist in mainstream schooling, this paper contributes fresh perspectives and more nuanced understandings of how diverse learners and their teachers negotiate the opportunities and challenges of the New London Group's vision of a multiliteracies approach to literacy and learning. We conclude by arguing that, where multiliteracies are understood as “garnish” to the “pedagogical roast” of traditional code-based and print-based academic literacies, they will continue to work on the sidelines of mainstream schooling and be seen only as either useful extensions or helpful interventions for high-performing and at-risk students respectively.

An activity theory framework for industrial design

Ethnography has gained wide acceptance in the industrial design profession and curriculum as a means of understanding the user. However, there is considerable confusion about the particularities of its practice accompanied by the absence of an interoperable vocabulary. The consequent interdisciplinary effort is a power play between disciplines whereby the methodological view of ethnography marginalises its theoretical and analytical components. In doing so, it restricts the potential of ethnography suggesting the need for alternative methods of informing the design process. This article suggests that activity theory, with an emphasis on human activity as the fundamental unit of study, is an appropriate methodology for the generation of user requirements. The process is illustrated through the adaptation of an ethnographic case study, for the design of classroom furniture in India.

Nursing students’ knowledge and practice of infection control precautions : an educational intervention

Aim. This paper is a report of the effectiveness of a purpose-designed education program in improving undergraduate nursing students’ understanding and practice of infection control precautions. Background. The severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003 highlighted that healthcare workers were under-prepared for such an epidemic. While many in-service education sessions were arranged by institutions in response to the outbreak, preservice nursing education has overlooked preparation for handling such infectious disease epidemics. Method. A quasi-experimental design was used and a 16-hour, purpose-designed infection control education programme was implemented for preservice nursing students in southern Taiwan. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed at three time points during the period September 2005 to April 2006 to examine the sustainability and effectiveness of the intervention. Results. A total of 175 preservice nursing students participated in the study. Following the education programme, students in the intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement across time in their knowledge of these precautions [F(2, 180) = 13Æ53, P < 0Æ001] and confidence in resolving infectionrelated issues [F(1Æ79, 168Æ95) = 3Æ24] when compared with those in the control group. Conclusion. To improve nursing students’ capacity in responding to infectious epidemics, an educational programme that integrates the theme of infection precautions, learning theory and teaching strategies is recommended for all nursing institutes.

Promoting creativity in education : from policy to practice : an Australian perspective

In the 21st century, our global community is changing to increasingly value creativity and innovation as driving forces in our lives. This paper will investigate how educators need to move beyond the rhetoric to effective practices for teaching and fostering creativity. First, it will describe the nature of creativity at different levels, with a focus on personal and everyday creativity. It will then provide a brief snapshot of creativity in education through the lens of new policies and initiatives in Queensland, Australia. Next it will review two significant areas related to enriching and enhancing students’ creative engagement and production: 1) influential social and environmental factors; and 2) creative self-efficacy. Finally, this paper will propose that to effectively promote student creativity in schools, we need to not only emphasise policy, but also focus on establishing a shared discourse about the nature of creativity, and researching and implementing effective practices for supporting and fostering creativity. This paper has implications for educational policy, practice and teacher training that are applicable internationally.