Ethical dilemmas : a model to understand teacher practice

Over recent decades, the field of ethics has been the focus of increasing attention in teaching. This is not surprising given that teaching is a moral activity that is heavily values-laden. Because of this, teachers face ethical dilemmas in the course of their daily work. This paper presents an ethical decision-making model that helps to explain the decision-making processes that individuals or groups are likely to experience when confronted by an ethical dilemma. In order to make sense of the model, we put forward three short ethical dilemma scenarios facing teachers and apply the model to interpret them. Here we identify the critical incident, the forces at play that help to illuminate the incident, the choices confronting the individual and the implications of these choices for the individual, organization and community. Based on our analysis and the wider literature we identify several strategies that may help to minimize the impact of ethical dilemmas. These include the importance of sharing dilemmas with trusted others; having institutional structures in schools that lessen the emergence of harmful actions occurring; the necessity for individual teachers to articulate their own personal and professional ethics; acknowledging that dilemmas have multiple forces at play; the need to educate colleagues about specific issues; and the necessity of appropriate preparation and support for teachers. Of these strategies, providing support for teachers via professional development is explored more fully.

Integrated Acquisition Engineering Model for acquiring heavy engineering assets

In asset intensive industries such as mining, oil & gas, utilities etc. most of the capital expenditure happens on acquiring engineering assets. Process of acquiring assets is called as “Procurement” or “Acquisition”. An asset procurement decision should be taken in consideration with the installation, commissioning, operational, maintenance and disposal needs of an asset or spare. However, such cross-functional collaboration and communication does not appear to happen between engineering, maintenance, warehousing and procurement functions in many asset intensive industries. Acquisition planning and execution are two distinct parts of asset acquisition process. Acquisition planning or procurement planning is responsible for determining exactly what is required to be purchased. It is important that an asset acquisition decision is the result of cross-functional decision making process. An acquisition decision leads to a formal purchase order. Most costly asset decisions occur even before they are acquired. Therefore, acquisition decision should be an outcome of an integrated planning & decision making process. Asset intensive organizations both, Government and non Government in Australia spent AUD 102.5 Billion on asset acquisition in year 2008-09. There is widespread evidence of many assets and spare not being used or utilized and in the end are written off. This clearly shows that many organizations end up buying assets or spares which were not required or non-conforming to the needs of user functions. It is due the fact that strategic and software driven procurement process do not consider all the requirements from various functions within the organization which contribute to the operation and maintenance of the asset over its life cycle. There is a lot of research done on how to implement an effective procurement process. There are numerous software solutions available for executing a procurement process. However, not much research is done on how to arrive at a cross functional procurement planning process. It is also important to link procurement planning process to procurement execution process. This research will discuss ““Acquisition Engineering Model” (AEM) framework, which aims at assisting acquisition decision making based on various criteria to satisfy cross-functional organizational requirements. Acquisition Engineering Model (AEM) will consider inputs from corporate asset management strategy, production management, maintenance management, warehousing, finance and HSE. Therefore, it is essential that the multi-criteria driven acquisition planning process is carried out and its output is fed to the asset acquisition (procurement execution) process. An effective procurement decision making framework to perform acquisition planning which considers various functional criteria will be discussed in this paper.

Moving tele-monitoring and tele-treatment from promise to practice : a business model approach for a chronic lower back pain application

The availability of new information and communication technologies creates opportunities for new, mobile tele-health services. While many promising tele-health projects deliver working R&D prototypes, they often do not result in actual deployment. We aim to identify critical issues than can increase our understanding and enhance the viability of the mobile tele-health services beyond the R&D phase by developing a business model. The present study describes the systematic development and evaluation of a service-oriented business model for tele-monitoring and -treatment of chronic lower back pain patients based on a mobile technology prototype. We address challenges of multi-sector collaboration and disruptive innovation.

Design of a preliminary error impact analysis model for spatial safety assessment of earthmoving operations

Regardless of technology benefits, safety planners still face difficulties explaining errors related to the use of different technologies and evaluating how the errors impact the performance of safety decision making. This paper presents a preliminary error impact analysis testbed to model object identification and tracking errors caused by image-based devices and algorithms and to analyze the impact of the errors for spatial safety assessment of earthmoving and surface mining activities. More specifically, this research designed a testbed to model workspaces for earthmoving operations, to simulate safety-related violations, and to apply different object identification and tracking errors on the data collected and processed for spatial safety assessment. Three different cases were analyzed based on actual earthmoving operations conducted at a limestone quarry. Using the testbed, the impacts of the errors were investigated for the safety planning purpose.

Composition and source identification of road deposited pollutants

Road deposited solids are a mix of pollutants originating from a range of anthropogenic sources common to urban land uses and soil inputs from surrounding areas. These particles accumulate potentially toxic pollutants thereby posing a threat to receiving waters. Reliable estimation of sources of particulate pollutants in build-up and quantification of particle composition is important for the development of best management practices for stormwater quality mitigation. The research study analysed build-up pollutants from sixteen different urban road surfaces and soil from four background locations. The road surfaces were selected from residential, industrial and commercial land uses from four suburbs in Gold Coast, Australia. Collected build-up samples were analysed for solids load, organic matter and mineralogy. The soil samples were analysed for mineralogy. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of mineralogical data, along with multivariate data analysis were employed to identify the relative source contributions to road deposited solids. The build-up load on road surfaces in different suburbs showed significant differences due to the nature of anthropogenic activities, road texture depth and antecedent dry period. Analysis revealed that build-up pollutants consists primarily of soil derived minerals (60%) and the remainder is composed of traffic generated pollutants and organic matter. Major mineral components detected were quartz and potential clay forming minerals such as albite, microline, chlorite and muscovite. An average of 40-50% of build-up pollutants by weight was made up of quartz. Comparison of the mineral component of build-up pollutants with background soil samples indicated that the minerals primarily originate from surrounding soils. About 2.2% of build-up pollutants were organic matter which originates largely from plant matter. Traffic related pollutants which are potentially toxic to the receiving water environment represented about 30% of the build-up pollutants at the study sites.

On the empirical eigenvalue distribution of slotted amplify-and-forward relaying protocol model

In this paper we consider the case of large cooperative communication systems where terminals use the protocol known as slotted amplify-and-forward protocol to aid the source in its transmission. Using the perturbation expansion methods of resolvents and large deviation techniques we obtain an expression for the Stieltjes transform of the asymptotic eigenvalue distribution of a sample covariance random matrix of the type HH† where H is the channel matrix of the transmission model for the transmission protocol we consider. We prove that the resulting expression is similar to the Stieltjes transform in its quadratic equation form for the Marcenko-Pastur distribution.

Testing and simulation of extruded polystyrene foam at low to moderate strain rates

This paper presents a study into the behaviour of extruded polystyrene foam at low strain rates. The foam is being studied in order assess its potential for use as part of a new innovative design of portable road safety barrier the aim to consume less water and reduce rates of serious injury. The foam was tested at a range of low strain rates, with the stress and strain behaviour of the foam specimens being recorded. The energy absorption capabilities of the foam were assessed as well as the response of the foam to multiple loadings. The experimental data was then used to create a material model of the foam for use in the explicit finite element solver LS-DYNA. Simulations were carried out using the material model which showed excellent correlation between the numerical material model and the experimental data.

Stakeholder engagement by governance networks

Public awareness of large infrastructure projects, many of which are delivered through networked arrangements is high for several reasons. These projects often involve significant public investment; they may involve multiple and conflicting stakeholders and can potentially have significant environmental impacts (Lim and Yang, 2008). To produce positive outcomes from infrastructure delivery it is imperative that stakeholder “buy in” be obtained particularly about decisions relating to the scale and location of infrastructure. Given the likelihood that stakeholders will have different levels of interest and investment in project outcomes, failure to manage this dynamic could potentially jeopardise project delivery by delaying or halting the construction of essential infrastructure. Consequently, stakeholder engagement has come to constitute a critical activity in infrastructure development delivered through networks. This paper draws on stakeholder theory and governance network theory and provides insights into how three multi-level networks within the Roads Alliance in Queensland engage with stakeholders in the delivery of road infrastructure. New knowledge about stakeholders has been obtained by testing a model of Stakeholder Salience and Engagement which combines and extends the stakeholder identification and salience theory and the ladder of stakeholder management and engagement. By applying this model, the broad research question: “How do governance networks engage with stakeholders?” has been addressed. A multiple embedded case study design was selected as the overall approach to explore, describe, explain and evaluate how stakeholder engagement occurred in three governance networks delivering road infrastructure in Queensland. The outcomes of this research contribute to and extend stakeholder theory by showing how stakeholder salience impacts on decisions about the types of engagement processes implemented. Governance network theory is extended by showing how governance networks interact with stakeholders. From a practical perspective this research provides governance networks with an indication of how to more effectively undertake engagement with different types of stakeholders.

Long range relations : stakeholder engagement in Queensland road construction

This paper presents the historical and contextual background of road construction by state and local government in Queensland. It also highlights some key events that have shaped stakeholder participation in road infrastructure planning and delivery in Queensland. This synthesis was developed from a review of publications, organisational documents and interviews. To set the scene, the factors that shaped road delivery will be discussed.

Development and evaluation of an integrated clinical learning model to inform continuing education for acute care nurses

Background Significant ongoing learning needs for nurses have occurred as a direct result of the continuous introduction of technological innovations and research developments in the healthcare environment. Despite an increased worldwide emphasis on the importance of continuing education, there continues to be an absence of empirical evidence of program and session effectiveness. Few studies determine whether continuing education enhances or develops practice and the relative cost benefits of health professionals’ participation in professional development. The implications for future clinical practice and associated educational approaches to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse multigenerational and multicultural workforce are also not well documented. There is minimal research confirming that continuing education programs contribute to improved patient outcomes, nurses’ earlier detection of patient deterioration or that standards of continuing competence are maintained. Crucially, evidence-based practice is demonstrated and international quality and safety benchmarks are adhered to. An integrated clinical learning model was developed to inform ongoing education for acute care nurses. Educational strategies included the use of integrated learning approaches, interactive teaching concepts and learner-centred pedagogies. A Respiratory Skills Update education (ReSKU) program was used as the content for the educational intervention to inform surgical nurses’ clinical practice in the area of respiratory assessment. The aim of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing the ReSKU program using teaching and learning strategies, in the context of organisational utility, on improving surgical nurses’ practice in the area of respiratory assessment. The education program aimed to facilitate better awareness, knowledge and understanding of respiratory dysfunction in the postoperative clinical environment. This research was guided by the work of Forneris (2004), who developed a theoretical framework to operationalise a critical thinking process incorporating the complexities of the clinical context. The framework used educational strategies that are learner-centred and participatory. These strategies aimed to engage the clinician in dynamic thinking processes in clinical practice situations guided by coaches and educators. Methods A quasi experimental pre test, post test non–equivalent control group design was used to evaluate the impact of the ReSKU program on the clinical practice of surgical nurses. The research tested the hypothesis that participation in the ReSKU program improves the reported beliefs and attitudes of surgical nurses, increases their knowledge and reported use of respiratory assessment skills. The study was conducted in a 400 bed regional referral public hospital, the central hub of three smaller hospitals, in a health district servicing the coastal and hinterland areas north of Brisbane. The sample included 90 nurses working in the three surgical wards eligible for inclusion in the study. The experimental group consisted of 36 surgical nurses who had chosen to attend the ReSKU program and consented to be part of the study intervention group. The comparison group included the 39 surgical nurses who elected not to attend the ReSKU program, but agreed to participate in the study. Findings One of the most notable findings was that nurses choosing not to participate were older, more experienced and less well educated. The data demonstrated that there was a barrier for training which impacted on educational strategies as this mature aged cohort was less likely to take up educational opportunities. The study demonstrated statistically significant differences between groups regarding reported use of respiratory skills, three months after ReSKU program attendance. Between group data analysis indicated that the intervention group’s reported beliefs and attitudes pertaining to subscale descriptors showed statistically significant differences in three of the six subscales following attendance at the ReSKU program. These subscales included influence on nursing care, educational preparation and clinical development. Findings suggest that the use of an integrated educational model underpinned by a robust theoretical framework is a strong factor in some perceptions of the ReSKU program relating to attitudes and behaviour. There were minimal differences in knowledge between groups across time. Conclusions This study was consistent with contemporary educational approaches using multi-modal, interactive teaching strategies and a robust overarching theoretical framework to support study concepts. The construct of critical thinking in the clinical context, combined with clinical reasoning and purposeful and collective reflection, was a powerful educational strategy to enhance competency and capability in clinicians.