Learning to lead for business growth – implications for supporting SMEs in Wales

The Welsh private and third sectors are heavily dependent on SMEs. Consequently the performance of SMEs is critical to the performance of the Welsh economy. Substantial public funds, particularly from European Structural Funds, have been allocated to support these since 2000. The majority of programmes thus funded have been led from within the Welsh Government. This paper reports interim evaluation findings from one intervention led by two Welsh higher education institutions (HEIs), namely the LEAD Wales programme. The programme is an extended intervention to support the leadership skills of owner-managers and incorporates a range of learning methods, including formal masterclasses, but emphasizes situated and experiential learning through action learning, coaching and peer-to-peer exchange exercises. The programme’s impact is assessed on the experiences of 325 participants, of whom 217 have completed the programme. The paper concludes that situated learning methods, through which participants are able to draw from shared history and experience over an extended period are critical to programme success. By contrast, short-term thematic teaching, based around more formal, hierarchical learning is less likely to yield significant and sustainable economic benefits. The implications of this for business support in Wales are discussed.

Análise da assimetria nas ações motoras em atletas profissionais de futsal

Lateral asymmetries are in everywhere as well as in all movements made by man, which become more evident in movements of sport. The asymmetry is particularly pointed out in futsal when players, even with clear opportunity of making use of their non-preferred foot, try to place the ball in order to execute the action with their preferred foot. The study of asymmetry in futsal is quite relevant, once ambidextrous players present advantages in their performances during a match, which can help futsal athletes not only in their performance improvement but also with the prescription of training. For this reason, the present study had questioned: is there symmetry/asymmetry at the performance of lower contralateral limbs during actions with the possession ball (pass, receiving a ball and kick into the goal) during a futsal match? Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the symmetry/asymmetry using the preferred and non-preferred foot in actions with the possession ball (pass, receiving and shoot) in adult Futsal's players (professional). The winner team of eight matches of the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup was analyzed. An average of 75 players had all their actions (pass, receiving a ball and shot on goal) using their lower limbs during the match analyzed. However, their actions with the head and torso were not analyzed. The games were acquired through a television broadcast. All eight matches were followed by an appraiser through a computer. The Skout® software was used to collect the data, taking notes of the player involved, the type of action (pass, receiving a ball and shot on goal), its foot used (preferred or non-preferred foot) and if the execution was correct or wrong. These data were saved in a text file, in the form of a matrix and imported into the Matlab® software, where was analyzed the following parameters: frequency of occurrence of each action with each foot and quantity of correct and wrong occurrences performed with...

Aktionenlernen mit Selbstorganisierenden Karten und Reinforcement Learning

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Entwicklung eines Funktionsapproximators und dessen Verwendung in Verfahren zum Lernen von diskreten und kontinuierlichen Aktionen: 1. Ein allgemeiner Funktionsapproximator – Locally Weighted Interpolating Growing Neural Gas (LWIGNG) – wird auf Basis eines Wachsenden Neuralen Gases (GNG) entwickelt. Die topologische Nachbarschaft in der Neuronenstruktur wird verwendet, um zwischen benachbarten Neuronen zu interpolieren und durch lokale Gewichtung die Approximation zu berechnen. Die Leistungsfähigkeit des Ansatzes, insbesondere in Hinsicht auf sich verändernde Zielfunktionen und sich verändernde Eingabeverteilungen, wird in verschiedenen Experimenten unter Beweis gestellt. 2. Zum Lernen diskreter Aktionen wird das LWIGNG-Verfahren mit Q-Learning zur Q-LWIGNG-Methode verbunden. Dafür muss der zugrunde liegende GNG-Algorithmus abgeändert werden, da die Eingabedaten beim Aktionenlernen eine bestimmte Reihenfolge haben. Q-LWIGNG erzielt sehr gute Ergebnisse beim Stabbalance- und beim Mountain-Car-Problem und gute Ergebnisse beim Acrobot-Problem. 3. Zum Lernen kontinuierlicher Aktionen wird ein REINFORCE-Algorithmus mit LWIGNG zur ReinforceGNG-Methode verbunden. Dabei wird eine Actor-Critic-Architektur eingesetzt, um aus zeitverzögerten Belohnungen zu lernen. LWIGNG approximiert sowohl die Zustands-Wertefunktion als auch die Politik, die in Form von situationsabhängigen Parametern einer Normalverteilung repräsentiert wird. ReinforceGNG wird erfolgreich zum Lernen von Bewegungen für einen simulierten 2-rädrigen Roboter eingesetzt, der einen rollenden Ball unter bestimmten Bedingungen abfangen soll.

Learning about Self Far From Home: A Pre-service Teacher’s Intercultural Development During an International Program

Preparing teachers to effectively teach culturally diverse students, teacher educators advocate for the use of cross-cultural field experiences, including international study abroad programs. This paper reports on a qualitative case study of two pre-service teachers’ intercultural development during a semester-long teacher education study abroad program in London, England. Findings indicate that international experiences provide a catalyst to move pre-service teachers forward in their intercultural development. Implications include the need for multicultural teacher educators to take a developmental approach to pre-service teacher education informed by theories of intercultural development and cultural learning developed within intercultural communications.

Improving learning in undergraduate control engineering courses using context-based learning models

Control Engineering is an essential part of university electrical engineering education. Normally, a control course requires considerable mathematical as well as engineering knowledge and is consequently regarded as a difficult course by many undergraduate students. From the academic point of view, how to help the students to improve their learning of the control engineering knowledge is therefore an important task which requires careful planning and innovative teaching methods. Traditionally, the didactic teaching approach has been used to teach the students the concepts needed to solve control problems. This approach is commonly adopted in many mathematics intensive courses; however it generally lacks reflection from the students to improve their learning. This paper addresses the practice of action learning and context-based learning models in teaching university control courses. This context-based approach has been practised in teaching several control engineering courses in a university with promising results, particularly in view of student learning performances.

O PERFIL DO PROFISSIONAL DE HOTELARIA: UM ESTUDO A PARTIR DAS DIRETRIZES CURRICULARES NACIONAIS DO ENSINO SUPERIOR EM HOTELARIA

Com oferta crescente e concorrência acirrada, o setor hoteleiro vive em constante preocupação com o desenvolvimento de estratégias que o torne mais competitivo. Desponta nessa área uma profissão em total ascensão. Trata se da profissão de hotelaria. Faz-se necessário superar o enfoque tradicional enraizado na educação profissional com olhar exclusivo ao treinamento e capacitação técnica de ostos de trabalho. Aprender a fazer não é mais suficiente. A ação profissional deverá embasar-se em sólidos conhecimentos científicos e tecnológicos que ofereçam ao profissional um grau maior e crescente de autonomia intelectual. As novas formas de gestão do trabalho presentes nas empresas e organizações modernas têm substituído trabalhadores de escasso grau de autonomia por trabalhadores com autonomia, decisão e capacidade para trabalhar em equipe, gerar tecnologia, prevenir disfunções, corrigir problemas e monitorar seus próprios desempenhos. Isso posto, a partir das diretrizes curriculares nacionais que norteiam a formação profissional do ensino superior em hotelaria, surgiu o principal questionamento dessa pesquisa. Qual é o perfil do profissional de hotelaria? Com essa questão norteadora desenhou-se o objetivo principal desse estudo que foi analisar o perfil do profissional de hotelaria a partir das diretrizes curriculares nacionais do ensino superior em hotelaria. Para atender a proposta deste trabalho, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva por meio de levantamento de dados primários e secundários. O procedimento deu-se por pesquisa documental e de campo. A amostra constituiu-se de cinco docentes da área que fossem egressos de um curso superior em hotelaria e que atuam ou tenham experiência no setor. Os resultados apontaram para uma consolidação das diretrizes curriculares nacionais enquanto enquadre e referência necessária estando adequada e próxima da exigência na formação do profissional em hotelaria. No entanto, percebe-se uma evocação para além de uma anamnese desse profissional. Percebe-se uma necessidade de compreender quem é esse ser humano que vai zelar e se dedicar a cuidar de outros seres humanos.

Good practice guide in learning and teaching

Once again this publication is produced to celebrate and promote good teaching and learning support and to offer encouragement to those imaginative and innovative staff who continue to wish to challenge students to learn to maximum effect. It is hoped that others will pick up some good ideas from the articles contained in this volume. We have again changed our approach for this 2006/07 edition (our fourth) of the Aston Business School Good Practice Guide. As before, some contributions were selected from those identifying interesting best practice on their Annual Module reflection forms in 2005/2006. Other contributors received HELM (Research Centre in Higher Education Learning and Management) small research grants in 2005/2006. Part of the conditions were for them to write an article for this publication. We have also been less tight on the length of the articles this year. Some contributions are, therefore, on the way to being journal articles. HELM will be working with these authors to help develop these for publication. The themes covered in this year?s articles are all central to the issues faced by those providing HE teaching and learning opportunities in the 21st Century. Specifically this is providing support and feedback to students in large classes, embracing new uses of technology to encourage active learning and addressing cultural issues in a diverse student population. Michael Grojean and Yves Guillaume used Blackboard™ to give a more interactive learning experience and improve feedback to students. It would be easy for other staff to adopt this approach. Patrick Tissington and Qin Zhou (HELM small research grant holders) were keen to improve the efficiency of student support, as does Roger McDermott. Celine Chew shares her action learning project, completed as part of the Aston University PG Certificate in Teaching and Learning. Her use of Blackboard™ puts emphasis on the learner having to do something to help them meet the learning outcomes. This is what learning should be like, but many of our students seem used to a more passive learning experience, so much needs to be done on changing expectations and cultures about learning. Regina Herzfeldt also looks at cultures. She was awarded a HELM small research grant and carried out some significant new research on cultural diversity in ABS and what it means for developing teaching methods. Her results fit in with what many of us are experiencing in practice. Gina leaves us with some challenges for the future. Her paper certainly needs to be published. This volume finishes with Stuart Cooper and Matt Davies reflecting on how to keep students busy in lectures and Pavel Albores working with students on podcasting. Pavel?s work, which was the result of another HELM small research grant, will also be prepared for publication as a journal article. The students learnt more from this work that any formal lecture and Pavel will be using the approach again this year. Some staff have been awarded HELM small research grants in 2006/07 and these will be published in the next Good Practice Guide. In the second volume we mentioned the launch of the School?s Research Centre in Higher Education Learning and Management (HELM). Since then HELM has stimulated a lot of activity across the School (and University) particularly linking research and teaching. A list of the HELM seminars for 2006/2007 is listed as Appendix 1 of this publication. Further details can be obtained from Catherine Foster (c.s.foster@aston.ac.uk), who coordinates the HELM seminars. For 2006 and 2005 HELM listed, 20 refereed journal articles, 7 book chapters, 1 published conference papers, 20 conference presentations, two official reports, nine working papers and £71,535 of grant money produced in this research area across the School. I hope that this shows that reflection on learning is alive and well in ABS. We have also been working on a list of target journals to guide ABS staff who wish to publish in this area. These are included as Appendix 2 of this publication. May I thank the contributors for taking time out of their busy schedules to write the articles and to Julie Green, the Quality Manager, for putting the varying diverse approaches into a coherent and publishable form and for agreeing to fund the printing of this volume.

Experimenting with supply chain learning (SCL):supplier diversity and ethnic minority businesses

This paper reports on an innovative UK-based ‘Supply Chain Learning’ (SCL) initiative to encourage the corporate sector to consider supplier diversity in respect of ethnic minority businesses. This follows academic and policy interest in programmes to empower ethnic minority enterprises to achieve breakout to mainstream markets and business growth. The first phase of the initiative, entitled Supplier Development East Midlands (SDEM) is examined. By adopting an inter-organisational action learning approach, some of the key attributes of the programme are delineated, focusing on the recurrent action-reflection cycle taking place in a learning group comprising SDEM, LPOs (Large Purchasing Organisations) and small EMSs (Ethnic Minority Suppliers).

Total productive maintenance implementation in the newspaper printing industry:an action research approach

The objective of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is to maximise plant and equipment effectiveness, to create a sense of ownership for operators, and promote continuous improvement through small group activities involving production, engineering and maintenance personnel. This paper describes and analyses a case study of TPM implementation at a newspaper printing house in Singapore. However, rather than adopting more conventional implementation methods such as employing consultants or through a project using external training, a unique approach was adopted based on Action Research using a spiral of cycles of planning, acting observing and reflecting. An Action Research team of company personnel was specially formed to undertake the necessary fieldwork. The team subsequently assisted with administering the resulting action plan. The main sources of maintenance and operational data were from interviews with shop floor workers, participative observation and reviews conducted with members of the team. Content analysis using appropriate statistical techniques was used to test the significance of changes in performance between the start and completion of the TPM programme. The paper identifies the characteristics associated with the Action Research method when used to implement TPM and discusses the applicability of the approach in related industries and processes.

El Aprendizaje Cooperativo, un camino hacia la inclusión educativa

La atención a la diversidad se ha convertido en un elemento básico de los sistemas educativos de muchos países. Las respuestas educativas que se han desarrollado en las escuelas, aquellas que entienden la diversidad como un valor enriquecer dentro del proceso educativo, han dado lugar a modelos muy diferentes. A nivel internacional, hay un movimiento que defiende la necesidad de promover los modelos inclusivos, que entienden la diferencia como una oportunidad para aprender juntos, y sitúa la metodología como uno de los pilares básicos del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. En este sentido, el aprendizaje basado en la cooperación se presenta como una propuesta alternativa para trabajar en la escuela. Diferentes investigaciones realizadas a lo lardo de los últimos años ponen en evidencia las importantes contribuciones del trabajo cooperativo para la adquisición de valores y actitudes que mejoran la convivencia al mismo tiempo que facilitan un mejor desarrollo personal para todo el alumnado. Nuestro trabajo en la escuela primaria y secundaria nos ha permitido reflexionar y recoger información sobre nuestra experiencia alrededor de la atención a la diversidad en el marco de una escola que pretende caminar a la inclusión. El artículo presenta una reflexión sobre las contribuciones del aprendizaje cooperativo dentro de una escuela que busca la inclusión de todos los chicos y las chicas, basándonos para ello en nuestras experiencias profesionales propias así como en el análisis y la interpretación de las contribuciones principales recogidas en la bibliografía nacional e internacional.

The effectiveness of a nurse practitioner-led pain management team in long-term care: A mixed methods study

BACKGROUND: Considering the high rates of pain as well as its under-management in long-term care (LTC) settings, research is needed to explore innovations in pain management that take into account limited resource realities. It has been suggested that nurse practitioners, working within an inter-professional model, could potentially address the under-management of pain in LTC.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the effectiveness of implementing a nurse practitioner-led, inter-professional pain management team in LTC in improving (a) pain-related resident outcomes; (b) clinical practice behaviours (e.g., documentation of pain assessments, use of non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions); and, (c) quality of pain medication prescribing practices.

METHODS: A mixed method design was used to evaluate a nurse practitioner-led pain management team, including both a quantitative and qualitative component. Using a controlled before-after study, six LTC homes were allocated to one of three groups: 1) a nurse practitioner-led pain team (full intervention); 2) nurse practitioner but no pain management team (partial intervention); or, 3) no nurse practitioner, no pain management team (control group). In total, 345 LTC residents were recruited to participate in the study; 139 residents for the full intervention group, 108 for the partial intervention group, and 98 residents for the control group. Data was collected in Canada from 2010 to 2012.

RESULTS: Implementing a nurse practitioner-led pain team in LTC significantly reduced residents' pain and improved functional status compared to usual care without access to a nurse practitioner. Positive changes in clinical practice behaviours (e.g., assessing pain, developing care plans related to pain management, documenting effectiveness of pain interventions) occurred over the intervention period for both the nurse practitioner-led pain team and nurse practitioner-only groups; these changes did not occur to the same extent, if at all, in the control group. Qualitative analysis highlighted the perceived benefits of LTC staff about having access to a nurse practitioner and benefits of the pain team, along with barriers to managing pain in LTC.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study showed that implementing a nurse practitioner-led pain team can significantly improve resident pain and functional status as well as clinical practice behaviours of LTC staff. LTC homes should employ a nurse practitioner, ideally located onsite as opposed to an offsite consultative role, to enhance inter-professional collaboration and facilitate more consistent and timely access to pain management.

A consolidação da relação entre a teoria e a prática na construção da profissionalidade docente

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, Sob orientação Professora Doutora Brigite Carvalho da Silva | Mestre Maria Ivone Couto Monforte das Neves.

Relatório de estágio de qualificação profissional

Relatório EPE - Relatório de estágio em Educação Pré-Escolar: O presente relatório de estágio de qualificação profissional surge como parte integrante do 2º ciclo de estudos do mestrado em educação pré-escolar e ensino do 1º ciclo do ensino básico, na escola superior de educação do instituto politécnico do Porto, no âmbito da unidade curricular de prática pedagógica supervisionada, no contexto de educação pré-escolar. Este relatório visa refletir o percurso da mestranda ao longo do período de prática profissional no contexto. Com a perspetiva de que melhor se compreendam as ações desenvolvidas, este documento incide nos referentes teóricos e legais que sustentaram as ações da mestranda, bem como na teoria subjacente à sua prática. Neste sentido, durante o seu percurso, a mestranda baseou-se em práticas construtivistas, que fomentam a aprendizagem ativa das crianças, bem como o processo de investigação-ação por parte do educador. No que concerne ao paradigma da investigação-ação, este pressupõe a observação, planificação, avaliação e reflexão. Importa salientar que o processo reflexivo se revelou constante ao longo de todo o processo, uma vez que a reflexão permite uma avaliação constante das práticas, bem como a sua adequação às diferentes crianças e situações. Relativamente ao processo educativo, centrou-se nas relações estabelecidas com as crianças, com a restante comunidade educativa da instituição e com os encarregados de educação. Estas relações contribuíram, de forma fulcral, para a formação pessoal e evolução da mestranda bem como para o desenvolvimento das suas competências profissionais.

Guided portfolio writing as a scaffold for reflective learning in in-service contexts: a case study

Language is widely recognized as an inescapable mediating tool for professional learning, and with this text we want to contribute to a better understanding of the particular role that guided writing can play in in-service professional reflective learning. We analysed one pre-school teacher’s written portfolio, the construction of which was guided to scaffold deep thinking about (and the transference of theory into) practice during participation in an in-service program about language education. Our case study shows that the writing process sustained robust learning about professional knowing, doing and learning itself: The teacher elaborated an integrative ethical understanding of the discussed theory, fully experienced newly informed practices and assessed her own learning by using theory to confront her previous knowledge and practices. Throughout the portfolio, the learning stance revealed by her voice varied accordingly. The study illustrates the potential of guided writing to scaffold reflective learning in in-service contexts.