Community engagement : exploring a relational approach to consultation and collaborative practice in Australia

Community engagement is increasingly being employed by Australian organizations as a key strategy to incorporate representative community opinions into decision-making. This trend is reflected by Australian local and state governments legislating for community consultation in major infrastructure projects and the increasing role of public relations practitioners to manage these programs. This study explores community engagement founded on relational theory and proposed a typology of engagement employing a relational framework. An exploratory study of 20 Australian infrastructure projects with a mandatory consultation component is analyzed applying this framework. Results indicate little discrimination between the terms engagement, consultation, and participation; however, a range of tactics supported both collaborative and advocacy approaches. The implications for adopting a relational framework for community engagement programs are discussed.

Community engagement and artful academic staff development : a return on expectations through collaborative practice

The changing ownership of roles in organisational work-life leads this paper to examine what universities are doing in their academic development practice through research at an Australian university where ‘artful’ collaboration with the real world aims to build capability for innovative academic community engagement. The paper also presents findings on the ‘return on expectations’ (Hodges, 2004) of community engagement for both academics and their organisational supervisors.

Bug reproduction : a collaborative practice within software maintenance activities

Software development settings provide a great opportunity for CSCW researchers to study collaborative work. In this paper, we explore a specific work practice called bug reproduction that is a part of the software bug-fixing process. Bug re-production is a highly collaborative process by which software developers attempt to locally replicate the ‘environment’ within which a bug was originally encountered. Customers, who encounter bugs in their everyday use of systems, play an important role in bug reproduction as they provide useful information to developers, in the form of steps for reproduction, software screenshots, trace logs, and other ways to describe a problem. Bug reproduction, however, poses major hurdles in software maintenance as it is often challenging to replicate the contextual aspects that are at play at the customers’ end. To study the bug reproduction process from a human-centered perspective, we carried out an ethnographic study at a multinational engineering company. Using semi-structured interviews, a questionnaire and half-a-day observation of sixteen software developers working on different software maintenance projects, we studied bug reproduction. In this pa-per, we present a holistic view of bug reproduction practices from a real-world set-ting and discuss implications for designing tools to address the challenges developers face during bug reproduction.

Collaborative practice:a strategy to improve the relevance of health services research.

Health services research has emerged as a tool for decision makers to make services more effective and efficient. While its value as a basis for decision making is well established, the incorporation of such evidence into decision making remains inconsistent. To this end, strengthening collaborative relationships between researchers and healthcare decision makers has been identified as a significant strategy for putting research evidence into practice.

Innovating in Teaching Collaborative Practice with a Large Student Cohort at Université de Montréal

Université de Montréal implemented an interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum on collaborative practice in a large cohort of students (>1,100) from 10 health sciences and psychosocial sciences training programs. It is made up of three one-credit undergraduate courses (CSS1900, CSS2900, CSS3900) spanning the first 3 years of training. The course content and activities aim for development of the six competency domains identified by the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative. This paper describes the IPE curriculum and highlights the features contributing to its success and originality. Among main success key factors were: administrative cooperation among participating faculties, educators eager to develop innovative approaches, extensive use of clinical situations conducive to knowledge and skill application, strong logistic support, close cooperation with health care delivery organizations, and partnership between clinicians and patients. A distinguishing feature of this IPE curriculum is the concept of partnership in care between the patient and caregivers. Patients’ representatives were involved in course planning, and patients were trained to become patients-as-trainers (PT) and cofacilitate interprofessional discussion workshops. They give feed- back to students regarding integration and application of the patient partnership concept from a patient’s point of view. Lire l'article/Read the article : http://openurl.ingenta.com/content?genre=article&issn=0090-7421&volume=42&issue=4&spage=97E&epage=106E

Therapeutic relationships in specialist palliative care nursing practice.

There has been limited research into the scope or standards of specialist palliative care nursing practice in an Australian context. This study sought to develop a competency framework that described the core domains of specialist palliative care nursing. This article explores one key domain of specialist palliative care nursing practice - therapeutic relationships - that was identified as underpinning other domains of practice. A mixed method was used, involving a literature review, a survey including practice exemplars and an interview of specialist palliative care nurses. Seventy-four registered nurses working in designated specialist palliative care nursing roles from each Australian state and mainland territory were involved. The nurses represented metropolitan, regional, rural and remote communities, various inpatient facilities and community practice settings. Five core domains of specialist palliative care nursing practice were identified: complex supportive care, collaborative practice, leadership, improving practice and therapeutic relationships. Therapeutic relationships were identified as the central domain of specialist palliative care nursing practice to which all other domains were inextricably linked.

Implementation and evaluation of a new model of nursing practice in radiation oncology

Patients undergoing radiation therapy for cancer face a series of challenges that require support from a multidisciplinary team which includes radiation oncology nurses. However, the specific contribution of nursing, and the models of care that best support the delivery of nursing interventions in the radiotherapy setting, is not well described. In this case study, the Interaction Model of Client Health Behaviour and the associated principles of person-centred care were incorporated into a new model of care that was implemented in one radiation oncology setting in Brisbane, Australia. The new model of care was operationalised through a Primary Nursing/Collaborative Practice framework. To evaluate the impact of the new model for patients and health professionals, multiple sources of data were collected from patients and clinical staff prior to, during, and 18 months following introduction of the practice redesign. One cohort of patients and clinical staff completed surveys incorporating measures of key outcomes immediately prior to implementation of the model, while a second cohort of patients and clinical staff completed these same surveys 18 months following introduction of the model. In-depth interviews were also conducted with nursing, medical and allied health staff throughout the implementation phase to obtain a more comprehensive account of the processes and outcomes associated with implementing such a model. From the patients’ perspectives, this study demonstrated that, although adverse effects of radiotherapy continue to affect patient well-being, patients continue to be satisfied with nursing care in this specialty, and that they generally reported high levels of functioning despite undergoing a curative course of radiotherapy. From the health professionals’ perspective, there was evidence of attitudinal change by nursing staff within the radiotherapy department which reflected a greater understanding and appreciation of a more person-centred approach to care. Importantly, this case study has also confirmed that a range of factors need to be considered when redesigning nursing practice in the radiotherapy setting, as the challenges associated with changing traditional practices, ensuring multidisciplinary approaches to care, and resourcing a new model were experienced. The findings from this study suggest that the move from a relatively functional approach to a person-centred approach in the radiotherapy setting has contributed to some improvements in the provision of individualised and coordinated patient care. However, this study has also highlighted that primary nursing may be limited in its approach as a framework for patient care unless it is supported by a whole team approach, an appropriate supportive governance model, and sufficient resourcing. Introducing such a model thus requires effective education, preparation and ongoing support for the whole team. The challenges of providing care in the context of complex interdisciplinary relationships have been highlighted by this study. Aspects of this study may assist in planning further nursing interventions for patients undergoing radiotherapy for cancer, and continue to enhance the contribution of the radiation oncology nurse to improved patient outcomes.

Is the public sector ready to collaborate? Human resource implications of collaborative Arrangements

Relational governance arrangements across agencies and sectors have become prevalent as a means for government to become more responsive and effective in addressing complex, large scale or ‘wicked’ problems. The primary characteristic of such ‘collaborative’ arrangements is the utilisation of the joint capacities of multiple organisations to achieve collaborative advantage, which Huxham (1993) defines as the attainment of creative outcomes that are beyond the ability of single agencies to achieve. Attaining collaborative advantage requires organisations to develop collaborative capabilities that prepare organisations for collaborative practice (Huxham, 1993b). Further, collaborations require considerable investment of staff effort that could potentially be used beneficially elsewhere by both the government and non-government organisations involved in collaboration (Keast and Mandell, 2010). Collaborative arrangements to deliver services therefore requires a reconsideration of the way in which resources, including human resources, are conceptualised and deployed as well as changes to both the structure of public service agencies and the systems and processes by which they operate (Keast, forthcoming). A main aim of academic research and theorising has been to explore and define the requisite characteristics to achieve collaborative advantage. Such research has tended to focus on definitional, structural (Turrini, Cristofoli, Frosini, & Nasi, 2009) and organisational (Huxham, 1993) aspects and less on the roles government plays within cross-organisational or cross-sectoral arrangements. Ferlie and Steane (2002) note that there has been a general trend towards management led reforms of public agencies including the HRM practices utilised. Such trends have been significantly influenced by New Public Management (NPM) ideology with limited consideration to the implications for HRM practice in collaborative, rather than market contexts. Utilising case study data of a suite of collaborative efforts in Queensland, Australia, collected over a decade, this paper presents an examination of the network roles government agencies undertake. Implications for HRM in public sector agencies working within networked arrangements are drawn and implications for job design, recruitment, deployment and staff development are presented. The paper also makes theoretical advances in our understanding of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) in network settings. While networks form part of the strategic armoury of government, networks operate to achieve collaborative advantage. SHRM with its focus on competitive advantage is argued to be appropriate in market situations, however is not an ideal conceptualisation in network situations. Commencing with an overview of literature on networks and network effectiveness, the paper presents the case studies and methodology; provides findings from the case studies in regard to the roles of government to achieve collaborative advantage and implications for HRM practice are presented. Implications for SHRM are considered.

Dietetic confidence working with clients with depression/anxiety is associated with client-focused practice and advocacy skills

Confidence in a professional role is a key element in the successful transition to competent practice. New graduate dietitians report that whilst they are confident about their general dietetic ability, they are not as confident when working with clients experiencing depression or anxiety. This study aimed to develop and validate a scale which measured confidence about working with clients with depression/anxiety. The 21-item Dietetic Collaborative Practice Scale was developed using research about dietetic practice in mental health (Dowding et al., 2011), coping self-efficacy literature (Chesney et al., 2006) and collaboration with industry experts. A convenience sample of 189 Australian dietitians completed the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis suggests that dietetic confidence is best represented by a two-dimensional solution consisting of (a) Client-focused practice (CFP, 50.8% variance); and (b) Advocacy for self and client care (ASC, 9.7% variance). The alpha coefficient of both dimensions (CFP α=.95, ASC α=.84) demonstrates the internal consistency of components. Combined, these two components account for 60.5% of variance. The scale components were not related to years of practice or working with mental health clients but were significantly related to overall dietetic confidence (ODC). Correlation coefficients between ODC and CFP were .501 (p<.01), ODC and ASC were correlated at .465 (p<.01) and CFP and number of years as a dietitian were weakly correlated at 0.24 (p<.05). Results have implications for dietetic training and professional development. Client focus and advocacy for self and client appear to be important factors in overall confidence as a dietitian.

Fabrication and Ms Conduct: Scrutinising Practice Through Feminist Theory

This paper describes a collaborative practice, between an architect (the author) and a textile designer; its outcomes and the critical theoretical and feminist contexts from which the practice evolved and to which it still responds. The practice advocates the interweaving of more than the yarns, material and cultures on which it is physically based, but also the intertwining of theory and technology as a means to advance architectural practice. This is done in response to Ahrentzen’s charge to feminist scholars and practitioners to ‘embrace not only the abstract conceptual nature of much postmodernist theorizing but also that derived from the serious “hanging out”, looking at, listening to, scrutinising and theorizing lived experiences of the everyday’, in this instance the everyday practice of combining concrete and textiles.

Ethics in Media Practice

The ethics of collaborative practice in documentary filmmaking research

'One cut too many?' History and film: a practice-based case study

This article explores the different ways that film-makers and historians approach the narrating of the past. It draws upon a collaborative, practice-based case study of a feature film project, The enigma of Frank Ryan, in order to explore the role of the history film as a vehicle for extending historical understanding. In the dialogue between film-maker and historian, a range of issues regarding the import of the history film for the practice or 'poetics' of history is explored.

Assessing the impact of staff development on nursing practice.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of a geriatric nursing education workshop on nursing staff competency. Forty-three nurses participated in the study, which used an intervention and comparison group research design with pretest and posttest measures. The results indicated that participation in the workshop increased nurses' knowledge of gerontologic issues and improved nurses' ability to assess patients and to plan and document nursing interventions in patient charts. The intervention did not have a significant impact on collaborative practice, role ambiguity, or job satisfaction.

Collaborative evolution: the context surrounding the formation and the effectiveness of a school partnership in a divided community in Northern Ireland

This paper examines an initiative promoting collaboration between schools located in a city setting in Northern Ireland, which is broadly divided along ethnic and political lines. The schools involved, like the vast majority of schools in Northern Ireland, educate Protestant and Catholic children separately. This presents particular challenges for school collaboration as it implies the establishment of new, connected relationships in an education system, which is historically and contemporaneously more characterised by division. Since 2007, the schools in this study have been involved in an education initiative which promotes cross-sectoral shared learning in core areas of the curriculum with a view to promoting school improvement; the additional, indirect goal is also about improving community relations. However, over this period, the relationship between the institutions has deepened, leading schools to examine how they can sustain partnership and evolve collaborative practice. This paper explores how the partnership has evolved and assesses its effectiveness as a collaborative enterprise. The paper concludes by demonstrating how effective collaboration between schools in Northern Ireland mitigates the potentially negative impacts of educating children separately, but also how effective models of school collaboration are capable of providing enhanced learning opportunities for pupils and are also capable of developing the communities in which they are located.