Search Results for
"human"

To understand what constitutes errors at work and, in particular, how productive learning might arise from those errors, it is necessary to go beyond viewing errors as only objective social facts. That is, only considering errors from the perspective of observable shortfalls in performance, as judged by others. Instead, it is necessary to also account for other and, in particular, personal premises for what constitutes errors at work, and how learning occurs as a consequence of errors and is shaped by cultural, situational and personal factors. In taking these ideas forward, this chapter discusses human performance at work, and proposes that making errors is central to learning, and that a consideration of errors, and how productive learning might arise from them, needs to be premised on socio-personal factors, not just as objective facts: a mistake made, even though that can be the case. Ultimately, both performance at work and learning are held as being socio-personal processes shaped through individuals’ engagement and negotiation with the social world. Therefore, to understand the nature of errors and their associations with learning, it is necessary to consider the contributions and relationships between objective social reality and individuals’ subjective concerns of experience and learning. © 2012, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Traditionally, training in gastrointestinal endoscopy has been based upon an apprenticeship model, with novice endoscopists learning basic skills under the supervision of experienced preceptors in the clinical setting. Over the last two decades, however, the growing awareness of the need for patient safety has brought the issue of simulation-based training to the forefront. While the use of simulation-based training may have important educational and societal advantages, the effectiveness of virtual reality gastrointestinal endoscopy simulators has yet to be clearly demonstrated. To determine whether virtual reality simulation training can supplement and/or replace early conventional endoscopy training (apprenticeship model) in diagnostic oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy and/or sigmoidoscopy for health professions trainees with limited or no prior endoscopic experience. Health professions, educational and computer databases were searched until November 2011 including The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Biosis Previews, CINAHL, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, ERIC, Education Full Text, CBCA Education, Career and Technical Education @ Scholars Portal, Education Abstracts @ Scholars Portal, Expanded Academic ASAP @ Scholars Portal, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Abstracts in New Technologies and Engineering and Computer & Information Systems Abstracts. The grey literature until November 2011 was also searched. Randomised and quasi-randomised clinical trials comparing virtual reality endoscopy (oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy) simulation training versus any other method of endoscopy training including conventional patient-based training, in-job training, training using another form of endoscopy simulation (e.g. low-fidelity simulator), or no training (however defined by authors) were included.  Trials comparing one method of virtual reality training versus another method of virtual reality training (e.g. comparison of two different virtual reality simulators) were also included. Only trials measuring outcomes on humans in the clinical setting (as opposed to animals or simulators) were included. Two authors (CMS, MES) independently assessed the eligibility and methodological quality of trials, and extracted data on the trial characteristics and outcomes. Due to significant clinical and methodological heterogeneity it was not possible to pool study data in order to perform a meta-analysis. Where data were available for each continuous outcome we calculated standardized mean difference with 95% confidence intervals based on intention-to-treat analysis. Where data were available for dichotomous outcomes we calculated relative risk with 95% confidence intervals based on intention-to-treat-analysis. Thirteen trials, with 278 participants, met the inclusion criteria. Four trials compared simulation-based training with conventional patient-based endoscopy training (apprenticeship model) whereas nine trials compared simulation-based training with no training. Only three trials were at low risk of bias. Simulation-based training, as compared with no training, generally appears to provide participants with some advantage over their untrained peers as measured by composite score of competency, independent procedure completion, performance time, independent insertion depth, overall rating of performance or competency error rate and mucosal visualization. Alternatively, there was no conclusive evidence that simulation-based training was superior to conventional patient-based training, although data were limited. The results of this systematic review indicate that virtual reality endoscopy training can be used to effectively supplement early conventional endoscopy training (apprenticeship model) in diagnostic oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy and/or sigmoidoscopy for health professions trainees with limited or no prior endoscopic experience. However, there remains insufficient evidence to advise for or against the use of virtual reality simulation-based training as a replacement for early conventional endoscopy training (apprenticeship model) for health professions trainees with limited or no prior endoscopic experience. There is a great need for the development of a reliable and valid measure of endoscopic performance prior to the completion of further randomised clinical trials with high methodological quality.

Introduction: Medical education in Australia is increasingly delivered through longitudinal placements in general practice and other community settings. Early meaningful exposure to patients has been shown to improve the transition from medical student to junior doctor. This study examines the experience of the first year cohort of the University of Western Sydney (UWS) Medical School long-term rural placement students. Results have been placed in the context of other published results for rural training schemes, comparing and contrasting the present results to those of others. Methods: Students undertaking a rural placement in their final year of the UWS medical program (n=21) participated in a mixed methods evaluation. Students filled out a quantitative survey, modified from a validated instrument, and also participated in a focus group. Class ranking of students, and changes over the time of their placement, were also examined. Results: Overall, students were very pleased with their rural experience, both clinically and socially. Students found the rural experience more comprehensive than they had expected. They considered that they had a stronger learning experience in most aspects than they expect they would have received in a metropolitan area. The smaller realm of the medical world in a rural area was considered an advantage in providing more hands-on experience and more interprofessional team approaches to healthcare provision. It was also considered a drawback by some that more advanced cases of all kinds were sent out of the area to metropolitan hospitals. Between their ranking in the end of Year 3 examination and the examination in the middle of Year 5, during which period students undertook their year-long placement, 14 of 22 students increased their class rank while two experienced no change and six decreased their class rank. Overall, the rural cohort advanced 4.2 places compared to their urban-placed peers. Conclusions: The present results confirm that rural placements have come into their own in Australia. Curriculum content regarding Aboriginal health issues should emphasise the complexity of culture and range of living conditions that makes up Aboriginal Australia and avoid a 'deficit-based perspective' that emphasises extreme cases over routine presentations. Taken together, the results reported by Australian medical schools now offering long-term rural placements suggest that rural long-term placements are at least as effective, and may even be more effective, than metropolitan hospital placements as an effective means of providing clinical education to medical students in their senior years. ©HH Birden, I Wilson, 2012.

The transition from general education (e.g., high school) to vocational and tertiary education (e.g., college, vocational school) or to the labor market presents a number of developmental challenges. These challenges include making career choices and, more broadly, managing the transition. Coping with these challenges depends on the individual, their social network, and wider societal, cultural, and institutional conditions. This article discusses the informative value of developmental regulation, career development, and identity theories, for conceptualizing phase-adequate engagement at the post-school transition. Although previous psychological research has focused on individuals' career and transitionrelated engagement and its outcomes, we suggest this picture is limited because little is known about how young people's engagement is complemented and affected by the behavior of significant others and shaped by structural constraints and opportunities. Implications for future developmental research are discussed. © 2012 American Psychological Association.

The first purposes of this study was to investigate the needs of language and communication capability for electrical engineering department students at the Higher Technological and Vocational Education System in their future working field, and the second purpose was to establish their basic indicators and assessment model by the concept of human resources. Six experts, including trade bosses and high-level technologists of the electrical engineering field, and professors of educational institutions with language backgrounds were invited to discuss required verbal and communication capabilities and emphasize listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The first objective of the study was curriculum development, teaching implementation and the standard of assessment as the principle of the Higher Technological and Vocational Education System, and the other objective of the study was to transform the basic competencies and the indicators into the curriculum. We hope this study becomes a reference to set up the research and development center for the Higher Technological and Vocational Education System in the electrical engineering department, and the standard of language and communication models for all engineering fields as employment, salary, in-service training, vocational education and general education. © Common Ground, Farn-Shing Chen, Yi-Chia Cheng, Mu-Chu Chen.

Context During early clinical exposure, medical students have many emotive experiences. Through participation in social practice, they learn to give personal meaning to their emotional states. This meaningful social act of participation may lead to a sense of belonging and identity construction. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to broaden and deepen our understanding of the interplay between those experiences and students' identity development. Our research questions asked how medical students give meaning to early clinical experiences and how that affects their professional identity development. Methods: Our method was phenomenology. Within that framework we used a narrative interviewing technique. Interviews with 17 medical students on Year1 attachments to nurses in hospitals and nursing homes were analysed by listening to audio-recordings and reading transcripts. Nine transcripts, which best exemplified the students' range of experiences, were purposively sampled for deeper analysis. Two researchers carried out a systematic analysis using qualitative research software. Finally, cases representing four paradigms were chosen to exemplify the study findings. Results: Students experienced their relationships with the people they met during early clinical experiences in very different ways, particularly in terms of feeling and displaying emotions, adjusting, role finding and participation. The interplay among emotions, meaning and identity was complex and four different 'paradigms' of lived experience were apparent: feeling insecure; complying; developing, and participating. Conclusions: We found large differences in the way students related to other people and gave meaning to their first experiences as doctors-to-be. They differed in their ability to engage in ward practices, the way they experienced their roles as medical students and future doctors, and how they experienced and expressed their emotions. Medical educators should help students to be sensitive to their emotions, offer space to explore different meanings, and be ready to suggest alternative interpretations that foster the development of desired professional identities. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The paradigm of human resource development has shifted to workplace learning and performance. An identification of global trends of workplace learning can help us to better connect with workplace learning stakeholders. Using a comprehensive search of 43 contemporary journal, magazine and newspaper articles, this paper reviews and synthesizes global trends in workplace learning in terms of the following five aspects: people/who, approach/how, time/when, place/where and thing/what. Consequently, five main trends are identified as follows: (1) Types of participants and facilitators are diversifying, (2) Emerging approach focus is practice-based systemic learning, (3) The flexibility of learning time has been increasing, (4) Learning by working and learning through systematic instruction at the workplace have been highly appraised, and (5) Workplace learning culture as well as practitioner's active engagement and motivation to learn have become key elements. © 2012 IEEE.

Hispanic immigrants come to the United States with hopes to obtain a better life for their families through perceived better wages and educational opportunities. One source of income for Hispanic immigrants is through employment in crawfish farm operations. Crawfish farm operations benefit from the employment of Hispanic immigrants through government programs that supply workers to the industry. Therefore, many crawfish farm operations in Louisiana employ immigrant labor as well as local laborers to operate efficiently. The purpose of this study was to compare selected characteristics of crawfish farm workers as well as to explore values related to careers and monetary earnings. The results of this study indicated significant differences associated with Hispanic immigrant and Caucasian U.S. citizen crawfish farmer's values placed on careers. The results of this study can be used by extension services and other educational programs to direct future educational activities based on collected information related to values of crawfish farm employees and the comparison of human capital theory in assimilation. © Common Ground, Richard Johnson, Joe Kotrlik, All Rights Reserved, Permissions.

The paper analyzes the relevance of the three constituent elements of the ‘new firm paradigm’, i.e. ICT, workplace organization and human capital, as determinants of a firm’s provision of training. We concentrate on apprenticeship training, which in German-speaking countries is a widespread practice of skill formation. Econometric studies dealing with a firm’s provision of apprenticeships so far did not pay much attention to the influence of a shift towards the new paradigm. We find that apprenticeship training is an appropriate way of skill formation in advanced economies, but this may not be the case in leading-edge segments of the economy. © 2012, Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics.

Regardless of overall economic conditions, Canada's youth employment rate has been consistently above that of the adult population. This trend is especially pronounced during times of economic crisis and for young people with low levels of formal education. In response, federal and provincial governments have introduced various schemes aimed at helping young people make the transition from school to post-school life. Most of these schemes are rooted in the perception that Canada is transforming into a knowledge economy and that at-risk students require extra support to equip themselves with the skills necessary to succeed in a knowledge-intensive labour market. At the same time, Canada is also experiencing shortages in certain labour market segments. Although some of these shortages concern highly skilled, professional occupations (e.g., in engineering or rural medicine), the most pressing need has been expressed for skilled labour in the trades. In addition to targeting at-risk youth, policy programs in all Canadian provinces have therefore also tried to increase the number of young people entering training and careers in the skilled trades. Finally, transition programs in Canada have also been concerned with issues of equity and fairness in access to higher education opportunities. Universities and colleges have therefore introduced programs and bursaries to attract, for instance, more working-class and Aboriginal students. In this chapter, I outline a number of different programs and schemes and their educational and labour market contexts. I argue that most of these transition schemes and programs are concerned with the development of human capital, but tend to neglect the creation of employment opportunities and the removal of barriers that restrict access to training, education, and employment opportunities. Furthermore, I argue that Canada's federal structure and largely decentralised policy environment lead to a lack of cohesion in the development and delivery of these programs, which limits the achievement of the stated goals. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. All rights are reserved.