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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 October 2022

Suzana Sukovic, Jamaica Eisner and Kerith Duncanson

Effective use of data across public health organisations (PHOs) is essential for the provision of health services. While health technology and data use in clinical practice have…

Abstract

Purpose

Effective use of data across public health organisations (PHOs) is essential for the provision of health services. While health technology and data use in clinical practice have been investigated, interactions with data in non-clinical practice have been largely neglected. The purpose of this paper is to consider what constitutes data, and how people in non-clinical roles in a PHO interact with data in their practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This mixed methods study involved a qualitative exploration of how employees of a large PHO interact with data in their non-clinical work roles. A quantitative survey was administered to complement insights gained through qualitative investigation.

Findings

Organisational boundaries emerged as a defining issue in interactions with data. The results explain how data work happens through observing, spanning and shifting of boundaries. The paper identifies five key issues that shape data work in relation to boundaries. Boundary objects and processes are considered, as well as the roles of boundary spanners and shifters.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in a large Australian PHO, which is not completely representative of the unique contexts of similar organisations. The study has implications for research in information and organisational studies, opening fields of inquiry for further investigation.

Practical implications

Effective systems-wide data use can improve health service efficiencies and outcomes. There are also implications for the provision of services by other health and public sectors.

Originality/value

The study contributes to closing a significant research gap in understanding interactions with data in the workplace, particularly in non-clinical roles in health. Research analysis connects concepts of knowledge boundaries, boundary spanning and boundary objects with insights into information behaviours in the health workplace. Boundary processes emerge as an important concept to understand interactions with data. The result is a novel typology of interactions with data in relation to organisational boundaries.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2022

Sarah Levine, Mary Hauser and Michael W. Smith

This study aims to explore the authentic questioning practices of English Language Arts teachers. Although language arts (LA) education emphasizes the value of authentic questions…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the authentic questioning practices of English Language Arts teachers. Although language arts (LA) education emphasizes the value of authentic questions in discussions about literature, teachers still tend to ask known-answer questions that guide students toward one literary interpretation. However, outside their classrooms, teachers talk about literary texts from stances of openness and curiosity. Helping teachers recognize and draw on their out-of-school literary practices might help them disrupt entrenched known-answer discourses. The authors studied how the same teachers asked questions about literature in different settings. The authors asked: To what degree and in what ways did teachers’ questions about literature change when they took on different roles in discussions of literature?

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on theories of classroom discourses and everyday practices, this study compared and analyzed types of questions asked by high school teachers as they took on three roles: teacher in the high school classroom, discussion leader in a professional development and everyday reader in discussion.

Findings

Analysis showed that as participants moved further away from their teacher role, they were more likely to ask authentic, curiosity-driven questions that engaged fellow readers in exploratory, dialogic interpretation. They were less likely to attempt to maintain authority over students’ interpretations.

Research limitations/implications

The authors hope researchers will build on these explorations of teacher stances and language in different roles, so we can work toward disrupt entrenched known-answer discourses in the classroom.

Practical implications

Drawing on this study’s findings about questioning practices of participants in their role as reader (as opposed to discussion leader or classroom teacher), the authors suggest that teachers and teacher educators consider the following: First, teachers need to understand the power of interpretive authority and known-answer discourses and compare them explicitly to their own everyday practices through rehearsals and reflection. Second, teachers might focus less on theme and more on exploration of individual lines, patterns and unusual authorial moves. Finally, when preparing to teach, if teachers can reconnect with the stance and language of uncertainty and curiosity, they are likely to ask more authentic questions.

Social implications

These findings suggest both the power of entrenched known-answer discourses to constrain and the potential power of making visible and drawing on teachers’ literary reading practices in out-of-school contexts.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies have made an empirical comparison of the relationship between the role a teacher takes on during discussion and the kinds of questions they ask about literature. This study offers insight into the value of everyday curiosity and other out-of-school resources that teachers could – but often do not – bring to their facilitations of classroom discussions. The findings suggest that teachers, teacher educators and researchers must recognize and recruit teachers’ everyday practices to the LA classroom.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2021

Jerry Chati Tasantab, Thayaparan Gajendran, Toinpre Owi and Emmanuel Raju

Conventional lecture-based educational approaches alone might not be able to portray the complexity of disaster risk management practice and its real-life dynamics. One…

Abstract

Purpose

Conventional lecture-based educational approaches alone might not be able to portray the complexity of disaster risk management practice and its real-life dynamics. One work-integrated learning practice that can give students practical work-related experiences is simulation-based learning. However, there is a limited discourse on simulation-based learning in disaster risk management education at the tertiary level. As tertiary education plays a crucial role in developing capabilities within the workforce, simulation-based learning can evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion. This paper aims to present outcomes of simulation-based learning sessions the authors designed and delivered in a disaster risk management course.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed a framework to illustrate simulation-based learning in a disaster risk management programme. It was then used as a guide to design and execute simulation-based learning sessions. An autoethnographic methodology was then applied to reflectively narrate the experiences and feelings during the design and execution of the simulations.

Findings

The evaluation of the simulation sessions showed that participants were able to apply their knowledge and demonstrate the skills required to make critical decisions in disaster risk reduction. The conclusion from the simulation-based learning sessions is that making simulation-based learning a part of the pedagogy of disaster risk management education enables students to gain practical experience, deliberate ethical tensions and practical dilemmas and develop the ability to work with multiple perspectives.

Originality/value

The simulated workplace experience allowed students to experience decision-making as disaster risk management professionals, allowing them to integrate theory with practice.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2018

Michael Leyer, Ann-Kathrin Hirzel and Juergen Moormann

Process-oriented behavior is a prerequisite for transforming a company into a process-oriented organization, but is difficult to achieve among employees. The purpose of this paper…

Abstract

Purpose

Process-oriented behavior is a prerequisite for transforming a company into a process-oriented organization, but is difficult to achieve among employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of role plays on adapting process-oriented behavior in daily work practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the theory of cognitive dissonance, the authors investigate whether role plays are an effective learning method. This study was conducted over a period of two years and included 212 participants of a financial services provider.

Findings

The results reveal that the role play used had a persistent impact on employees’ process-oriented behavior in terms of their process knowledge, their cross-functional coordination, and their continuous process reflection, but not on their process awareness. Thus, the authors conclude that despite high application costs, role plays are beneficial for financial services companies to train their employees.

Research limitations/implications

While the data stem from participants within one financial service provider only, this study contributes to the understanding how process-oriented behavior can be promoted sustainably in organizations.

Practical implications

The results indicate that companies aiming for process orientation should apply role plays to achieve a change in behavior of employees.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the understanding of role plays as an effective learning method to adopt process-oriented behavior.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2022

Anna-Lena Sundlin, Teresa Martha Söderhjelm and Christer Sandahl

The purpose of this study was to explore rapid role shifts at work and to describe the factors that facilitate or inhibit such role shifts, and how these factors affect the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore rapid role shifts at work and to describe the factors that facilitate or inhibit such role shifts, and how these factors affect the employee.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study was conducted with 12 participants from four public sector organizations. The participants systematically documented their work role shifts over the course of three days. Based on these data, they were interviewed about their shifts in work roles. All data were analyzed thematically.

Findings

Rapid role shifts do not work without extensive mental preparation and commitment. The role changes were perceived as stimulating if there was clarity about purpose, context and the significance of one’s own role, and if there was time both to switch between different roles and to reflect.

Research limitations/implications

This study was only performed in public sector organizations, and with a relatively small sample of interviewees. To generalize the results a more comprehensive collection of data would be required, including independence between researchers and subjects.

Practical implications

Adequate work structures, well-thought-out plans, time set aside for adjustment and reflection, and, not least, well-functioning information technologies are essential to teamwork commitment and satisfaction. As occasional teams, virtual teams and remote work become more common in the future, attention must be paid to rapid work role shifts by governments, policymakers and employers.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic study of the challenges involved in rapid shifts in work roles.

Details

Team Performance Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7592

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 June 2014

Gemma Dyble, Anna Tickle and Christine Collinson

There has been extensive growth in the employment of mental health peer support workers (PSWs) over the last decade. However, limited research exists when exploring how PSWs make…

Abstract

Purpose

There has been extensive growth in the employment of mental health peer support workers (PSWs) over the last decade. However, limited research exists when exploring how PSWs make sense of the transition of entering and enacting the role. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of NHS employed PSWs’ transition from their own experiences of mental health problems to provide a service to support individuals with their mental health problems.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used purposive sampling to recruit seven participants who were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Findings

Three superordinate themes were identified: fluctuating identities, PSW role and organisational culture. These were interpreted as interdependent with interrelating subordinate themes.

Research limitations/implications

Participants considered the complex, idiosyncratic and changeable nature of the transitions and the impact on their individual, interpersonal and collective identities. Emotional and practical support appeared to assist the transition whilst competing roles and blurred boundaries constrained the enactment of the new role. Implications for practice and research are provided.

Originality/value

Reports on original research and adds to the sparse UK literature in this area.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 February 2022

Nicholas M. Baxter

In this chapter, I utilize insights from symbolic interaction to analyze the identity work processes of larp subculture participants to construct and perform their in-game…

Abstract

In this chapter, I utilize insights from symbolic interaction to analyze the identity work processes of larp subculture participants to construct and perform their in-game identities. I extend the research on larp subcultures in two ways. First, I place larping within the larger context of leisure subcultures and society by arguing that larping is representative of changes in leisure and subcultures in postmodern society. Second, I draw upon ethnographic data collected among the New England Role-playing Organization (NERO) to analyze larpers character identity performances. RPG and Larp researchers have developed several theories about the relationship between larp participants and their character performances. While these concepts provide a helpful framework for understanding the participant-character relationship, they undertheorize the in-game constructed performance of identity. Using symbolic interaction theory, I analyze the identity work processes larpers use to construct and perform their larp identities extending our understanding of the similarities between everyday identity and larpers' character identity performances.

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2012

René Börner, Jürgen Moormann and Minhong Wang

The paper aims to explore staff's experience with role‐plays using the example of training bank employees in Six Sigma as a major methodology for business process improvement.

4490

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to explore staff's experience with role‐plays using the example of training bank employees in Six Sigma as a major methodology for business process improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a case study. A role‐play, KreditSim, is used to simulate a loan approval process that has to be improved by the participants. KreditSim has been conducted many times with various groups in both academic and professional environments. The authors used five role‐play sessions to conduct a survey among the participants and questioned seven facilitators experienced in KreditSim to generate empirical evidence for the effectiveness of such role‐plays.

Findings

Role‐play based simulations complement training programs in terms of active participation and first‐hand experience. Not only methodological learning is achieved but social and communicative as well as affective learning are supported, too. The employed role‐play highlights the relevance and applicability of the Six Sigma methodology to staff's day‐to‐day responsibilities. Besides boosting awareness for process thinking, the role‐play also helps to engage staff members in process improvement efforts.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation to the results might be the small number of facilitators that supervised the role‐play sessions so far. Thus, results may not be representative in a statistical sense. Moreover, the design of KreditSim could be modified in different ways for future seminars. Using software to automate certain activities is one possible modification. Ongoing research investigates in how far such modifications influence the effectiveness and the participant's perception of the role‐play.

Practical implications

The present study reveals that role‐plays can be effectively used for staff training. The results show that staff are strongly receptive to role‐plays in the context of business process improvement. Furthermore, several objectives such as methodological or social learning can be pursued and combined by this type of training instrument.

Originality/value

This article contributes to existing research in analyzing the effectiveness of role‐plays in a workplace setting. The paper is based on a number of professional role‐play sessions within the financial services sector. The survey comprises multiple dimensions of learning and supports that staff appreciate the usage of role‐play based simulation in a workplace environment.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Olusegun Agboola Sogunro

As the need is rife for today's leaders to make swift and perfect decisions, they need to learn critical thinking and interpersonal skills as quickly as they can. The traditional…

5474

Abstract

As the need is rife for today's leaders to make swift and perfect decisions, they need to learn critical thinking and interpersonal skills as quickly as they can. The traditional pedagogical techniques of training lack the potentiality to make these happen. Not only are they rigorous, and less dynamic, but also they are less learner‐centered, less experiential, and often predispose learners to evaluation anxiety situations. The method of role‐playing differs in many unique ways. Its ability to induce participants to quick understanding notwithstanding, it also has the potential to transform theoretical concepts into an experiential format. In all the scenarios presented in this paper, role‐playing has presented itself as one of the most promising training techniques today. This paper attempts to reflect on the efficacy of role‐playing as an effective pedagogical technique. Implications for practice and research are also discussed.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2009

Frederic Bill and Lena Olaison

The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative way of using focus groups in research – a role‐play‐enhanced focus group method – in which participants are presented with…

2387

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative way of using focus groups in research – a role‐play‐enhanced focus group method – in which participants are presented with the challenge of dealing with a specific task while playing a familiar but nevertheless fictive role.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is performed through an experimental approach in which a focus group of small business owner‐managers are assembled and presented with a prepared case exercise. The design is a role‐play‐like setting in which the participants are to act as the board of a company.

Findings

Carefully designed, well‐prepared role‐play‐like activities can add substantially to focus‐groups.

Originality/value

Adding an experimental dimension to focus groups offers the possibility of addressing topics indirectly and thus increases their usefulness.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

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