Benefits Of Collaborative Work Research Articles

Heritage at risk — benefits of collaborative working : A case study of Necarne Castle, Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh

The heritage sector, and more specifically the growing list of buildings at risk across the UK, presents wide-ranging changes to owners, heritage bodies, potential funders, consultants and specialist advisers and contractors. When protected buildings and heritage assets reach an advanced state of decay the challenges escalate, and as solutions are sought the problems also escalate, with costs spiralling. Remedial works’ costs and budgets are often difficult to quantify, which in turn creates challenges for both funding and procurement, where cost certainty and low risk is desired. The solution requires clear thinking and objectives that are achievable. In many cases ‘grand aspirations’ fail to get off the ground, becoming too wide-ranging in their aims. With heritage at risk, the extent of unknown works is often extensive and difficult to fully quantify until works are in progress. This never sits comfortably with funders and can be the vicious circle of unknown work, unknown cost, that prevents projects starting. Effective experienced project teams are not engaged sufficiently early to contribute to the strategies. The need for realistic practical options that can be implemented efficiently and promptly requires collaboration from a wide range of sources. Bringing together clients, funders, consultants, contractors and statutory heritage bodies in a spirit of collaboration and common objectives is at the heart of a successful project; this enables works and cost control to be effectively managed, and most importantly allows works to start and the cycle of decay and decline to be halted. This case study shows how a committed local council secured funding and assembled a team of advisers, consultants and contractors to bring a significant heritage-at-risk asset back from the brink of collapse, demonstrating how trust in collaborative working exceeded all expectations and delivered additional stabilisation works within the available funding.

Physician trainee research collaboratives: a mixed methods exploration of UK experience

Physician trainee research collaboratives (TRCs) help trainees develop research skills and establish peer networks. We aimed to identify the structure, activity and views of physician TRCs in the UK. Representatives from physician TRCs in the UK were invited to complete an online survey and participate in a focus group. Representatives from 23 physician TRCs completed the survey. There was wide variation in collaborative structure, senior input and funding resources. Seventy-four per cent of physician TRCs had published peer-reviewed articles, with 70% reporting ongoing projects at the time of the survey. The survey and focus group identified improved patient care, research and leadership skills as benefits of collaborative work; while institutional and consultant support, limited time for research, funding opportunities and restrictions on group authorship were cited as challenges to collaborative success. Physician TRC activity continues to grow and demonstrates a dynamic approach to research for all trainees.

The Contribution of a Charitable Organization to Regional Cleft Lip and Palate Services in England and Scotland.

From diagnosis through to adulthood, a cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) poses a number of challenges for those affected. Alongside the care provided by clinical teams, complementary information and support is offered by charitable organizations. In 2011, the Cleft Lip and Palate Association received funding to implement a new regional service across England and Scotland, with the aim of increasing support at a local level. The Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England were commissioned to conduct an independent evaluation of the service over 7 years. A pragmatic, mixed-methods approach was utilized to assess the impact of the service from the perspective of charity volunteers; children, young people, and adults with CL/P; caregivers; and clinicians. Feedback forms were distributed to stakeholders at a variety of events, and qualitative feedback was collected via focus groups and an online survey. The majority of participants indicated they had gained access to a local support network, felt more able to cope with CL/P-related challenges, and felt more confident in themselves. Qualitative investigation provided further support for these findings and highlighted additional benefits of the regional service for clinical teams. The evaluation provides encouraging evidence toward the contribution of a relatively small charitable organization in the context of cleft care. The importance of a pragmatic approach to community-based evaluation and the benefits of collaborative working between researchers and the charitable sector were also highlighted.

Responding to the marauding terror attack: the police perspective

UKpolice forces have had to adapt their tactical approach to the emerging terror threat that now faces the UK. This has led to an evolution in the training, education and...

O trabalho colaborativo no contexto escolar: contribuições do individual ao coletivo mediadas pelo Pibid

O presente artigo tem por objetivo discorrer a respeito do trabalho colaborativo evidenciado na prática docente de professoras alfabetizadoras participantes de um percurso formativo mediado pelo Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação à Docência (Pibid), Essa política pública implantada pelo governo federal tem como objetivo qualificar a formação docente inicial e continuada de estudantes das licenciaturas e é direcionada a professores em serviço. A investigação caracteriza-se como uma abordagem qualitativa com opção pelo estudo de caso. Participaram do estudo as duas professoras titulares das turmas de 1º e 2º ano, a diretora da escola e a coordenadora pedagógica dos anos iniciais. Para a coleta de dados, tratados por análise de conteúdo, foram utilizados como instrumentos: observação direta da prática docente e entrevistas semiestruturadas. A análise desses dados aponta para os benefícios do trabalho colaborativo entre professoras e estudantes da escola básica.

Impact of Collaborative Work on Technology Acceptance: A Case Study from Virtual Computing

Aim/Purpose This paper utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine the extent to which acceptance of Remote Virtual Computer Laboratories (RVCLs) is affected by students’ technological backgrounds and the role of collaborative work. Background RVCLs are widely used in information technology and cyber security education to provide students with hands-on experimentation. However, students may not exploit their full benefits if they do not accept RVCLs as a viable educational technology. Methodology In order to study the impact of collaborative work on technology acceptance, an empirical study was conducted using collaborative and individual versions of an introductory level computer networking exercise in an RVCL. Trials for the empirical study included students from technology intensive and non-technology intensive programs. Contribution The relationship between the technological background of students and their acceptance of an RVCL and the effect of collaborative work on this relationship were explored for the first time in the literature. Findings The findings of the study supported that collaborative work could improve non-technology students’ acceptance of RVCLs. However, no significant effect of collaborative work on technology acceptance was observed in the case of technology students. Recommendations for Practitioners Educators should consider the benefits of collaborative work while introducing a new technology to students who may not have background in the technology introduced. Recommendation for Researchers In this study, student technological background was found to be a significant factor for technology acceptance; hence, it is recommended that technological background is included in TAM studies as an external factor. Future Research Repeating similar studies with multiple exercises with varying degrees of challenge is required for a better understanding of how collaborative work and student technological background affect technology acceptance.

Improvement of drug treatment in elderly patients, through the collaborative work between pharmacists and physicians

Introduction : Pharmacists have been progressively included in health care teams delivering integrated care. With the development of Pharmaceutical Care, pharmacists provide direct medication-related care with the aim of improving patient’s life quality. However, even thought these progresses (especially in hospitals), most day to day work in integrated care is centered on physician’s and nurses. Benefits of integrated care are higher in the patients with most complex health care needs, such as older people. This group of population is characterized by its frailty, comorbidities and polypharmacy; therefore problems related with medication (PRM), are more frequent and have more serious impact. Our Group is specialized in giving health care to older people at different levels: primary, nursing homes, long term care, home care; areas where the participation of pharmacist in the integrate care is usually underdeveloped. Therefore, there is less evidence on the benefits derived from pharmacist’s intervention; compared with other health care institutions such acute care hospitals. From our Pharmacy Service, we have been working in the incorporation of the pharmacist as a member of the care team in order to improve outcomes in our patients through the management of medication and PRM. Short description of practice : We have implemented a program to improve drug treatments in our patients, through pharmacist’s interventions derived from medication reviews and prescription validation. The program has been established in two heath systems, managed by our Group: - Long term care and subacute care Hospitals (HSS): HSS Mutuam Guell (165 beds) and HSS Mutuam Girona (103 beds). - Health care support teams for nursing homes: EARs (Formed by physicians and nurses) In the two Hospitals, pharmacists’ can make interventions at different moments of the patient process: Admission, during the hospital stay and at discharge. In EARs, pharmacists make at the admission of the patient in the nursing home. Drug related problems detected are communicated to the physician through email or telephone. Drug related problems are recorded in a database using Microsoft Excel® using the ASHP (American Society Health-System Pharmacists) classification, as well as answers or lack of it from physicians. Improvement in drug treatments is evaluated using the MAI (Medication Appropriateness Index) Key findings : Period considered: June 2014-2015 Demographic data: Mean age HSS 80.7 years (70% female) and EARs 84.8 years (59% female). In both cases more of the 69% of patients taking ≥ 9 drugs. Total of treatments reviewed by pharmacists: 3671 in EARs and 2176 in HSS. Have been conducted 4115 interventions in EARs (1.94 interventions/patient) and 2534 in HSS (2.43 interventions/patient). The degree of answer was 44% in EARs and 79% in HSS. Of the interventions/recommendations answered they were accepted in an 84 % (EARs) and 72% (HSS). More frequent PRM found where similar in HSS and EAR: Inappropriate dose, dosage form, schedule, route of administration, or method of administration; Medication with no indication: Condition for which no medication is prescribed and Problems are arising from the financial impact of therapy MAI values after implementation by physicians of pharmacist’s recommendations in EARs decreased from 4, 4 to 2.68 (p Hightlights : The implication of pharmacists in the medication reviews of those patients leads to a quality improvement of the prescriptions; as MAI show (p One of the main problems is the low degree of physician’s answer, particularly in EARs. This is probably due to that in HSS - Pharmacists in HSS are closely working with physicians since a longer time, so physicians are more aware how to manage recommendations and what to expect from the pharmacist. - They work in the same building, making communication easier. Moreover, HSS physicians are independent in applying the recommendations of pharmacists, whereas in EARs, some nursing homes have their own physicians, so our team’s physician has to agree some of the changes proposed. However, we have noted that since we started the program the response tendency is increasing deriving in part from day to day, working together, exchanging opinions and explaining the aim of our work. Conclusions : - The program has lead to an increase in the appropriateness of drug use in geriatric patients. - We have been able to apply it to two different kind of health care levels. Therefore, we think that in the future it can also be extended to home care, etc. - It is important to give Information and formation to all heath care professionals about the benefits of collaborative work with pharmacists.

An online collaborative document creation exercise in an ODL research project module

Online technologies to support collaborative learning provide lecturers in distance higher education with ever more opportunities to extend their teaching in beneficial ways. Students are also increasingly familiar with the online environment via social networking sites. How well this familiarity with online environments translates into the online collaborative learning space in an open distance learning context was examined. We report here on one cycle of an action research project involving 11 fourth-year computing students producing shared survey questionnaires and interview questions collaboratively online. Feedback on the collaboration exercise was obtained by means of a questionnaire which was analysed using grounded theory techniques. The expectation was that collaborative text creation software would be used but somewhat surprisingly, given their academic background, the students used email as the tool of choice. The students' reflections on the collaborative process showed that they noted and appreciated the benefits of collaborative work but also confirmed some of the previously reported frustrations of online collaborative work – in particular differences in levels of commitment and effort, and the free rider effect. Overall, the results pointed to the need for lecturers to be involved in a collaborative process to critically question and guide choices being made.

Implementing effective mental health promotion in schools

Children and young people whose emotional and mental health needs are met are better able to achieve. In this article, Debbie Hewitt and Amanda Aldridge explain the benefits of collaborative working for effective mental health strategies and how it benefited their practice.

Culture and Epidemiology

Trostle, James A.: 2005, Epidemiology and culture.New York: Cambridge University PressJames Trostle’s book ‘‘Epidemiology and Culture’’offers a number of valuable intended and unin-tended contributions. The main purpose of Tros-tle’s book is to argue for the benefits of greatercollaboration between epidemiology and anthro-pology in the pursuit of improving human health.He locates the most amenable point to bridge thetwo disciplines in the overlap of social epidemiol-ogy and cultural/medical anthropology. Accordingto Trostle, social epidemiology is the branch ofepidemiology most directly concerned with thehealth effects of social organization. And cultural/medical anthropology is concerned with culturallypatterned responses to diseases in the most expan-sive sense. Cultural/medical anthropology properlyconceived, Trostle writes, focuses attention ondisease classification, meaning, risk, and behaviourin addition to social variables such as income,marital status, occupation, and so forth. Moreover,when anthropologists examine culturally patternedresponses to disease, the practice of epidemiologyitself is analysed as a product of culture. One of thebenefits of interdisciplinary work, according toTrostle, would be the addition of ‘‘reflexivity’’ toepidemiology that is (sorely) lacking, and whichanthropologists have long made explicit in theirresearch. To show some of the limitations from thelack of anthropological skills and reflexivity inepidemiology, Trostle explains how the standardvariables of person, place, time, and race inepidemiological studies can have a great amountof variability due to cultural practices. Thoughgood epidemiologists are cognizant of the possi-bility of measurement errors or bias in theirresearch, Trostle advocates that greater use ofanthropological skills and explicit reflexivity willproduce better epidemiological research and con-sequently, better health interventions.The book is well organized with chapters on thehistory of epidemiology and social medicine, theanthropological critique of standard variables usedin epidemiological studies, the cultural influences inhealth research using surveys and clinical trials thatoften result in errors and bias, and a chapterdevoted to the anthropological analysis of infec-tious disease outbreaks using the example of thecholera epidemic in Latin America in the 1990s.The last two subject chapters are focused on thegrowing interest in public health interventions atthe community level, and the rise of non-profes-sional epidemiology taking the form of communityhealth activists undertaking research or the greaterreliance on local knowledge in developing studydesign and interventions. The strength of this booklies in its broad scope that covers history, methods,case studies, and current issues. Each chapter has afurther reading list and importantly, Trostle pro-vides comprehensive references which include someof the most seminal research studies in the fields ofsocial medicine, social epidemiology, and medicalanthropology. As Trostle acknowledges, each ofthe substantive chapters are drawn from previouspapers and presentations. As such, each chaptermerits attention and stands on its own. But Ibelieve the sum of the parts could be much morethan what Trostle articulates in the introductionand conclusion.Is epidemiology a natural or social science?While Trostle advocates the benefits of collabora-tive work between epidemiology and anthropol-ogy, he sidesteps what may be the biggest barrier tosuch collaboration; the boundary between the

Review : Working together: inter professional collaboration

■ Barriers exist that prevent inter-professional collaboration, such as poor communication, power struggles and traditional thinking ■ Solutions to the obstacles include multidisciplinary audit, clinical guidelines, shared education and new management structures ■ Benefits of collaborative working have implications for children and their families ■ Development of professional skills and innovative approaches are possible through inter-professional collaboration

A little coastal erosion in a changing landscape?

States that, despite what many a business school's curriculum or management consultant's product may suggest, management does not fit easily into discrete packages. Posits partnering brings all the benefits of collaborative working, agreed objectives, mutual learning, creativity and innovation, as well as greater efficiency and effectiveness. Looks at how BA, Heinz, Campbell's, Lloyds TSB, Nike, Sun Microsystems, and Virgin operate and their individual styles. Sums up, that as more companies develop new found cross‐boundary management skills and previously unlikely partners form unlikely alliances, perhaps it should be stated that a deal is a deal — not a strategy.

Students’ Attitudes in a Virtual Environment (SecondLife)

The benefits of collaborative work have been widely discussed and supported by educational theories such as constructivism and social learning. This paper investigates the process of collaborative work in a university classroom. It presents the students’ experience and attitudes towards using SecondLife in their learning activities. Questionnaire, interviews and observation methods were used to assess the students’ experience and attitudes. The study results indicate that students had enjoyed the experience of using SecondLife, although some negative attitudes and experience, concerning the system’s usability and familiarity, were reported.