Findings Of Project Research Articles

SELECTING lead pipe Rehabilitation and Replacement Technologies

This article describes a 1997 study funded by the AWWA Research Foundation in which a team of international investigators began testing and evaluating techniques for rehabilitating or replacing small‐diameter (less than 1 in. [25 mm]) lead piping in distribution systems. The approach included a literature review and survey of utilities, case studies, and field trials with manufacturers at participating utilities in North America and Europe. The project found that numerous lead pipe rehabilitation and replacement techniques are both currently available and being developed, and include: open‐trench replacement; replacement on new routes; replacement using existing routes; slip lining; and, pipe coating. Factors affecting the use and performance of these technologies can be classified as controllable and noncontrollable. On the basis of the project's findings, a systematic procedure was developed that utilities can use as a guide for planning lead pipe rehabilitation and replacement programs, evaluating and selecting technologies, and estimating the costs for site‐specific applications.

Awkward Practice: Teaching media in English

The Models of Media Education research project in England explored major issues about the aims and methods of media teaching amongst teachers of English. Its central research question was 'What are teachers of English doing when they say they are doing media education at Key Stage 4 (ages 14–16) in secondary schools?' This article begins with a brief contextualisation of the current curriculum for media teaching within English. It then examines, through a detailed case study, the work of one teacher in the classroom and relates this to the wider picture in secondary schools. This is followed by a discussion of the project's general findings. It concludes that the study of media production and institutions is frequently avoided by teachers of English and that teaching methods often repress essential aspects of social learning in relation to the media, privileging limited teacher knowledge over young people's own cultural experience. Finally, it suggests a new focus for research in the future that will encompass these neglected learning areas, teaching methods and new media technologies.

The impact project (panel session)

The purpose of this panel is to introduce the Impact Project to the community, and to engage the community in a broad ranging discussion of the project's goals, approaches, and methods. Some of the project's early findings and directions will be presented.

Awkward Practice: Teaching Media in English

The Models of Media Education research project in England (Hart and Benson, 1993) explored major issues about the aims and methods of Media teaching amongst teachers of English. Its central research question was: what are teachers of English doing when they say they are doing Media Education at Key Stage 4 (KS 4 = age 14–16) in secondary schools? This article begins with a brief contextualization of the current curriculum for Media teaching within English. It then examines, through a detailed case study, the work of one teacher in the classroom and relates this to the wider picture in secondary schools. This is followed by a discussion of the project's general findings. It concludes that the study of media production and institutions is frequently avoided by teachers of English and that teaching methods often repress essential aspects of social learning in relation to the media, privileging limited teacher knowledge over young people's own cultural experience. Finally, it suggests a new focus for research in the future that will encompass these neglected learning areas, teaching methods, and new media technologies.

MED3/343: Networked Learner Support in Continuing Medical Education

IntroductionThis paper reports data from the second year of the WISDOM research project. This project has established a framework for the delivery of continuing medical education and professional development using information and communication technologies, with a particular focus on networked professional development (NPD) for clinical governance.MethodsAn action research project.ResultsThe association of a web site providing resource materials (tutorials, electronic links and other information) with networking technologies, such as e-mail discussion groups and newsgroups, has been demonstrated to be effective in delivering curricula in informatics, evidence-based practice and reflective practice. The virtual classroom may be adapted to serve a number of objectives, and can be adapted to operate as a virtual conference and as a mechanism for research data collection methods, such as the Delphi methodology. The project's findings indicate that there is a need for a coherent policy of networked learner support (NLS) in such virtual classrooms. NLS includes:support on the development of adult-learning and reflection skills in participantsactive facilitation of learning within an adult-learning modelmechanisms for assessment which reflect adult learning approaches (for example, a portfolio approach or personal learning plan)a mechanism for mentoring participants to enable them to achieve their learning objectivesConclusionIt is argued that NPD and NLS must be further researched if information and communication technologies are to be fully exploited as delivery mechanisms in professional development.

Smallholder adoption of soil conservation technologies: evidence from upland projects in the Philippines

Soil erosion due to smallholder agriculture in upland areas of the Philippines is widely regarded as the country's most serious environmental problem. There have been many upland development projects involving the promotion of soil conservation and agroforestry measures. Yet adoption of such practices has been minimal. A research project was commissioned to investigate the technical and socio-economic factors limiting adoption of recommended soil conservation technologies. The project involved case studies of seven locations where conservation farming had been intensively promoted and adopted by a significant number of farmers. The research methods involved a combination of reconnaissance or rapid rural appraisal methods followed by a questionnaire survey of a sample of farmers from each site. This paper summarizes the project's findings regarding the farm-level factors associated with the adoption of recommended soil conservation technologies in the case-study sites. Its focus is on the attributes of the farm-household influencing the adoption-decision process, and the consequences of adoption at the level of the farm-household system. It was found that conservation farming technologies, particularly hedgerows, were widely seen by farmers who were aware of them as useful and even necessary, but it had required resource-intensive project intervention to get the adoption process going, and adoption was often constrained by farmers' specific circumstances, rather than their personal attributes and perceptions. A wider range of more profitable and less demanding conservation technologies was needed, promoted more flexibly and with greater, on-going support for farmers in their efforts to experiment with improved farming systems. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley gi Sons, Ltd.

Moscow Materials: useful habits

In 1998 drug education teaching materials for use in Moscow schools were published under the title Useful Habits. The production of these materials formed part of a long-term drug education project by Project HOPE. There has been increasing official recognition of drug and alcohol use in post-1991 Russia. A 1997 Drug Use Survey of 1000 10-15-year-olds in North Moscow schools, which formed part of Project HOPE's work, showed an established use of tobacco and alcohol, high use of inhalants and some use of other substances, prescribed and illegal, by the age of 15. The teaching materials have been produced by local practitioners informed by 'Western' content and methodology. The materials were evaluated at first draft stage by an English-speaking external consultant to monitor appropriateness for age group, consistency, skills' content; and to assist in designing a training programme. The consultancy report confirmed the importance of skills content and active learning methodology. A survey of student users of the materials indicated a high level of learning and involvement, and attitudinal shifts. Surveys of teacher users of the materials confirmed professional approval of the materials, their content and methodology, but questioned their impact on students' behaviour. A Memorandum of Agreement between Project HOPE and the Ministry of Education for the Russian Federation was signed in July 1998. This represented governmental approval of the materials and an acceptance of the need for programmes of drug education and prevention. The materials have been adopted since September 1998 for use throughout the Russian Federation, and a national training programme is being established. A second stage of evaluation (spring to summer 1999) is looking at detailed amendments to the existing materials and their possible extension to include older students. There was a Russian Federation Ministry of Education/Ministry of Health seminar in late May to discuss the implications of the project's findings on young people's drug education and prevention.

Rhetoric to practice: the challenge of collaboration of academe and industry.

Community health nursing is a complex practice that encompasses nurses working in many diverse settings. This article discusses the development of a project which focused on better preparation of students for potential employment in community settings. The formation of the working team and the development of the curriculum is outlined. A focus is given to the linking of primary health care principles in the teaching and facilitation of students within hospital and community settings. Comprehensive conclusions cannot be made yet from the project's preliminary findings. However, the process of collaboration has demonstrated several issues. These will have an impact on everyone who has been part of this project, and the issues are discussed in this article. The article provides an overview of the first year of collaboration of a 4-year project.

The development of substance-abuse curricular content by five North Carolina schools.

In 1992, the four medical schools in North Carolina and that state's dental school initiated a four-year project to more thoroughly integrate content about substance abuse into their curricula. The project was based on the premise that medical schools are failing to provide their students with adequate training about substance abuse issues, yet substance abuse is a large and growing source of health problems nationwide. While the authors indicate in broad ways the kinds of curricular content that the project sought, in this article they concentrate on the processes by which key faculty, administrators, and staff members from all the schools worked together in the curriculum development process, with each school tailoring the project's findings to the needs of its own students. Phase I of the project focused on the selection and orientation of the key faculty and members of the working committee at each institution, and garnering institutional support. Phase II focused on the development by key faculty of the project's philosophy, goals, and objectives; conducting needs assessment and curriculum analysis at each school; and identifying the content needed. During Phase III, project participants refined the needed content and integrated it, in individual ways, into each school's curriculum. Some (but not enough) evaluation of these curricular implementations was done. The authors highlight the lessons learned, both positive and negative, in hopes that these will be useful to other educators who wish to design, implement, and institutionalize substance-abuse curricular content.

The SELF project: an investigation into the provision of self‐service facilities for library users

The European Commission SELF project enabled an international team of researchers to explore the potential for self‐service systems in libraries, to examine existing systems in detail and to devise a generalised functional specification for self‐service systems. In this article, the Project Director summarises the project's findings and its recommendations.

Prisoners' Mental Health Problems

Offenders with mental health problems became a ministerial first priority for the Health Service in 1995. But what of those in custody experiencing such problems and their throughcare/resettlement needs? How do they perceive their mental health problems? Barbara Swyer, Manager of the pioneering Wessex Project at Winchester Prison since 1993, and Rachel Lart, Research Fellow at Bristol University's School for Policy Studies, report the project's main research findings.

CHILD CARE AS WOMEN'S WORK

In this study, family- and center-based child care providers participated in day-long research workshops in which they first identified dimensions of an “ideal” caregiving situation and then, using a critical incident technique, explored the meaning and experience of “power” as caregivers. This article is devoted to examining the ways in which child care workers understand the notion of “powerfulness” and “powerlessness” in their work. Themes emerging from critical incidents are considered in light of feminist and caregiving literatures. The article concludes by drawing implications from the project's findings for policy, advocacy, and conceptual development.

Small parts aspiration, ingestion, and choking in small children: findings of the small parts research project.

Obtaining information on current child injury trends and their associated issues is an important factor in developing products that meet or surpass acceptable toy safety boundaries. Understanding these boundaries helps determine safe product design characteristics that reduce the risk of product-related injury. Inchcape Testing Services developed a Small Parts Aspiration, Ingestion, and Choking Hazards Research Project, independent of an ongoing consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) project. The project's purpose was to determine, independent of CPSC, whether a more stringent small parts regulatory standard was necessary and, if so, to ensure that the standard was determined objectively. This article reports on the project's findings relating to critical characteristics (size, shape, and consistency) relative to the victim's age, of objects responsible for child choking injuries and fatalities.

High Reliability Organizations: Unlikely, Demanding and At Risk

The HRO project is cast within a broader socio‐political context, by first, reviewing its practical origins, its conceptual/logical framework, and a summary of the project's provisional findings, including a brief observation about the importance of a ‘culture of reliability.’Then some socio/political implications for HROs are explored as they assume the status of large technical systems (LTSs) and become quasi‐public institutions. This paper ends with a reflection on the challenges of institutional trustworthiness that confront HRO operators, managers, and overseers.

Caregiving as Women's Work: Women's Experiences of Powerfulness and Powerlessness as Caregivers

In this study, two groups of women caregivers, older family caregivers, and women who do "double duty" caregiving (paid health care professionals who simultaneously are unpaid elder caregivers in their 'off' time), participated in daylong research workshops in which they first identified dimensions of an "ideal" caregiving situation and then, using a critical incident technique, explored the meaning of "power"-feeling powerful and powerless-for them as caregivers. This article is devoted to examining the ways in which women understand the notion of "powerfulness" and "powerlessness" in their work as caregivers. Themes emerging from caregivers' critical incidents are discussed and considered in light of previous literature. The article concludes by drawing implications from the project's findings for policy, practice, advocacy, and conceptual development.

Mental health case management: characteristics, job function, and occupational stress.

Although case management is an important component of treatment for persons with major mental illnesses, little is known about who works in case management, what functions are performed and how much occupational stress case managers experience. Mental health care managers (CM's) throughout the state of Oregon (N = 216) completed an inventory of case management functions and the job dissatisfaction and occupational stress scales of the Medical Personnel Stress Survey-Revised. The average expected tenure for a CM was 11 years, although one fifth expect to be a CM for four years or less. CM's spend 36% of their time performing administrative tasks, 20% in therapy, 17% with skills training, and 18% in case coordination tasks. CM level of education was associated with a different distribution of effort across case management functions. Greater job dissatisfaction was associated with specialized training, larger case load size and greater intention to leave the position. Consumer CM's demonstrated equivalent levels of job satisfaction as their non-consumer colleagues. The relevance of the project's findings for human resource management are discussed.

Remote sensing and strengthening European security

Abstract Remote sensing and the use of satelites to monitor compliance with arms control and disarmament agreements have been among the focal points of the International Space Year. The interdisciplinary research project, Remote Sensing and European Security, is addressing this question. This article gives a brief survey of the latest developments in the field and summarizes the project's findings.

The education of children in care

Summary This article summarizes the NFER research report, provisionally titled The Education of Children in Care (Fletcher‐Campbell, F.J. and Hall, C., Windsor: NFER‐NELSON, forthcoming.). In particular, it considers the project's key findings, which suggest ways in which the education of children in care might be better managed.

Toward a Political Economy of Fertility: Anthropological Contributions

THREE DECADES AGO, THERE WAS WIDE CONSENSUS on why fertility falls. Now, however, it seems that the closer we get to understanding specific fertility declines, the further we move from a general theory of fertility transition. In the late 1960s the European Fertility Project began to chip away at the foundations of classical transition theory-that part-theory, part-explanation which embodied the collective wisdom of the 1950s and 1960s (Notestein, 1953; Davis, 1963; for the critique, see Coale, 1969, 1973). Using aggregate-level historical data from over 700 European districts, demographers collaborating on the Princeton-based project found that in many parts of the continent the pattern of demographic change failed to follow the threestage path enshrined in demographic transition theory. In the critical transitional stage, fertility decline actually preceded mortality decline in some localities. The project also established that fertility decline occurred at varying levels of socioeconomic and demographic development, undercutting the central tenet of transition theory (Knodel and van de Walle, 1979; Watkins, 1986). The most recent blow to received wisdom comes in a new study of fertility decline in northern Italy (Kertzer and Hogan, 1989). Drawing on a wealth of individual-level historical data from the town of Casalecchio, David Kertzer, an anthropologist, and Dennis Hogan, a sociologist, show that macrolevel social and economic changes affected members of different classes living in the same community differently. In Casalecchio there occurred not one, but four, temporally discontinuous fertility transitions, a finding that challenges the image fostered by the European Project of whole regions undergoing demographic transition together. Kertzer and Hogan corroborate the European Project's finding that fertility decline does not follow changes

Relationship between psychiatric distress and alcohol use: findings from the Eastern Baltimore Mental Health Survey.

This study examined the nature and strength of relationships between levels of alcohol use and concurrent psychiatric distress among adults in the community aged 18-64 years. Data for this project were gathered by standardized interview methods during the 1981-1982 Eastern Baltimore Mental Health Survey. The 2558 survey respondents were initially selected by means of multistage probability sampling of adult household residents in eastern Baltimore, Maryland. This project's findings indicated gender differences in the relationships under study. There was a moderate degree of association between heavy alcohol use and psychiatric distress among women; at moderate levels of alcohol use, a modest association was also noted. In contrast, for males, the results suggested a small positive association between heavy alcohol use and concurrent psychiatric distress, although these findings were not conclusive.