Seminar Format Research Articles

Read the Book or Attend a Seminar? Charting Ironies in How Managers Prefer to Learn

Access to the right information at the right time enables managers and the organizations for which they work to stay one step ahead of their competitors. Like any other hot commodity, information is packaged in a variety of ways. According to Crainer (1996), managers have a clear preference for one form of packaging over another: No executive office is complete without a neatly arranged row of management bestsellers. They are as much a fixture as the family portrait and cynics might say, as much practical use. Research by the Management Training Partnership found that three-quarters of personnel directors buy at least four management books a year. But, only one in five are actually read. Tom Peters calculates that while over five million copies of his In Search of Excellence have been sold, only 100,000 or so readers have read it from cover to cover. As the books gather dust, executives absorb the latest big ideas at seminars and conferences. There can hardly be a manager in the western world who has not been to an event promoting a particular individual's view of how they should be managing their business. (p. 49) Though interesting, Crainer's observation and others like it are limited in that they offer no explanation as to why it is that managers favor attending seminars and conferences in preference to reading. In order to investigate this question, we conducted in-depth interviews with 22 managers regarding how they acquire a particular kind of business information: knowledge about popular management ideas (e.g., excellence, reengineering, Total Quality Management). We then analyzed transcripts of these interviews from a socio-semiotic framework. based upon that analysis, we argue that the way managers approach seminars and reading is more complex than the existing literature suggests. We contend that a rich, highly nuanced, and at times contradictory, semiotic code shapes how managers prefer to acquire information. In this paper, we identify the main features of this code, chart its regularities and inconsistencies, and tie it to exo-semiotic (i.e., cultural, economic, social) factors that influence managers' work and leisure. In doing so, we identify several ironies in how this code is used and understood, and point out how these ironies reflect and give rise to contradictory responses on the part of managers that provide them with the means to negotiate the conflicting demands placed upon them by the various competing value systems which govern and complicate their working and private lives. Two key factors contributed to our decision to look at managerial preferences in consuming popular management ideas (as opposed to other forms of information). First, and most importantly with respect to our study, managers can access information about most (if not all) popular management ideas in book form or through seminar attendance. Other forms of information do not necessarily provide managers with these two options for access. (Though managers might be able to access the Internet, or other sources, for information that is also available in The Wail Street Journal, this kind of information often has a short shelf-life and thus does not lend itself to being disseminated in seminar format. In contrast, popular management ideas have a duration that more ephemeral kinds of information lack.) Second, popular management ideas permeate today's business climate. Given this pervasive presence, we expected (correctly) that all our interviewees would have come into contact with several popular management ideas during the course of their careers. This enabled us to ask our interviewees about their preferences in the packaging of a form of information known to all. In this way, we hoped to diminish idiosyncracies in reported preferences that were rooted in the kind of information consumed and not its packaging. We begin our analysis by sketching the importance of popular management theories in the contemporary business world. …

Combining traditional and RN students in a senior capstone experience: the student perspective.

This study explored the students' perspective related to combining traditional and RN student populations in a senior capstone course. In the final semester in a senior baccalaureate program, nursing students (N = 340) completed an investigator-designed 5-item survey. Data were reviewed independently by three investigators for emergent themes. While the course content was applied differently by two student populations, both appreciated a seminar format that allowed increased creativity, autonomy, and flexibility. Merits of an integrated course were more explicitly stated by traditional students, who viewed the RNs as a source of reality-based learning. Faculty sensitivity to the unique learning needs of each student population is recommended.

A Model for Teaching Interdisciplinary Science to Precollege Teachers

A model for teaching precollege (K-12) teachers interdisciplinary science that focuses on the use of various teams, including teams of instructors, master teachers, and participant teachers, is presented. This model, the Multiple-Team Model, has been developed and implemented over the past five years in concert with the COASTeam Program, a graduate course for elementary teachers in marine science. Because the Multiple-Team Model includes more than one instructor, it is particularly well suited for use in teaching interdisciplinary science, where each instructor has a different expertise. We describe the COASTeam Program course as an example of the Multiple-Team Model, where two teachers from a school enroll as a COASTeam. The course uses a seminar and hands-on activity format, complemented by field trips, a research cruise, and a wealth of supplemental resource materials. As part of the course requirements, COASTeam Teachers conduct a marine-science inservice workshop for peer teachers in their own school, creating an inhouse marine-science team of teacher leaders. The COASTeam Program goes beyond teaching individual teachers marine science by promoting leadership development of COASTeam Teachers, while increasing their confidence and knowledge to teach marine science. The multiple-team approach of the COASTeam Program is an excellent model that can easily and effectively be modified to suit other interdisciplinary-science curricula.

Adding Structure to Unstructured Research Courses

In this article, we describe techniques for clarifying goals, improving organization, and evaluating students in research courses that are typically unstructured. We include methods for assisting students in designing experiments, creating evaluation tools, and encouraging and monitoring student progress throughout the course. These techniques motivate students to avoid procrastination and become immediately involved in the research process. The methods are simple, have a wide range of usefulness, and are appropriate for any graduate or undergraduate course with an independent study or seminar format.

Curriculum for graduate courses in amplification.

Curriculum for graduate courses in amplification.

Workshop on Family Planning in the Era of AIDS, Nairobi, Kenya, 2-4 October, 1996

This article presents the proceedings of an innovative workshop on the implications of the AIDS crisis for family planning programs. Hosted by committees of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population the workshop departed from the usual format of conferences and seminars. The meeting aimed to formulate a realistic and relevant social science research agenda at the interface between family planning and HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention for eastern and southern Africa. Starting with background papers outlining the nature of the problems for the region as a whole lack of knowledge about transmission symptoms and treatment of HIV and STDs were identified as the primary obstacle facing family planning programs. This was reinforced by a series of presentations about the situation in specific countries. In addition group discussions focused on particular research themes achieved the aim of identifying a future research program.

Market Structure in the Production of Economics Ph. D.'s

A century ago economics began to develop as a separate and significant part of the curriculum in American colleges and universities. Along with increased popularity and enrollment came the need for faculty specifically trained in economics. A number of American scholars turned to Europe, Germany in particular, for their training, and brought the German Ph.D. back as a model for graduate education. The first economics Ph.D.'s earned in this country were awarded by Harvard (1875), Yale (1877), and Johns Hopkins (1878).1 These first Ph.D.'s were two-year degrees. By 1900 economists had generally upgraded the Ph.D. to three years beyond the baccalaureate degree, consisting of two years of course work and another year for the dissertation. Graduate classes were taught in seminar format with considerable interaction between professors and students. As the production process matured, dissertations became longer, more sophisticated and more specialized, i.e., they were no longer the mark of a cultured gentleman but the demonstration of a professional skill [15, 11]. The newly formed American Economic Association began to keep track of doctoral candidates in economics in 1904 [6]. In 1904 there were 8 institutions which reported having men working on Ph.D.'s, and by 1928 that number had increased to 27.2 While the American Economic Association did not tabulate the output of completed Ph.D.'s, the National Research Council has compiled a database containing the number of Ph.D.'s by institution by year since 1920. Their Survey of Earned Doctorates indicates that 22 Ph.D.'s were awarded in economics by 6 different universities in 1920. By 1992 that number had grown to 910 Ph.D.'s from 123 different institutions.

Building therapeutic staff: client relationships with women who self-harm.

This article examines the aims and objectives of a training package devised for nurses working directly with women who self-harm and detained in institutions. The training package aims to change and inform staff attitudes toward self-harming behavior and to encourage therapeutic responses and interventions. The first key step in helping these women is to understand why they resort to self-harm. Some of the underlying reasons why these women try to hurt themselves include dominance of older women, histories of abuse, and feelings of powerlessness. The training program uses a seminar format followed by reflective practice sessions which enables the nursing staff to explore how both theoretical constructs and women's experiences could inform and influence the delivery of care. It utilized community-produced and focused support networks, and consisted of six sessions, each lasting around 2 hours and 30 minutes. Seminar topics include reasons for self-harm, types of women who self-harm, caring for and myths about these women, and communication issues.

The Development and Marketing of Business Seminars by Universities: Participant Format Preferences

ABSTRACT Institutions of higher education are becoming increasingly dependent on external seminars to corporate employees as a means of meeting a growing number of business needs. As the variety of seminars expands, questions concerning the optimal seminar format must be addressed. The current, empirical study investigates seminar format preferences based on survey respondents' managerial level. Input is analyzed from three levels of manager: executives, mid-level managers, and supervisors. The results of the study indicate that there are certain strong preferences which managers at all levels share in regard to seminar format. In addition, several significant differences exist between the preferences of managers at the three organizational levels. Recommendations are given as to how universities can best develop and market seminars to the business public.

Seminar Format Preferences of the Business Professional

Seminar Format Preferences of the Business Professional

Une expérience mémorable d'échanges scientifiques entre antiquisants et médievistes et le rapport Orient-Occident dans l'Antiquité tardive

This study, which had to wait until this year to appear, draws the reader's attention to an interesting project of the chair of Byzantine studies at the Collège de France and his research team, directed by G. Dagron and later D. Feissel. At the initiative of C. Morrisson and J. Lefort, during the academic year 1985-1986, specialists of the Late Antique and Early Byzantine periods, some of them foreigners, came to present the results of their research, primarily regarding major economic and social question. In each area, an effort was made (to the extent possible) to balance East and West in the information presented, and each speaker was matched with another specialist -called a ""relator"" -who explained his own point of view. In the seminar format, each pair of presentations was followed by a discussion (not reproduced in the publication). Although incomplete, since the selection depended on research in progress, the group of papers constitutes a useful, balanced ensemble, less ambitious than the one prepared by A. Giardina in the four-volume Italian work entitled Socictà romana e impero tardo antiro. The study is divided into three sections. The subject of the first part is ""populations and the organization of space"". C. Lepelley and N. Duval, P. Leveau and R. Rebuffat discussed Africa in Late Antiquity; G. Tate and J.-Ch. Baity, the evolution of villages in northern Syria and the urban constructions of Apamea in the Byzantine era. J. Durliat and J.-N. Biraben offered two different perspectives on the great plague of the 6th century. -In the section of""exchanges"", C. Panella and C. Abadie-Raynal with C. Bemont essentially discussed the circulation of ceramics in the East and West during the period in question. J.-P. Sodini presented an analysis of the (eastern) marble trade, especially in the form of capitals made of marble from Proconnesos, Thasos, and quarries in Asia Minor. The sigillographer N. Oikonomidés, using this type of documen(, tried to reconstruct the mechanics of the official trade in silk along the frontiers of the Byzantine Empire. -In the section entitled ""finances, taxation, coinage"", D. Nony for the early period, M. Corbier for the 3rd century, and J.-P. Callu for the 4th century followed the evolution of coinage, prices, and purchasing power. C. Morrisson, after speaking about 4th-century coinage (she participated in the analysis of coin-strikes of that period) continued this study with a fresh synthesis regarding the 5th and 6th centuries, to which J. Durliat responded. R. Delmaire, the specialist in financial institutions of the Late Roman Empire, noted the gradual disappearance of ""sacred largesses"". In the last part, the papyrologist J. Gascou examined (from the point of view of taxes, military allowances for payments and prices) the celebrated ""budgetary table""from Antaeopolis (South of Asyut) which provides a ""blueprint"" of the tax system and its redistribution in this garrison town of the mid-6th century. [Author. Translated by D. Parrish]

A Continuing Education Preference Survey of Public Health Graduates

Continuing education (CE) is a vital component in strengthening the public health work force, and its importance has been emphasized by the Institute of Medicine and the Council for Education in Public Health. A CE preference survey was undertaken of alumni of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health (UCB-SPH). Questionnaires were mailed to a one-third random sample of 1,500 graduates from 1981-1992 who currently reside in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region IX. A response rate of 57% was achieved. Results of the survey show that CE activities are highly desired among respondents. Overall, 58% of respondents prefer a half-day to one-day seminar format during regular business hours, as opposed to night classes. They prefer a traditional didactic classroom presentation that is within one hour's automobile travel. The optimal setting for CE courses would be at the University of California, Berkeley, or in-house at their institution. Subject areas of interest noted by respondents are health policy development, communication in public health, community involvement, and research. Schools of public health may respond to the CE needs of their alumni through a variety of channels, including the mainstreaming of CE as part of a school's teaching responsibility, special seminars or institutes, extension courses through the larger university system, distance-based learning, and through a separately funded for-profit CE activity.

Comparative evaluation of a teaching innovation in accounting education: intensive learning in a seminar format

This paper reports a teaching innovation involving intensive learning and the evaluation of that innovation. A review of the literature reveals a lack of research about how effective intensive programmes are in enhancing student learning. In this study the performance of students studying accounting during an intensive summer-school in seminar format was compared with those studying during the regular semester in a lecture and tutorial format. Performance was compared by reference to students' grades and the understanding and retention of a key concept in the subject. Student study habits and the experiences of staff and students who participated in the summer-school were also evaluated. This study concluded that summer-school students' performance was better than regular semester students in the accounting subject studied. Their performance was equivalent or better than the regular semester students in the three other subjects studied in first semester. Summer-school students demonstrated a more complete...

The classroom as clinic: applications for a method of teaching clinical reasoning.

This study examined the efficacy of one method for teaching diagnostic reasoning to occupational therapy students. During a clinical reasoning seminar in their first academic year, 80 entry-level occupational therapy master's degree students in three successive classes were given three different levels of exposure to classroom-as-clinic or in-class evaluations of adults with physical or psychosocial disabilities. During the following summer, most students completed their first Level II fieldwork experience. Students' grades for a second-year classroom-as-clinic experience with adults with physical disabilities were then compared across groups to determine the relative effect of the different seminar formats and fieldwork experiences. Students who had experienced in-class evaluations during their first academic year wrote significantly more accurate second-year evaluations than those who had not. Students who had completed psychosocial Level II fieldwork experiences were as accurate on their evaluations as students who had had physical dysfunction fieldwork experiences. The results suggest that in-class evaluations improve students' diagnostic reasoning skills.

Sacred images in dreamwork: The journey into self as journey into God

In adults, it is proposed that psychospiritual development occurs concurrently with a shift in god-image. Dreams provide primary access to discover and study this shift. Midlife graduate students in Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Development each submitted a dream in a group seminar format. Images and themes that emerged reflect the individuation process described by C. G. Jung: the archetypal journey of life, the descent into hell, and the inner marriage were themes that recurred. This paper includes examples of dream material suggesting various sacred images and discussion of the dreams as a “call to ministry.” Also presented are techniques for group dream work.

Fairy tales and dance/movement therapy: Catalysts of change for eating-disordered individuals

Eating-disordered individuals transform food and body size into symbols that dominate their lives. Food, basic to our hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1971), becomes more than a building block for emotional and physical well-being; it becomes the symbolic foil in the war between body and mind. Anorexic, bulimic and compulsive eaters demean their bodies, identifying both food and body as the enemy. Assaulted by our culture’s symbolic equation between body size and success, eating-disordered individuals adopt dieting, binging and purging as ways to maintain media-supported ideals of youth and slenderness. Although symbols can tyrannize an individual’s life, they can also be powerful tools for interpretation and healing. In the therapy of eating-disordered individuals, fairy tales offer a previously untapped treatment source. Rich in symbolic content, nonthreatening and connected to childhood, fairy tales provide multifaceted opportunities for self-knowledge and creative change. In our work we combine fairy tales and dance/movement therapy to promote the development of a new set of symbols and a varied repertoire of options. Building on the fairy tales, the dance/movement therapy component allows clients to attend to both the body and the mind, and to ground symbols other than food or body size in the somatic. Dance/movement therapy focuses on the integration of the body and the mind, reengages the body ego and introduces new ways of experiencing the kinesthetic self. In our collaborative partnership, we integrate principles from dance/movement therapy and education to help eating-disordered individuals challenge the hold food and body size have over their lives. Group seminars, lesson plans, syllabi and homework are critical components of our planning and process. Our aim is to provide a psycho-educational foundation that promotes a balance between body and mind, the affective and the cognitive, the structured and the creative. This article presents our interdisciplinary approach. The first section describes our overall method and seminar format. Part two includes a brief review of literature on fairy tales and a summary of the work relating eating disorders and dance/movement therapy. In the third section “snapshots” of clients highlight techniques integrating the analysis of fairy tales and concepts drawn from dance/movement therapy. In our conclusion we review the relevance of our method to women with eating disorders.

Comments on Quality in the Constructed Project from University Course

In 1988, ASCE published its \IManual of Professional Practice: Quality in the Constructed Project\N in an effort to present guidelines for quality engineering design and construction. Publication of the manual has aroused much interest and comment in the construction industry. An undergraduate professional development course based on the manual was conducted in the spring of 1989 at Tulane University. The course was presented in a seminar format, and featured panelists representing the interests of owners, designers, and contractors. The sessions were open to the design community and were well attended by professional engineers. Panelists presented their own views on topics from the manual and responded to questions and comments from the audience. Written comments were collected from students and professionals in attendance. This paper summarizes the course sessions and presents a summary evaluation of the manual based on these comments from seminar participants.

Addressing the Creationist Challenge

I describe a method of contrasting “scientific creationism” and evolution, or pseudo-science and science. In a seminar format fostering analytical thinking, research, and writing skills, students learn for themselves the basic differences between scientific creationism and evolution. SCIENTIFIC CREATIONISM, EVOLUTION, PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

The development of a medical ethics curriculum in a General Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Since 1984, a three-year curriculum in medical ethics has operated at Rhode Island Hospital as part of the General Internal Medicine Residency Program at the Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University. The residency program was founded in 1980 to develop a model training program for internal medicine residents with a primary care focus. The three objective of the curriculum are (1) to enable residents to recognize the ethical implications of both inpatient and outpatient clinical cases, (2) to teach residents to recognize ethics issues and alternatives in order to arrive at a well-rounded clinical strategy, and (3) to help them learn to communicate sensitively with patients and others about these ethics issues and proposed management plans. The six major topics covered by the curriculum (for example, informed consent) are co-taught in a seminar format by one or more of the three members of the multidisciplinary ethics faculty (a philosopher, an internist, and a communications specialist) and experienced physicians. The authors describe the program, the roles of the various faculty members, the program's focus on case discussions, the receptivity of the residents and faculty to the program, the use and training of a multidisciplinary faculty, efforts aimed at evaluation, and future directions of the program.

Identifying Rewards for Strategic Thinking — A Survey of CEOs and Middle Managers

Recently, the senior author of this study conducted a series of seminars for top executives on “Strategic Management: A Problem of Implementation”. The series followed the traditional seminar format in that a brief theoretical introduction was followed by lengthy open‐ended discussions. The most critical problem relating to strategic management, as perceived by the participants, was how to create an environment that encourages and rewards middle managers for thinking strategically. One of the executives aptly summarised the reasons for rewarding middle management for strategic thinking: