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The aim of this chapter is to promote an understanding of how different environments or settings ... more The aim of this chapter is to promote an understanding of how different environments or settings within which students are asked or required to learn - such as large groups, small groups and laboratory and practice settings – have an impact on how they approach their learning and hence on the design and delivery of teaching. It provides an overview of underpinning principles and concepts before exploring their application in practice. The focus is on face-to-face teaching and learning.

Studies in Continuing Education, 2017

2011). While subject to numerous evaluations, LDPs have rarely been explored critically and ethno... more 2011). While subject to numerous evaluations, LDPs have rarely been explored critically and ethnographically. Soft skills training is big business; including motivational speaking and coaching it represents a $10 billion per year industry in the US alone (Marketdata Enterprises 2012). To redress this knowledge gap, we draw on field data from an ethnographic study of staff LDPs within a UK university, and in particular on the career trajectories of staff and programme managers from both academic (AC) and corporate service (CS) sectors. Using social world theory (Clarke 1991; Strauss 1978) as a sensitising device, we consider the nature of the LDP 'social world,' highlight the use of 'selfcare technologies' or as we term them, 'activities of the self.' We further propose the categories of 'career nomad,' 'reluctant entrepreneur,' and 'course hopper,' as typologies in a contemporary workplace. Study context and terminology The context in which this study was conducted is a UK university in which the authors work as academics. Our interest in the position that LDPs occupy in HE organisational culture arose from personal observations of the expansion of soft skills training in and beyond our own institution. While a decade ago the emphasis of staff development was on technical skills, an increasing number of courses and workshops are now offered under the umbrella of personal performance and development, covering 'soft skills' topics such as leadership coaching, time management, communication skills, resilience and mindfulness. There are many definitions of soft skills, but in the context of this study we consider them personal and professional attributes (including emotional regulation skills) believed to assist individuals in the pursuit of personal or team goals (Heckman and Kautz 2012; McGurk 2010). We

Journal of Substance Misuse, 1997

This paper is the second of two parts and focuses on the results of the study by Faugier (1996) i... more This paper is the second of two parts and focuses on the results of the study by Faugier (1996) in her investigation of the working practices, levels of HIV risk behaviour and use of health care services of 100 drug-using and 50 non-drug-using prostitutes in Manchester. It provides a full discussion on the implications of these findings and the challenges this poses for providers. Part I was published in Journal of Substance Misuse Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 144–149.

Leavis’s name is synonymous with a resolutely negative verdict on mass higher education: he went ... more Leavis’s name is synonymous with a resolutely negative verdict on mass higher education: he went on record as saying ‘There’s no redeeming the democratic mass university’ (The Living Principle, p. 7). What relevance then does Leavis have for the majority of us involved in a system of widening participation, whether as students, researchers, teachers, managers or other stakeholders? The key to answering these questions in a productive way lies in our understanding of Leavis’s time at York. It is the work of this period that opens a dialogue between Leavis and contemporary debate on higher education. Appreciating Leavis’s later and currently more neglected work undertaken at York gives pointers to ways in which he can begin to be a meaningful presence again in relation to our thinking about the ‘democratic mass university’.

The first translation into English of a selection of poetry by the Spanish writer Francisco Brine... more The first translation into English of a selection of poetry by the Spanish writer Francisco Brines, with a Foreword by Rufus Gunn. Selected, edited and co-translated by Steve Cranfield and Claudio Tedesco. Funding for the translation was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Culture, Spain.

Fifty years after the ‘Two Cultures’ controversy, what continuing value is there in the kinds of ... more Fifty years after the ‘Two Cultures’ controversy, what continuing value is there in the kinds of critical arguments F. R. Leavis (1895-1978) was urging upon us then, notably about how to 'read' human creativity? One positive answer to this question lies in our seeing Leavis in a radically different contemporaneous context, in relation to the work of the film director Stanley Kubrick (1928-99). Leavis's and Kubrick’s oeuvres, while conceived independently in different media, can be seen to share characteristic 60s' socio-artistic and philosophic concerns: about how to affirm the complex nature of human creativity, with its fragile sense of hope, in the face of technologically enhanced destructiveness. In particular, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) provides an illuminating foil to some of Leavis’s ideas of this period, and vice versa: about social learning and the dynamics of creativity, the nature of human and artificial intelligence, and the omnipresent threat...

This publication aims to encourage managers and clinical professionals to reflect on and share le... more This publication aims to encourage managers and clinical professionals to reflect on and share learning and experience of what enables nurses from black and ethnic minority communities to succeed in reaching positions of leadership in the health service. Based on a survey of nurse leaders from these communities across the country, it explores what has been learnt so far by those who have reached positions of seniority in their health service careers, often ‘against the odds’. In particular, it considers: - How big is the problem of developing and retaining sufficient numbers of senior managers and leaders among black and ethnic minority nurses? - What are the key issues and challenges from the perspectives of nurses in leadership positions who are themselves from black and ethnic minorities? - What lessons have been learnt that can help inspire, foster and develop a more representative and inclusive workforce – and crucially, at leadership and senior management levels in nursing?

Hate crime against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) students is prevalent... more Hate crime against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) students is prevalent on many UK campuses, especially against trans students. At the same time there is a reluctance in higher education to talk about bullying and intimidation of LGBTI students and sometimes even to acknowledge their presence and contribution to university life. It is important to understand the ways in which discrimination and prejudice manifest themselves on campus and how these in turn have a significant impact on the wellbeing, progression rate and academic achievement of LGBTI students. Evidence from the NUS and other sources has consistently shown that LGBT students are more likely to interrupt their courses than heterosexual students as a result of issues related to their sexual orientation. LGBTI students experience correspondingly higher levels of prejudice, social stress and mental health issues, and are more likely to be in debt. Levels of stress affecting international LGBTI stu...

Between December 2001 and March 2002, a team of independent researchers working in collaboration ... more Between December 2001 and March 2002, a team of independent researchers working in collaboration with and assisted by the NCCSDO carried out a telephone survey designed to gain feedback from the field about uptake, use and perceived impact of Organisational Change and Making Informed Decisions on Change. The study gathered a range of useful feedback and views about the two publications, highlighting the importance of evaluation in the process of commissioning research.

Members of the Westminster Law School Centre on the Legal Profession and Westminster Business Sch... more Members of the Westminster Law School Centre on the Legal Profession and Westminster Business School submitted written evidence in response to a House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence call. The evidence focussed on the use of AI in legal services.

This paper describes a qualitative observational study of how a work based learning masters leade... more This paper describes a qualitative observational study of how a work based learning masters leadership development programme for middle managers in health and social care in the UK introduced students to key aspects of delivering innovation, through a formative assignment on contemporary architectural design. Action learning and activity theoretical approaches were used to enable students to explore common principles of leading the delivery of innovation. Between 2001 and 2013 a total of 89 students in 7 cohorts completed the assignment. Evaluation lent support for the view that the assignment provided a powerful learning experience for many. Several students found the creativity, determination and dedication of architects, designers and structural engineers inspirational in their ability to translate a creative idea into a completed artefact, deploy resources and negotiate complex demands of stakeholders. Others expressed varying levels of self-empowerment as regards their capacity...

How can individual staff training and development needs be more effectively aligned with organisa... more How can individual staff training and development needs be more effectively aligned with organisational objectives in ways that move beyond a gap analysis or needs deficit model? This presentation discusses the findings of a small-scale research project carried out by Westminster Business School (WBS) with staff at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health during 2012-13, as part of the University’s Strategic Insight Programme (SIP) and the College’s new training initiative ‘Changing the Way We Think’. Using an action research and case study methodology, 12 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups were conducted with a range of executive managers, a project group and frontline staff, to explore perceptions of frontline staff training needs and their connection with corporate and divisional strategies. There was a high level of consensus about the positive achievements of training and development initiatives but a degree of challenge was experienced in integrating these ...

Developing Change Management Skills is the first of the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SD... more Developing Change Management Skills is the first of the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) Programmes resources aimed primarily at development. Five realistically complex case studies, made up of factual incidents woven into a fictional whole, provide the settings that allow readers to reason on behalf of characters within them. In the process they learn about: 1) The strengths and limitations of different change management approaches in different situations 2) How to group the approaches together to increase their usefulness 3) The importance of applying them rigorously, perceptively and creatively 4) How different results arise when they are used by people with different world views. The cases reflect the range of organisations within the NHS, being set in primary care, mental health and acute services trusts, as well as a strategic health authority. Key players within them include an individual team member, a service leader, and executive and non-executive board members....

The aim of this chapter is to promote an understanding of how different environments or settings ... more The aim of this chapter is to promote an understanding of how different environments or settings within which students are asked or required to learn - such as large groups, small groups and laboratory and practice settings – have an impact on how they approach their learning and hence on the design and delivery of teaching. It provides an overview of underpinning principles and concepts before exploring their application in practice. The focus is on face-to-face teaching and learning.

Studies in Continuing Education, 2017

2011). While subject to numerous evaluations, LDPs have rarely been explored critically and ethno... more 2011). While subject to numerous evaluations, LDPs have rarely been explored critically and ethnographically. Soft skills training is big business; including motivational speaking and coaching it represents a $10 billion per year industry in the US alone (Marketdata Enterprises 2012). To redress this knowledge gap, we draw on field data from an ethnographic study of staff LDPs within a UK university, and in particular on the career trajectories of staff and programme managers from both academic (AC) and corporate service (CS) sectors. Using social world theory (Clarke 1991; Strauss 1978) as a sensitising device, we consider the nature of the LDP 'social world,' highlight the use of 'selfcare technologies' or as we term them, 'activities of the self.' We further propose the categories of 'career nomad,' 'reluctant entrepreneur,' and 'course hopper,' as typologies in a contemporary workplace. Study context and terminology The context in which this study was conducted is a UK university in which the authors work as academics. Our interest in the position that LDPs occupy in HE organisational culture arose from personal observations of the expansion of soft skills training in and beyond our own institution. While a decade ago the emphasis of staff development was on technical skills, an increasing number of courses and workshops are now offered under the umbrella of personal performance and development, covering 'soft skills' topics such as leadership coaching, time management, communication skills, resilience and mindfulness. There are many definitions of soft skills, but in the context of this study we consider them personal and professional attributes (including emotional regulation skills) believed to assist individuals in the pursuit of personal or team goals (Heckman and Kautz 2012; McGurk 2010). We

Journal of Substance Misuse, 1997

This paper is the second of two parts and focuses on the results of the study by Faugier (1996) i... more This paper is the second of two parts and focuses on the results of the study by Faugier (1996) in her investigation of the working practices, levels of HIV risk behaviour and use of health care services of 100 drug-using and 50 non-drug-using prostitutes in Manchester. It provides a full discussion on the implications of these findings and the challenges this poses for providers. Part I was published in Journal of Substance Misuse Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 144–149.

Leavis’s name is synonymous with a resolutely negative verdict on mass higher education: he went ... more Leavis’s name is synonymous with a resolutely negative verdict on mass higher education: he went on record as saying ‘There’s no redeeming the democratic mass university’ (The Living Principle, p. 7). What relevance then does Leavis have for the majority of us involved in a system of widening participation, whether as students, researchers, teachers, managers or other stakeholders? The key to answering these questions in a productive way lies in our understanding of Leavis’s time at York. It is the work of this period that opens a dialogue between Leavis and contemporary debate on higher education. Appreciating Leavis’s later and currently more neglected work undertaken at York gives pointers to ways in which he can begin to be a meaningful presence again in relation to our thinking about the ‘democratic mass university’.

The first translation into English of a selection of poetry by the Spanish writer Francisco Brine... more The first translation into English of a selection of poetry by the Spanish writer Francisco Brines, with a Foreword by Rufus Gunn. Selected, edited and co-translated by Steve Cranfield and Claudio Tedesco. Funding for the translation was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Culture, Spain.

Fifty years after the ‘Two Cultures’ controversy, what continuing value is there in the kinds of ... more Fifty years after the ‘Two Cultures’ controversy, what continuing value is there in the kinds of critical arguments F. R. Leavis (1895-1978) was urging upon us then, notably about how to 'read' human creativity? One positive answer to this question lies in our seeing Leavis in a radically different contemporaneous context, in relation to the work of the film director Stanley Kubrick (1928-99). Leavis's and Kubrick’s oeuvres, while conceived independently in different media, can be seen to share characteristic 60s' socio-artistic and philosophic concerns: about how to affirm the complex nature of human creativity, with its fragile sense of hope, in the face of technologically enhanced destructiveness. In particular, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) provides an illuminating foil to some of Leavis’s ideas of this period, and vice versa: about social learning and the dynamics of creativity, the nature of human and artificial intelligence, and the omnipresent threat...

This publication aims to encourage managers and clinical professionals to reflect on and share le... more This publication aims to encourage managers and clinical professionals to reflect on and share learning and experience of what enables nurses from black and ethnic minority communities to succeed in reaching positions of leadership in the health service. Based on a survey of nurse leaders from these communities across the country, it explores what has been learnt so far by those who have reached positions of seniority in their health service careers, often ‘against the odds’. In particular, it considers: - How big is the problem of developing and retaining sufficient numbers of senior managers and leaders among black and ethnic minority nurses? - What are the key issues and challenges from the perspectives of nurses in leadership positions who are themselves from black and ethnic minorities? - What lessons have been learnt that can help inspire, foster and develop a more representative and inclusive workforce – and crucially, at leadership and senior management levels in nursing?

Hate crime against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) students is prevalent... more Hate crime against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) students is prevalent on many UK campuses, especially against trans students. At the same time there is a reluctance in higher education to talk about bullying and intimidation of LGBTI students and sometimes even to acknowledge their presence and contribution to university life. It is important to understand the ways in which discrimination and prejudice manifest themselves on campus and how these in turn have a significant impact on the wellbeing, progression rate and academic achievement of LGBTI students. Evidence from the NUS and other sources has consistently shown that LGBT students are more likely to interrupt their courses than heterosexual students as a result of issues related to their sexual orientation. LGBTI students experience correspondingly higher levels of prejudice, social stress and mental health issues, and are more likely to be in debt. Levels of stress affecting international LGBTI stu...

Between December 2001 and March 2002, a team of independent researchers working in collaboration ... more Between December 2001 and March 2002, a team of independent researchers working in collaboration with and assisted by the NCCSDO carried out a telephone survey designed to gain feedback from the field about uptake, use and perceived impact of Organisational Change and Making Informed Decisions on Change. The study gathered a range of useful feedback and views about the two publications, highlighting the importance of evaluation in the process of commissioning research.

Members of the Westminster Law School Centre on the Legal Profession and Westminster Business Sch... more Members of the Westminster Law School Centre on the Legal Profession and Westminster Business School submitted written evidence in response to a House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence call. The evidence focussed on the use of AI in legal services.

This paper describes a qualitative observational study of how a work based learning masters leade... more This paper describes a qualitative observational study of how a work based learning masters leadership development programme for middle managers in health and social care in the UK introduced students to key aspects of delivering innovation, through a formative assignment on contemporary architectural design. Action learning and activity theoretical approaches were used to enable students to explore common principles of leading the delivery of innovation. Between 2001 and 2013 a total of 89 students in 7 cohorts completed the assignment. Evaluation lent support for the view that the assignment provided a powerful learning experience for many. Several students found the creativity, determination and dedication of architects, designers and structural engineers inspirational in their ability to translate a creative idea into a completed artefact, deploy resources and negotiate complex demands of stakeholders. Others expressed varying levels of self-empowerment as regards their capacity...

How can individual staff training and development needs be more effectively aligned with organisa... more How can individual staff training and development needs be more effectively aligned with organisational objectives in ways that move beyond a gap analysis or needs deficit model? This presentation discusses the findings of a small-scale research project carried out by Westminster Business School (WBS) with staff at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health during 2012-13, as part of the University’s Strategic Insight Programme (SIP) and the College’s new training initiative ‘Changing the Way We Think’. Using an action research and case study methodology, 12 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups were conducted with a range of executive managers, a project group and frontline staff, to explore perceptions of frontline staff training needs and their connection with corporate and divisional strategies. There was a high level of consensus about the positive achievements of training and development initiatives but a degree of challenge was experienced in integrating these ...

Developing Change Management Skills is the first of the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SD... more Developing Change Management Skills is the first of the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) Programmes resources aimed primarily at development. Five realistically complex case studies, made up of factual incidents woven into a fictional whole, provide the settings that allow readers to reason on behalf of characters within them. In the process they learn about: 1) The strengths and limitations of different change management approaches in different situations 2) How to group the approaches together to increase their usefulness 3) The importance of applying them rigorously, perceptively and creatively 4) How different results arise when they are used by people with different world views. The cases reflect the range of organisations within the NHS, being set in primary care, mental health and acute services trusts, as well as a strategic health authority. Key players within them include an individual team member, a service leader, and executive and non-executive board members....