ResearchOnline@ND (University of Notre Dame)
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The Changing Nature of Outdoor Play Spaces in West Australian Primary Schools: An Exploratory Case Study. Exploring Play Opportunities, Design and Utilisation of an Intentionally Designed Nature Play Space (IDNPS).
Full text linkThe development, wellbeing and learning of children is of global importance; opportunities that promote healthy childhood development have long lasting social and economic impacts. Play is the primary occupation through which children develop; nature play provides opportunities for physical, cognitive, social and emotional skill development. West Australian (WA) schools are installing intentionally designed nature play spaces (IDNPS) to support outdoor play opportunities and connection to nature. However, there is little contextual evidence regarding how these spaces are designed and utilised to support child development, wellbeing and learning.
This exploratory, mixed methods case study examined how children aged 4-7 years old engage in outdoor play in an IDNPS within a WA primary school. The study combined quantitative data collected using the Tool for Observing Play Outdoors (Loebach & Cox, 2020) with qualitative data from educator interviews, which further explored children’s play behaviours, and educator’s utilisation of the IDNPS during class time. Additionally, interviews with the IDNPS designers provided insight into the design intentions of playable elements and landscaping. Incorporating the professional perspectives of education and design through an occupational therapy lens, this study offers a unique understanding of how outdoor play spaces can be designed and utilised to their full potential within primary schools.
Findings indicated that children engage in a diverse array of play types, and the openended, nature-based design of the IDNPS facilitated play engagement of children of all ages, genders and abilities. The provision of loose parts, specifically water, enabled more imaginative and collaborative play. Educators reported utilising the IDNPS in many different ways to support child development, wellbeing and learning. This study highlights that when the outdoor environment is considered as an active element rather than a passive backdrop, opportunities for children to engage in a variety of play types are enhanced. Outcomes from this research will inform policy recommendations regarding the provision of outdoor play spaces in WA schools. Furthermore, the research design can be used in further investigations and evaluations of outdoor play spaces
Implementation of the psycho-existential symptom assessment scale in palliative care: Qualitative analysis of stakeholders perspectives
No full textObjectives: To explore 1) perspectives of feasibility, acceptability, integration and sustainability of the Psycho-existential Symptom Assessment Scale (PeSAS); 2) barriers and benefits of PeSAS in its real-world performance; and 3) clinician confidence and perceived competency in using PeSAS.
Methods: Thirty-one key stakeholders from nine palliative care services who participated in the implementation of the PeSAS were purposefully sampled and participated in semi-structured interviews. Data was managed using the Determinants Framework.
Results: Benefits of PeSAS were a common language enhancing communication, identifying symptoms of psycho-existential distress, initiating referral, providing acknowledgement for previously unrecognised distress and enhancing patient agency. Key barriers were the availability of skilled clinicians, patient characteristics such as delirium and phase of illness, avoidance of confronting end-of-life conversations, information technology resourcing, and reduced engagement due to language, culture and health literacy.
Conclusion: Screening using the PeSAS is feasible and acceptable once clinicians are adequately trained to administer it. Our study highlights the benefits of qualitative enquiry in developing and implementing new interventions.
Practice implications: The identification and management of psycho-existential symptoms should be part of routine practice in palliative care. However, adequate staff training, resourcing, referral pathways and implementation process and outcome assessments are important to ensure sustainability
Leadership in the Digital Economy: An Investigation into how Digitalisation is Changing the Role and Practice of Leadership in the Australian Defence Industry
No full textDigitalisation is a phenomenon that is transforming society and is the process that moves an organisation to become digital. Research was conducted on senior leaders in the Australian defence industry with the purpose of investigating how the role and practice of leadership was changing because of digitalisation. A two-phased qualitative methodology was employed. An initial Delphi study on 13 experts in digital transformation was adopted to gain consensus on key issues, with the results informing a second stage of semi-structured interviews with 32 senior leaders in the Australian defence industry. The results identified factors that were influencing leadership, including increased complexity, new technologies and business models, use of remote working and the abundance of data. The study found that digitalisation was understood and valued by senior leaders, and although the fundamental role of leadership was not changing there were new responsibilities including communicating in new ways and leading virtual teams. However, digitalisation was impacting leadership practice to enable rapid decision making based on enhanced information, use of new technologies and the need to be tech savvy. It also found that expectations of new entrants to the workforce were influencing leadership, and that digitalisation was allowing for more delegation and trust in staff. A new model for leadership in the digital economy was proposed using evidence from the findings of the study and drawing upon the leadership theories of transformation, servant, e-leadership and followership. This offers an original study in a field with a limited amount of literature and adds to the scholarly research in the field of leadership whilst providing an understanding of how the context of digitalisation challenges theory. It provides insights for leaders of digital transformation to help design leadership models for digitalisation