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The purpose of this study is to present a quality improvement approach titled “Picture-Understanding-Action” used in Ireland to enhance the role of healthcare boards in the oversight of healthcare quality and its improvement.

The novel and practical “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach was implemented using the Model for Improvement to iteratively introduce changes across three quality improvement projects. This approach outlines the concepts and activities used at each step to support planning and implementation of processes that allow a board to effectively achieve its role in overseeing and improving quality. This approach matured over three quality improvement projects.

The “Picture” included quantitative and qualitative aspects. The quantitative “Picture” consisted of a quality dashboard/profile of board selected outcome indicators representative of the health system using statistical process control (SPC) charts to focus discussion on real signals of change. The qualitative picture was based on the experience of people who use and work in health services which “people-ised” the numbers. Probing this “Picture” with collective grounding, curiosity and expert training/facilitation developed a shared “Understanding”. This led to “Action(s)” from board members to improve the “Picture” and “Understanding” (feedback action), to ask better questions and make better decisions and recommendations to the executive (feed-forward action). The Model for Improvement, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles and a co-design approach in design and implementation were key to success.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time a board has undertaken a quality improvement (QI) project to enhance its own processes. It addresses a gap in research by outlining actions that boards can take to improve their oversight of quality of care.

This paper describes a quality improvement project to improve oversight of quality at national board level using statistical process control (SPC) methods, complimented by a qualitative experience of patients and frontline staff. It demonstrates the application of the “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach and shares the lessons learnt.

Using co-design and applying the “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach, the project team supported the directors of the Irish health system to identify and test a qualitative and quantitative picture of the quality of care across the health system. A “Quality Profile” consisting of quantitative indicators, analysed using SPC methods was used to provide an overview of the “critical few” indicators across health and social care. Patient and front-line staff experiences added depth and context to the data. These methods were tested and evolved over the course of six meetings, leading to quality of care being prioritised and interrogated at board level.

This project resulted in the integration of quality as a substantive and prioritised agenda item. Using best practice SPC methods with associated training produced better understanding of performance of the system. In addition, bringing patient and staff experiences of quality to the forefront “people-ised” the data.

The application of the “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach facilitated the development of a co-designed quality agenda item. This is a novel process that shifted the focus from “providing” information to co-designing fit-for-purpose information at board level.

Project‐based learning has been used in a number of disciplines to provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to simulate professional activities and apply theory to practice. It has been identified as an effective way to develop a range of transferable skills required by employers. This article aims to report a novel application of project‐based learning, which provided students with an opportunity to work on an international collaboration, facilitated by videoconferencing and Web 2.0.

Drawing on a number of data sources, this article examines the contribution that project‐based learning made to the development of key skills which employers within the media industry expect graduates to possess.

Conclusions suggest how project‐based learning can be used more widely to develop a range of employability skills. The international context and the use of new technologies were also seen by students to be important aspects of the project. Students offered some original insights into how these may enhance project‐based learning.

This study deals with a novel application of project‐based learning, which gave students an opportunity to work on an international collaboration, facilitated by videoconferencing and Web 2.0. Students offered some original insights into how the international context and the use of new technologies may enhance project‐based learning.

This paper discusses New Zealand's attempt to deal with insider trading by statutory means. New Zealand's attempt is of particular interest since it has two features which distinguish it from other jurisdictions. The first feature is the decision to reject the criminalisation of insider trading and to instead rely upon civil enforcement of insider trading alone. The second feature is the failure to provide a state agency with powers to take action (whether civil or criminal) against insider trading. The New Zealand legislation, the Securities Amendment Act 1988 (‘the Act’), was put in place after the stockmarket crash of 1987 in response to outcries against perceived abuses in the market. The Act has been in force for seven years, yet no case involving allegations of insider trading has been taken to completion. The basis of the insider trading regime is private enforcement which, in the light of its failure to provide effective remedies and control, needs to be reviewed.

In the current knowledge‐based economic climate, the success of an organisation is inextricably linked to the individual. This article seeks to consider the key relationships between the individual, lifelong learning, the workplace and employability in the context of the knowledge society. The aim is to extend understanding of these relationships and their impact on future employability.

The paper examines the key relationships between the individual, lifelong learning, the workplace and employability from the perspective of the Programme for University Industry Interface (PUII).

The discussions focus on the implications of the current situation for the future and suggest ecology as a metaphor for the way in which learning is intertwined in a complex environment that incorporates the learner, the workplace, the external company environment and the knowledge repositories.

The paper sheds light on these particular issues through the findings of the PUII. The authors also explore potential avenues for advancement or resolution of some issues, e.g. strategies for developing self‐directed learners and approaches to workplace learning based on these findings.