Margaret McAllister, Shirley Morrissey, Donna McAuliffe, Graham Davidson, Harry McConnell and Prasuna Reddy
It is now common place for mental health services to operate using multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) where several health professionals simultaneously maintain their disciplinary…
Abstract
Purpose
It is now common place for mental health services to operate using multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) where several health professionals simultaneously maintain their disciplinary distinctiveness and assume complementary professional roles. This requires awareness of other team members' disciplines and good team‐work skills. Yet in Australia, the preparation of health professionals continues to occur primarily in single‐discipline programs, where interaction with other disciplines often only occurs in an ad hoc, time‐limited way during clinical placement. This paper seeks to provide serious reflection on preparing students for the multidisciplinary practice within the mental health system.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors introduce a student placement preparation learning package that was developed and trialled with a range of health professional students at two Australian universities. Transformative learning principles underpinned the development of the education materials and related activities, which were designed to sensitise students to the potential problems that arise within MDTs and to equip them with communication strategies for use in their university placement experiences, as well as in their future professional practice.
Findings
The very large majority of student placement preparation workshop participants rated the workshop activities as extremely helpful. After participating in the activities, the very large majority of participants strongly endorsed the workshop learning objectives of understanding the different roles of MDTs members, skills required for working in MDTs, principles of collaborative team‐work and respectful, positive attitudes to MDTs members.
Originality/value
The transformative learning approaches to education of health professionals which are described in this paper help students to examine ways to think more critically and constructively about MDTs.
Details
Keywords
Chenfeng Xiong, Xiqun Chen and Lei Zhang
This chapter explores a descriptive theory of multidimensional travel behaviour, estimation of quantitative models, and demonstration in an agent-based microsimulation.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter explores a descriptive theory of multidimensional travel behaviour, estimation of quantitative models, and demonstration in an agent-based microsimulation.
Theory
A descriptive theory on multidimensional travel behaviour is conceptualised. It theorizes multidimensional knowledge updating, search start/stopping criteria, and search/decision heuristics. These components are formulated or empirically modelled and integrated in a unified and coherent approach.
Findings
The theory is supported by empirical observations and the derived quantitative models are tested by an agent-based simulation on a demonstration network.
Originality and value
Based on artificially intelligent agents, learning and search theory, and bounded rationality, this chapter makes an effort to embed a sound theoretical foundation for the computational process approach and agent-based microsimulations. A pertinent new theory is proposed with experimental observations and estimations to demonstrate agents with systematic deviations from the rationality paradigm. Procedural and multidimensional decision-making are modelled. The numerical experiment highlights the capabilities of the proposed theory in estimating rich behavioural dynamics.
Details
Keywords
Melissa Marot, John W. Selsky, William Hart and Prasuna Reddy
The purpose of this paper is to examine how research teams serve as building blocks for collaboration at a field level, and how these building blocks are assembled by a network of…
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine how research teams serve as building blocks for collaboration at a field level, and how these building blocks are assembled by a network of interacting organizations. The field setting is a medical sciences consortium in Australia established to encourage collaborative and entrepreneurial research among government, industry, research centers and university units. This consortium is examined as a case study. The analysis demonstrates how collaboration evolved at three interacting levels: research team, organization and interorganizational field.
The main findings are: (1) Intellectual property (IP) acts as the key orienting agent in this field to align the behavior of various stakeholders and leverage collaborative and entrepreneurial activity. (2) Tensions between the different ways that the commercial and public sector actors value IP serve to structure the interfaces among the consortium, the member organizations and the research teams. (3) The consortium is a key infrastructural element in the creation of collaborative capital in the Australian biotechnology field studied. The main contribution of the study is to highlight the nature of collaborative capital at a field level and begin to explore its implications.
Michael M. Beyerlein, Susan T. Beyerlein and Frances A. Kennedy
Attention focusing on intangible forms of capital is increasing in both research and practice. Lev and Zambon (2003) write in the introduction of a special issue of the European…
Abstract
Attention focusing on intangible forms of capital is increasing in both research and practice. Lev and Zambon (2003) write in the introduction of a special issue of the European Accounting Review, “We strongly believe that intangibles are the major drivers of company growth” (p. 597). Intellectual capital seems to have led the way in the conceptual development of intangible values. However, other forms of intangible capital are being defined, including: organizational, human, relationship, social, political, innovation, and collaborative. This volume consists of papers that focus on the latter. We broadly define collaborative capital as the organizational assets that enable people to work together well. It is manifested in such outcomes as increased innovation and creativity, commitment and involvement, flexibility and adaptability, leveraging knowledge, and enhancing learning.