Implementing organizational learning initiatives

Different memory types for generating saccades at different stages of learning

Hippocampal strata theta oscillations change their frequency and coupling during spatial learning

PurposeThis study aims to propose a new research agenda for the theories of “organizational learning” and the “learning organization” in relation to the public sector. The research agenda can be used by researchers to make explicit accounts of how and where the results from their studies advance the current state-of-the-art in the intersection between public sector and organizational learning and/or the learning organization.Design/methodology/approachA combined systematic and bibliometric review methodology is applied based on the research that has been published in the past three decades.FindingsThrough an analysis of 238 journal publications obtained from the Scopus database, the authors determine the leading authors, countries, highly cited papers and take the stock of current literature. Similarly, by analyzing papers published between 2010 and 2020, the authors identify current tendencies and emerging themes of organizational learning and learning organization in the public sector and offer avenues for future research.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is potentially the first, fully refereed study published reporting on a bibliometric and a systematic review of organizational learning and learning organization in the public sector.

This study examines the relationship between anxiety and learning outcomes in English language acquisition among Arab Palestinian students attending Israeli colleges. Anxiety, widely acknowledged as a significant barrier in educational settings—particularly in foreign language learning—often contributes to negative attitudes toward the learning process. Adopting a qualitative, inductive methodology, this research investigates the multifaceted aspects of anxiety affecting the targeted demographic. A sample of 67 participants completed a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire, providing comprehensive data for analysis. The study begins by assessing the prevalence of anxiety among Arab Palestinian students, uncovering varying levels of anxiety across different stages of learning. Through extensive analysis, the research explores the sources and impacts of anxiety, as well as strategies for its management, offering detailed insights into its dynamics. Key findings highlight the critical roles of personal resources, teaching methods, and the classroom environment in shaping anxiety levels. Moreover, the study identifies distinct effects of anxiety on junior, intermediate, and senior students, emphasizing the unique challenges faced by learners at each level. These insights enhance understanding of the interplay between anxiety and English language acquisition, offering practical recommendations for educational interventions to foster supportive, anxiety-reducing learning environments. The findings of this research align with the results of a study conducted by Hyderpour et al., which demonstrated a correlation between test anxiety and performance in reading compre-hension tests within the context of English for General Purposes (EGP).

Mandatory information-based policy tools facilitate California farmers’ learning about nitrogen management

Best practices, policy and innovations in the administration of healthcare in developing communities and countries. For administrators, academics, researchers and policy leaders. Includes peer reviewed research papers. Edited by Dr. Judith Shamian, President Emeritus, International Council of Nurses, Professor and Co-investigator with the Nursing Health Services Research Unit, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

The approach of the school as a learning organisation was updated in the world with rapid changes in teaching and learning processes, in the governance of educational institutions and learning content and learning outcomes. Introducing, promoting and strengthening the approach of schools as learning organisations can also be observed in the field of education in Latvia. The learning organisation approach is based on cooperation between different parties to achieve common learning goals. In order to introduce, implement and strengthen the changes initiated in education in Latvia, it is necessary not only to develop cooperation between the different stakeholders, including the cooperation between the educational institution and its founder, particularly the municipality, but also to understand whether all stakeholders, especially municipalities, fully understand the approach of the school as a learning organisation when facilitating educational institutions to become learning organisations. The aim of the study was to find out the practice of the school as a learning organisation approach in education institutions in Latvia from the perspective of Latvian local governments. It was find out that the implementation of Latvian education policy in the context of school as a learning organisation in local governments does not take place within a single, unified system. It was identified that the obstacles or difficulties identified by local governments in the implementation of school as a learning organisation are applicable both at the level of education policy planning, at the whole-school level and at the school management level, furthermore, modelling and growing learning leadership is one of the weakest dimensions of the school as a learning organisation in educational institutions.

PurposeWhile the term “entrepreneurship” is not exclusively a private sector phenomenon, it is usually associated with private sector business activity and more specifically with small to medium enterprises. However, over the last two decades it has appeared in the public administration literature with increasing frequency. The recent research in public sector entrepreneurial activity makes an exploratory comparative analysis of the key components that are applicable from private sector entrepreneurship timely as the topic is emerging as an area of academic inquiry and research. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of private and public sector entrepreneurship using an analytical model from private and public sector entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachA clear understanding of the research issues involved requires an appreciation of the nexus between private sector entrepreneurship and the more limited research field of public sector entrepreneurship. The paper identifies and examines the historical and evolutionary research on entrepreneurship as a basis for analysis of public and private sector entrepreneurship.FindingsThe paper provides a comprehensive analysis that highlights key similarities, differences or a combination between public and private sector entrepreneurship and develops an existing model and framework for a systematic approach to the public sector entrepreneurial process.Originality/ valueBased on this exploration, new insights about public sector entrepreneurship are developed, practical implications for public sector entrepreneurs on how to approach public sector entrepreneurship more systematically and effectively are presented and opportunities for further research are identified.

Learning the contingencies of a complex experiment is hard, and animals likely revise their strategies multiple times during the process. Individuals learn in an idiosyncratic manner and may even end up with different asymptotic strategies. Modeling such long-run acquisition requires a flexible and extensible structure which can capture radically new behaviours as well as slow changes in existing ones. To this end, we suggest a dynamic input-output infinite hidden Markov model whose latent states capture behaviours. We fit this model to data collected from mice who learnt a contrast detection task over tens of sessions and thousands of trials. Different stages of learning are quantified via the number and psychometric nature of prevalent behavioural states. Our model indicates that initial learning proceeds via drastic changes in behavior (i.e. new states), whereas later learning consists of adaptations to existing states, even if the task structure changes notably at this time.

BackgroundSouth Africa has large public and private sectors and there is a common perception that public sector hospitals are inefficient and ineffective while the privately owned and managed hospitals provide superior care and are more sustainable. The underlying assumption is that there is a potential gap in management capacity between the two sectors. This study aims to ascertain the skills and competency levels of hospital managers in South Africa and to determine whether there are any significant differences in competency levels between managers in the different sectors.MethodsA survey using a self administered questionnaire was conducted among hospital managers in South Africa. Respondents were asked to rate their proficiency with seven key functions that they perform. These included delivery of health care, planning, organizing, leading, controlling, legal and ethical, and self-management. Ratings were based on a five point Likert scale ranging from very low skill level to very high skill level.ResultsThe results show that managers in the private sector perceived themselves to be significantly more competent than their public sector colleagues in most of the management facets. Public sector managers were also more likely than their private sector colleagues to report that they required further development and training.ConclusionThe findings confirm our supposition that there is a lack of management capacity within the public sector in South Africa and that there is a significant gap between private and public sectors. It provides evidence that there is a great need for further development of managers, especially those in the public sector. The onus is therefore on administrators and those responsible for management education and training to identify managers in need of development and to make available training that is contextually relevant in terms of design and delivery.

Mapping the neural patterns that drive human behavior is a key challenge in neuroscience. Even the simplest of our everyday actions stem from the dynamic and complex interplay of multiple neural structures across the central nervous system (CNS). Yet, most neuroimaging research has focused on investigating cerebral mechanisms, while the way the spinal cord accompanies the brain in shaping human behavior has been largely overlooked. Although the recent advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sequences that can simultaneously target the brain and spinal cord has opened up new avenues for studying these mechanisms at multiple levels of the CNS, research to date has been limited to inferential univariate techniques that cannot fully unveil the intricacies of the underlying neural states. To address this, we propose to go beyond traditional analyses and instead use a data-driven multivariate approach leveraging the dynamic content of cerebro-spinal signals using innovation-driven coactivation patterns (iCAPs). We demonstrate the relevance of this approach in a simultaneous brain-spinal cord fMRI dataset acquired during motor sequence learning (MSL), to highlight how large-scale CNS plasticity underpins rapid improvements in early skill acquisition and slower consolidation after extended practice. Specifically, we uncovered cortical, subcortical and spinal functional networks, which were used to decode the different stages of learning with a high accuracy and, thus, delineate meaningful cerebro-spinal signatures of learning progression. Our results provide compelling evidence that the dynamics of neural signals, paired with a data-driven approach, can be used to disentangle the modular organization of the CNS. While we outline the potential of this framework to probe the neural correlates of motor learning, its versatility makes it broadly applicable to explore the functioning of cerebro-spinal networks in other experimental or pathological conditions.

The issues of creating intelligent automated learning systems with a reflection function are considered. Using the theory of reflexive games by V.A. Lefebvre, an intelligent reflexive agent (IRA) is introduced into the structure of the learning system planner, providing a search for compromise solutions in the interaction of the models of the student, teacher, subject tutor and methodologist. The basic components of the model of reflexive perception of the IRA of the student and the learning situation are given, taking into account the specifics of decision-making for different stages of learning.

Active avoidance learning is a complex form of aversive feedback learning that in humans and other animals is essential for actively coping with unpleasant, aversive, or dangerous situations. Since the functional circuits involved in two-way avoidance (TWA) learning have not yet been entirely identified, the aim of this study was to obtain an overall picture of the brain circuits that are involved in active avoidance learning. In order to obtain a longitudinal assessment of activation patterns in the brain of freely behaving rats during different stages of learning, we applied single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We were able to identify distinct prefrontal cortical, sensory, and limbic circuits that were specifically recruited during the acquisition and retrieval phases of the two-way avoidance learning task.

A QUIZ-EXPERIMENT USING DATA-SHOW AND ION EXCHANGE RESINS.A demonstractive experiment was proposed in order to verify students' habilities in recognizing the presence and nature of ions in solutions, before and after their passage through ion-exchange columns.The students have no previous contact with ion-exchange resins, so they must deduce how they work and explain the experimental facts.The performance of classes, at different stages of learning, is compared and discussed.

The authors’ interest is connected with the application of new technologies in physics education as a means of improving the learning achievement of Physics students at different stages of learning The New Kind of Visual Model instructional strategy introduced in this research is a computer intelligent-based PowerPoint visual simulation used to investigate learning achievement in physics. The research study adopted the Quasi-Experimental Research design. The population comprised of a sample of 168 Secondary School Class-two Physics students purposively selected and treated to 40 minutes tutorials class on the concept of motion. The instrument used consisted in two parts: PowerPoint Computer-simulated visual models which constituted the treatment; and printed materials used to elicit responses to the treatment. There were two activity groups: Experimental group; and Control group. The research study revealed that New Kind of Visual Model instructional strategy contributed positively to learning achievement in physics; result also show that there is significant effect of treatment on students’ retention of learned materials; and has positive significant effect on students’ learning attitude. New Kind of Visual Model instructional strategy will reduce the effects of novelty in method of instruction in all areas of teaching-learning, and may constitute a basis for the use of conceptualism in Computer-aided physics education.