This qualitative study endeavored to interview professional immigrants in order to better understand the adjustment and career-related challenges that professional immigrants encounter when they immigrate to Canada and pursue educational retraining. The main purpose of the study was to explore retraining decisions and outcomes and uncover the factors that influence career resiliency amongst professional immigrants. It was discovered that most professional immigrants have a desirable pre-immigration career and come to Canada to provide a better standard of living for themselves and/or their children. Professional immigrants often expect that they will be able to continue in their vocational field after arriving in Canada with little or no retraining. Unfortunately, most professional immigrants encounter significant initial career barriers such as discrimination, a lack of social networks, and non-recognition of foreign education and work experience. These barriers often lead to issues such as unemployment, under-employment, unfair treatment, psychological distress and a reduced standard of living. To help cope with these difficulties, most professional immigrants rely on social support and personal actions. In particular, encountered career challenges often prompt professional immigrants to adopt educational retraining as a career-enhancing strategy. The specific retraining experiences and career outcomes of participants were explored and discussed in detail. In summary, some participants were able to re-establish a career in Canada that was as satisfying as their pre-immigration career, however, most participants were unable to establish a career that is equivalent to their pre-Canadian career status. A number of participants even found themselves’ unemployed or grossly under-employed despite living in Canada for at least six years and having completed retraining. Overall, participants in this study represented a wide range of experiences which served to guide the formation of a new theoretical model for career resiliency. In addition to accounting for the influence of individual, relational and contextual factors, the newly presented Relative Encompassment Model of Career Resiliency accounts for the influence of relative comparisons, which were found to influence participant’s attitudes, perceptions and coping abilities. The important implications for theory, policy and practice are discussed. Suggestions for future research on career resiliency are also made.

This study explored a sample of clinical psychologists' preferred resolutions to a series of hypothetical ethical dilemmas and their primary reasons for these choices. The relationship of various professional characteristics to choices and reasons was assessed. Ethical dilemmas volunteered by respondents were analyzed. Results indicated a general lack of consistency in decision making among psychologists in both actions taken to resolve dilemmas and reasons chosen to justify these actions. On the whole, psychologists with different characteristics did not differ in their choice of response to ethical dilemmas or their reasons for these choices. It is argued that diversity in professional decision making, and the ethical dilemmas volunteered by the profession, may serve as useful indices of those ethical issues that pose difficulties for professionals. These results are discussed in the light of similar findings and in the context of current ethical regulations. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

This thesis explores the subjects of professionalism and ethics as they relate to archivists and seeks to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of the ethical codes adopted by two national archival associations in North America. The archival profession in North America is in its infancy compared to its status in Europe. Having been identified with serving scholarship and other "non-essential" pursuits, archivists have begun to involve themselves in more vital records management tasks involving access to information and privacy issues. As the archival profession strives to achieve greater public recognition and trust to better carry out these and other sensitive tasks, the need for a code of ethics has become more acute. Both the Society of American Archivists and the Association of Canadian Archivists have developed codes in the last few years in an attempt to set standards of conduct in the face of rising responsibilities. However, many of the elements have been borrowed from other codes and with the need to ensure that such codes will be observed by members and enforceable by sanction, it seems timely that some means be established for analyzing their effectiveness. This thesis attempts to establish the tools for analysis of archival codes of ethics. To this end, it examines professionalism and ethics and the relationship between them. It draws upon the literature on emergent professions, establishing some of the characteristics of recognized professions. It also draws upon the literature on professional ethics to determine how one might look at existing codes from an ethical perspective. It examines the nature of archives and archival work to identify ethical principles regarding archival material and its treatment. Ultimately, the elements of these foregoing discussions form the basis for analyzing archival codes of ethics. The thesis generally concludes that ethical codes must be placed in an ethical infrastructure which reinforces the values and principles embodied in a code of ethics. Moreover, a better understanding and consensus about the purpose or goals of the profession needs to be achieved and stated in the codes themselves. Greater attention needs to be paid to formulating basic principles which can be applied in unpredictable situations. Greater use of logical relationships between code components is also needed. Finally, to become truly useful, the North American codes need to be made more comprehensive and to this end, it is suggested that professional archival groups abandon their attempt to provide ethical guidance solely in encapsulated form.

Žmogus tobulina kompetenciją visą gyvenimą, sąveikaudamas su kitais žmonėmis. Todėl kompetencija yra neatsiejama nuo darbo aplinkos ir žmonių santykių. Mokslininkai išskiria labai įvairias kompetencijas, taip pat gausu ir kompetencijų apibrėžimų. Kompetencija - gebėjimas veikti, sąlygotas žinių, mokėjimų, įgūdžių, požiūrių, asmens savybių bei vertybių. Šia sąvoka apibrėžiamas asmeninis potencialas ir galimybė pritaikyti kintamus ir tikslingus gebėjimus remiantis žiniomis ir patirtimi. Kompetenciją galima traktuoti kaip visumą (competence) ir kaip atskiras sudėtines bendrosios profesinės kompetencijos dalis (competencies). Skirtingo veiklos hierarchinio lygio atlikimui reikia skirtingo lygio kompetencijos. Holistiniu požiūriu kompetenciją leidžiama aiškinti kaip gebėjimą įvertinti naują situaciją, pasirinkti joje tinkamus veiklos metodus, ir integruoti dalykines bei profesines žinias. Darbuotojo kvalifikaciją, kaip jau yra įprasta, rodo jo darbai – kaip užduočių ar sumanymų vykdymo rezultatas. Kvalifikacija ir yra tinkamais rezultatais įrodyta atitiktis darbo reikalavimams. Kvalifikacija yra sudaryta iš kompetencijos, nes ji yra esminis elementas, nusakantis asmens ryšį su užduotimi. Kompetencijų kiekis ir pobūdis gali kisti, tai priklauso nuo jų sudėtingumo ir pobūdžio. Mažmeninės prekybos darbuotojų profesinės kompetencijos yra labai įvairios. Pagrindinės išskiriamos profesinės kompetencijos: komunikavimo, darbo komandoje, profesinio kryptingumo, profesinės kaitos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / During all the life people improve their competence through dealing with other people. That is why the competence is so closely connected with work area and relationship. Scientists separate different kinds of competence. There are also a great number of definitions of the competence. The competence is an expression of the professional qualification, an ability to work that is dependent on the knowledge, skills, habits, points of view, personality characteristics and values of an individual. Personal potential and possibility to apply changeable and expedient abilities referring to knowledge and experience are defined by the definition of competence. It is possible to treat competence as the totality and as the separate parts of the compound common professional competence. For the implementation of different hierarchy work level there are needed competencies of the different level. According to the holistic point of view it is possible to define the competence as an ability to evaluate new situation, choose suitable work methods in it and integrate professional knowledge. Obvious that the qualification of an employee is determined by the work result in other words the implementation of different tasks and plans. Qualification is a correspondence to the work orders that is proved by suitable results. Qualification compiles of competence because it is the main element that defines person‘s connection with the task. The quantity and the method of the competence can vary... [to full text]

Profesinio rengimo tinklo veiklos tobulinimo problema kaitos kontekste Lietuvoje kaip niekada yra aktuali. EUROSTAT duomenimis, Lietuva yra tarp trijų labiausiai atsiliekančių Europos Sąjungos šalių pagal darbo jėgos dalyvavimą formaliajame ir neformaliajame mokyme. Šalies profesinio rengimo sektorius nespėja reaguoti į aplinkos pokyčius ir šalies ūkio poreikius, t.y. trūksta kvalifikuotų darbininkų, paslaugų sektoriaus darbuotojų, aukštos kvalifikacijos specialistų. Tyrimo objektas: profesinio rengimo centrų veiklos ypatumai. Tyrimo tikslas: atskleisti profesinio rengimo centrų veiklos ypatumus kaitos sąlygomis, pateikti rekomendacijas profesinio rengimo centrų veiklos tobulinimui. Tyrimo metodologija. Darbe remiamasi esminėmis profesinio rengimo teorinėmis nuostatomis. Nagrinėjami Lietuvos ir Europos Sąjungos norminiai aktai, reglamentuojantys profesinį rengimą. Į profesinio rengimo centrų veiklos ypatumus, kaitos sąlygomis, žvelgiama iš Lietuvos ir Europos profesinio rengimo konteksto. Analizuojami profesinio rengimo centrų veiklos ypatumai kaitos kontekste: kas pasikeitė, ko siekiama, ką reikėtų tobulinti pedagogų ir studentų požiūriu. Tyrimo metodologinį pagrindą sudaro: į asmenį nukreipto ugdymo filosofinė kryptis; į produktyvumą nukreipto ugdymo filosofinė kryptis; į problemos sprendimo įgūdžius nukreipto ugdymo filosofinė kryptis. Tyrimo metodai: literatūros šaltinių analizė, dokumentų analizė; anketinė apklausa, statistinės analizės metodas. Tyrimo imtis ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the context of changes the issue of improvement of vocational training network became highly relevant in Lithuania. In accordance with EUROSTAT data Lithuania is among three countries of the European Union with the least developed participation of labour force in formal and informal education. The sector of vocational training does not react to the changes of environment and country’s economy fast enough, i.e. there is a constant shortage of qualified workers, workers in service sector and high qualification specialists. Subject of the study: activity peculiarities of vocational training centres. Aim of the study: identify peculiarities of activity of vocational training centres under conditions of changes and give recommendations on this matter. Methodology of the study. Theoretic provisions of vocational training and regulatory legal acts of European Union regulating vocational training were analysed. Peculiarities of vocational training under conditions of changes are viewed through the context of vocational training applied in Lithuania and Europe. Analysis of activity of vocational centres under conditions of changes is carried out: what changed, what goals are set, what should be improved according to pedagogues and students. Methodological study is based on three alternatives – personality development trends originating from different philosophical traditions: philosophical trend of person-orientated education; philosophical trend of productivity-orientated... [to full text]

The obligation to maintain and develop professional competence throughout an individual’s career is a fundamental requirement of a maintaining a professional accounting designation. Accountants can select their continuing professional development (CPD) from a number of modalities. The study was a cross sectional sample created by self selection from a researchers' email invitation to accountants in Canada to determine which modalities accountants preferred, and the selection factors they used in making those selections. A total of 428 accountants from across Canada completed the online survey. The results found that the accountants had taken courses in all modalities presented with live seminar and live webinar being the most popular modalities. Accountants preferred synchronous over asynchronous courses. The factors most important to accountants are content, cost and CPD hour requirements. Generally, the differences found in selection factors for distance versus face-to-face modalities related to the flexibility of the distance course to reduce time away from work. The ranking of selection factors for synchronous courses in general did not differ from those for asynchronous courses with the exception of self-paced courses where the pace and time away from work were ranked higher than for other courses. Further research is suggested to determine the value of both live and recorded seminars and webinars, as well as potential opportunities for mobile modality use for CPD courses. Additional research should be conducted to determine why differences were found in ranking in demographics in order to ensure that future CPD courses are offered in modalities that provide benefits for all respondents. / 2012-06

This study evaluated the third design iteration of a networked teacher professional development (nTPD) implementation. In particular, the study explored the kinds of teacher technology professional learning that resulted as a consequence of nTPD participation. As part of an ongoing design-based research program, the goal of this study was to evaluate the teacher learning resulting from participation in online-delivered TPD activities. In addition the results inform an evolving model of nTPD articulating the components and elements of the online learning activities that have value in supporting and/or advancing teacher practices. The results of this study indicate that teachers who participate in nTPD find the experiential learning activities and the sharing of resources and lesson plans to be valuable for their professional practice. NTPD, delivered in a social networking site environment, results in new kinds of teacher learning opportunities. Some of these new learning opportunities include shared digital curation activities and unique cognitive-apprenticeship type activities described further as “learning over the shoulders of giants.” In theory, nTPD provides teachers with opportunities to connect with others who are teaching in similar curricular areas to identify, develop, and share resources that can support their teaching practice. In practice, the articulation of a revised nTPD model and design principles provides developers of online-networked TPD with guidelines for the development of valued learning activities, particularly for technology TPD topics. / 2013-03

Founding the society of knowledge Lithuanian educational system changes in essence. The ways of content conveyance are changing, the active learning methods that induce independence and collaboration are ingrafted. The system for especially talented children and young people is being established and developed. The practice of independent development and possibilities to educate students of different abilities and needs are effectively improving. The new goals for teachers are determined. A teacher should be a coordinator of education, a creator of new possibilities in education system, an adviser, a partner, a mediator between students and modern sources of information. The teachers have to develop their competence using learning resources at their workplace and perceive learning possibilities in everyday situations. The teachers who are working at the modern school should be able to work as a team learning and working together, looking for new decisions, causing the interest in work of their colleagues, making an atmosphere of learning and collaborating, looking for more effective teaching and learning ways. The competence becomes more relevant for teachers on solving questions of education management and changing. The modern teacher needs new abilities. The improvement of teaching is very often related to teacher’s knowledge, to the application of innovations in teaching practice, to the improvement of teaching methods aiming producing optimal school subject results... [to full text]

In the current context of health care, the registered nurses’ perception and enactment of accountability may be constrained by many factors out of their control. The purpose of this research was to examine how registered nurses perceive accountability and translate this to professional practice. A Grounded Theory approach was adopted to explore 11 registered nurses’ understanding and experiences enacting accountability in clinical practice. Data were obtained through semi structured interviews. The theory that emerged provides a detailed portrait of the process of enacting and/or retreating from accountability. The process encompasses 4 stages where the registered nurses: develop personal understanding, then gain professional knowledge, find their way in the complex healthcare system and concludes with becoming professionally confident. The development of the stages exposed a multitude of challenges faced by the registered nurses in fulfilling accountability expectations. Importantly, the registered nurses’ expended significant effort in finding a balance between their individual accountability and the collaborative accountability of the healthcare team and organization which contributed to retreating from accountability. The contextual factors of financial and human resources, institutional culture and healthcare system processes were found to contribute to the registered nurses enacting and/or retreating from accountability. The study findings illustrate the importance of ongoing reflective practice, mentorship and continuing education, all of which have implications for nursing educators and healthcare executives in preparing and supporting registered nurses’ in practice. Further research on the concepts of this theory of accountability is needed to obtain a greater understanding of how the concepts can be operationalized within the context of current healthcare systems.

An aging workforce and stressful work environments are major issues potentially impacting the health, and in particular the cardiovascular health of Canadian hospital nurses. No study, to date, has examined the independent and combined effects between the work environment and indicators of cardiovascular risk among female Canadian nurses. The primary goal of this study was to determine if selected work characteristics influences cardiovascular risk profiles. One hundred and forty four nurses from two hospitals participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed a questionnaire containing validated measures of job characteristics as measured by the Job Content Questionnaire and the professional practice work environment as measured by the Nursing Work Index (Revised). Indicators of cardiovascular risk were obtained by anthropometric measures, clinical exam and serum sampling. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome, as classified by the NCEP ATP III Panel, was 7.7 % (n = 11) with 31.9 % having waist circumferences > 88 cm; 22% having a systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHG and 15.2% having a diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mmHG. There was no statistically significant association between traditional measures of job strain and cardiovascular risk. In stepwise backward regression analyses, higher age, lower perception of autonomy and higher family income accounted for 22% of the variance in waist circumference (p < .001). Higher age and higher physical job demands accounted for 17% of the variance in systolic blood pressure, and 16% of the variance in diastolic blood pressure. Similar to other female studies, there was no significant relationship between psychosocial job strain characteristics, as measured with traditional job strain measurements, and cardiovascular risk. The findings from this study suggest that female nurses are at risk for cardiovascular disease, and that both physical and organizational characteristics of the work environment influence these associations. One may argue that traditional job strain is not unexpected in nursing practice is perhaps less stressful than dealing with high patient acuity, moral distress and hierarchical healthcare organizations. / Thesis (Master, Nursing) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-14 14:09:00.389