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The LEAF (Learning from and Engaging with Assessment and Feedback) project addressed a key issue in third-level teaching and learning: assessment and feedback. The LEAF team comprised 18 academics from across the TU Dublin City Campus and representatives from all Colleges, along with the Director of Student Affairs and the Students’ Union Education Officer. This paper presents the findings of the LEAF project. Assessment strategies have been shown to have a large impact on shaping student learning process strategies which feedforward into key employability skills. Learning from best practice, surveys from staff and students and analysis of the quality documents, the project developed a set of recommendations to enhance practices in assessment and feedback. Many challenges were identified over the course of this project in relation to the timeliness, amount and quality of feedback, assessment load, burden on staff and students, student expectations, monologue versus dialogue approach to feedback, inconsistency across programmes and poor integration of assessment and feedback into the academic quality framework. Key drivers identified throughout the project that are necessary to enhance assessment and feedback strategies include adequate resourcing, alignment of assessment with graduate attributes, inclusion of the student voice and more widespread use of technology.

The LEAF (Learning from and Engaging with Assessment and Feedback) project was funded under the Teaching Fellowship in TU Dublin, city campus for 18 months beginning in January 2018. The project team comprised 18 academics from across the TU Dublin - City Campus and there are representatives from all colleges. Also included were two further members who represented the student voice: the Director of Student Affairs and the Students’ Union Education Officer. This project sought to address a key issue in third level Teaching and Learning, that of assessment and assessment feedback. Assessment strategies have been shown to have a large impact on shaping how students learn and how they develop key employability skills. Learning from best practice nationally and internationally, and research from staff, students and quality documents, this project has developed a set of recommendations which will enhance practices in, and experiences of, assessments and feedback in TU Dublin.

Soft skills are skills such as interpersonal and social skills, communication skills, teamwork and the ability to self motivate. Numerous studies have shown that employers in the tourism, hospitality and events sectors place high value on soft skills when recruiting new employees, yet these skills can often be underdeveloped in graduates of tourism and hospitality programmes (Stietska-Ilina et al. 2005, Nyanjom and Wilkins 2016). This in part because unlike hard skills, which are more technical in nature and as a result, measurable, soft skills can be difficult to measure, document and assess in third level education programmes. This paper reports on an ongoing Organizational Development initiative to embed soft skills development in tourism, hospitality and events management degree programmes in a school in a third level institution in Ireland. We present data gathered from students, lecturers and employers in the sector who were asked what skills they believed were required by graduates. The results indicate that although there is general agreement that soft skills are key, there is some disparity between which skills are most valued by the three cohorts. The challenges of this finding are explored. Utilizing this data and related European initiatives the paper also presents a framework for measuring and documenting soft skills development with the aim of encouraging the legitimization and institutionalization of soft skills development in tourism, hospitality and events. This research will be of use to educators interested in embedding soft skills within education and training programmes. References: Nyanjom J. & Wilkins H. (2016) The Development of Emotional Labor Skill in Food and Beverage Practical Training, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 28:4,178-188. Strietska-Ilina O., Tessaring H., Dworschak B., Schmidt S.L., Freikamp H. & Mytek K. (2005) Trends and Skills Needs in Tourism. Office for the Official Puyblication of the European Comission: Luxembourg.

Aim: To illustrate the potential use of rapid review approaches in nursing and midwifery research by presenting a worked example from a study conducted to inform policy decision making. Background: Rapid reviews, which can be defined as outputs of a knowledge synthesis approach that involves modifying or omitting elements of a systematic review process due to limited time or resources, are becoming increasingly popular in health research. This paper provides guidance on how a rapid review can be undertaken and discusses the strengths and challenges of the approach. Data source and research design: Data from a rapid review of the literature undertaken in 2015 is used as a worked example to highlight one method of undertaking a rapid review. Implications for nursing: Seeking evidence to inform health policy making or evidence based practice is a process that can be limited by time constraints, making it difficult to conduct comprehensive systematic reviews.

Introduction: Postgraduate psychiatry training occurs in the workplace or situated learning settings. The Cognitive Apprenticeship Model [CAM] was introduced as an instructional model for situated learning. While undergraduate medical students' experience of the model has been tested, to our knowledge there has been no such reports from postgraduate psychiatry training. Methods: We surveyed 134 Oxford Deanery psychiatry trainees recruited between 2005 and 2013 through an online questionnaire. Respondents identified which CAM components [scaffolding, modelling coaching, articulation, reflection exploration] were the best aspects, and most needing improvement, in their clinical training. Results: Of 57 respondents, 80% were satisfied with and enjoyed [90%] their training. They recognised all individual CAM components; modelling and coaching were identified as the best methods. Exploration was identified as the one most in need of improvement. The behavioural [modelling, coaching and scaffolding] rather than the cognitive methods were identified as the best aspects of their training [54 v 35%, p < 0.001]. Conclusions: The results extend findings from undergraduate students in suggesting that the CAM is a useful model for training strategies. Greater awareness of the cognitive components may be needed. The training methods could be included as indicators of training quality in national quality assurance surveys.

Purpose: The chapter describes and reflects upon an EU-funded research initiative, TRADEIT, which has attempted to develop a learning network among European traditional food producers as one way of contributing to the economic sustainability of the ventures, the social sustainability of the food’s regional character, and the environmental sustainability of food production through the use of traditional methods. Design/methodology/approach: The chapter describes TRADEIT before moving on to an exploration of learning in organizations and networks. It outlines the action learning research methodology developed and implemented to explore the development of a learning network in TRADEIT. A single case history is presented to illustrate the engagement of a small food producer in the network. Findings: The discussion reflects on the application of action learning in supporting sustainability evident in TRADEIT. Originality/value: The chapter focuses on the application of action learning in the development of a learning network among traditional food producers across Europe. Keywords: Learning network; action learning; traditional food producers, sustainability Paper Category: Action learning

Case studies are a useful means of capturing and sharing experiential knowledge by allowing researchers to explore the social, organisational and political contexts of a specific case. Although accounts of action learning are often reported using a case study approach, it is not common to see individual case studies being used as a learning practice within action learning sets. Drawing network action learning project this paper explores how the process of coaching, articulating, authoring, sharing and editing case studies provided a vehicle for learning and research within the network action learning sets. The intended contribution of this paper to the theory of action learning is to extend the range of learning practices to include the case study within the network action learning set. It discusses how case studies act as boundary objects, which are artefacts which can be used to cross boundaries between groups in order to facilitate learning that might not otherwise occur.

Tourism destination governance is concerned with the development and management of a destination; who is involved and how they are involved. Although the term governance was traditionally associated with politics and government structures it has become more broadly applied in recent years to also describe more grassroots approaches involving various community stakeholders such as individual business owners in tourism product and service provision, business owners in other sectors, community leaders and community residents Morrison (2013). Turbulence in the market has forced the tourism industry to move away from centralised, government-led, hierarchical type of governance towards more participatory approaches where stakeholders are included in decision-making. In Ireland, the importance of community engagement in tourism development, has been acknowledged by policy makers (Fáilte Ireland, 2010; The Tourism Recovery Taskforce, 2012). More than important however, it has been argued that for a destination development to be successful, community involvement is essential (Jamal & Watt, 2011). It has been shown that ensuring that stakeholders have active involvement in tourism development can enhance success by reducing conflicts, building trust, adding to the transparency of the process, improving policy co-ordination and creating an added-value to the enterprise through the utilisation of stakeholder knowledge (Ford, 2011; Schianetz et al., 2009). Nevertheless, despite the rhetoric about the importance of including community stakeholders in destination development, in reality it does not happen often (Myers, Budruk, & Andereck, 2011; Schianetz et al., 2009). This paper describes an ongoing project where community members have been encouraged to become involved in destination development. The project is focused on examining how the iconic story of St Brendan the Navigator could be developed into a tourism experience along the Wild Atlantic Way in North and West Kerry. The challenges faced in attempting this type of tourism governance are described, as well as how they can be addressed.

The question driving learning in this paper is how to organise and structure a complex action learning research network of practitioners and researchers in a pan-European network of traditional food producers. The context is an EU’s Seventh Framework Programme of a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral collaborative project supporting a network of traditional food producers in dairy, meat and bakery sub-sectors. The project is aiming to establish a network for the effective transfer of innovative knowledge, processes and technologies with a view to improving traditional food production by providing training to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship. While much of the literature on action learning focuses on systems developing their capacity to learn and change, this paper explores how the same principles can apply to action learning researchers working collaboratively.

There is no one‘right’way to collaborate to develop food tourism but the aim of this manual is to provide you with advice on good practice illustrated by case studies from home and abroad. The advice provided is based on research with three committees based in Ireland who were directly or peripherally involved in developing food tourism, as well as decades of research on collaboration, networks, tourism and food tourism. Throughout the manual are exercises which will help apply this advice to your region and circumstances, key facts which provide evidenced based research information and insights from members of the three committees. You are also pointed towards various websites which provide further information on various aspects of food tourism.

Food Tourism has been recognised as a fast growing niche area where Ireland can gain competitive advantage. In recognition of the importance of collaboration among diverse stakeholders in the development of food tourism, networks have been identified as essential. This article presents findings from research conducted with three networks and reveals the motivations for committee membership. Data was gathered in 2012 through participant observation and interviews with steering committee members on three food networks using an action research approach. A framework for examining motivations for collaboration is offered in this article which will contribute to effective network management. Motivations are aligned on a spectrum with individualistic motivations on one end and altruistic motivations on the other. Individuals expressing motives for committee membership at the altruistic end of the spectrum tended to focus on the benefits to the community as a whole and to all the businesses involved in network initiatives. At the individualistic end of the spectrum, personal or organisational gains are the motivators for collaboration. The majority of participants were motivated to become involved by recognising the potential benefits to others in the region as well as the personal benefits that could be gained from committee membership. The desire and ability of individuals to volunteer for committee membership was also influenced by contextual factors in the social and business environment within which they operated. Understanding that within a committee, all committee members have their own, possibly different motivations for participation and that there are contextual elements that encourage or prevent them from acting on these motivations, will allow for more effective collaboration and will contribute to the sustainability of networks.

Aim This paper is a report of a study on how nurses inform their decision-making in the workplace Background Despite the growing availability of research evidence, nurses have been slow to adopt it into their daily decision-making. Method The study was undertaken in Ireland between 2006 and 2007 using a sequential mixed methods approach. In phase 1, the views of a quota sample of 29 nurses were explored using semi-structured interviews incorporating vignettes. Phase 2 involved the design and dissemination of a survey to a disproportionate stratified random sample of 1356 nurses. The response rate was 29%. Findings In decision-making, nurses accessed other people, especially nursing colleagues, the most frequently. Sources that provided prepackaged information such as guidelines were favoured over sources that provided access to original research. The process of information-seeking for routine and non-routine decisions was different. Nurses making routine decisions relied mostly on their experience and an assessment of the patient. In non-routine decision-making, participants experienced more uncertainty about their decisions. Accordingly, sources of information used were more varied and the information-seeking process more extensive. The study highlighted the complexities of establishing whether information used in decision-making is research based or not. Conclusion Routine practices should be reviewed and updated regularly through organizational mandates, as nurses do not generally question them. Research information to inform non-routine decision-making must be easily available to nurses in their workplace, as information searches generally prioritize finding enough, rather than the best, information to make a decision.