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Recent policy initiatives in England have focused on promoting "interactive" teaching in schools, with a clear expectation that this will lead to improvements in learning. This expectation is based on the perceived success of such approaches in other parts of the world. At the same time, there has been a large investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources, and particularly in interactive whiteboard technology. This paper explores the idea of interactive teaching in relation to the interactive technology which might be used to support it. It explains the development of a framework for the detailed analysis of teaching and learning in activity settings which is designed to represent the features and relationships involved in interactivity. When applied to a case study of interactive teaching during a lesson involving a variety of technology-based activities, the framework reveals a confusion of purpose in students' use of an ICT resource that limits the potential for learning when students are working independently. Discussion of relationships between technical and pedagogical interactivity points a way forward concerning greater focus on learning goals during activity in order to enable learners to be more autonomous in exploiting ICT's affordances, and the conclusion identifies the variables and issues which need to be considered in future research which will illuminate this path.

It is a challenge for teacher educators to develop innovative pedagogical practices amongst initial teacher education (ITE) students when much of their learning is gained in schools where practice is slow to change. This paper examines two such practices which are currently being promoted through government policy for children's education in Wales: the use of play as a mode of learning and the development of capability in information and communications technology (ICT). A study of how ITE students learn from informal experience with novel technologies and structured play in an ICT course setting is analysed in relation to their experiences of teaching ICT in their teaching practice and their perceptions of play as a mode of learning for themselves and for the children they teach. The ITE students' teaching approaches do not exhibit the principles of learning through play which they predominantly espouse, and this evidence points to a tension between the beliefs that they have gained from reflection on their own experiences and the ICT pedagogy which they meet in schools. A number of barriers are identified which must be overcome in order to develop the use of play in both developing ICT capability and using ICT for learning in other subjects. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

Recent policy initiatives in England have focused on promoting ‘interactive’ teaching in schools, with a clear expectation that this will lead to improvements in learning. This expectation is based on the perceived success of such approaches in other parts of the world. At the same time, there has been a large investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources, and particularly in interactive whiteboard technology. This paper explores the idea of interactive teaching in relation to the interactive technology which might be used to support it. It explains the development of a framework for the detailed analysis of teaching and learning in activity settings which is designed to represent the features and relationships involved in interactivity. When applied to a case study of interactive teaching during a lesson involving a variety of technology-based activities, the framework reveals a confusion of purpose in students' use of an ICT resource that limits the potential for learning when students are working independently. Discussion of relationships between technical and pedagogical interactivity points a way forward concerning greater focus on learning goals during activity in order to enable learners to be more autonomous in exploiting ICT's affordances, and the conclusion identifies the variables and issues which need to be considered in future research which will illuminate this path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to survey the food preferences of patients in a large teaching hospital in Australia and to compare the results to a similar study conducted in 1986. Possible differences between genders also were examined. Five hundred and twenty-four patients completed a food preferences survey, using a nine-point hedonic scale, to indicate how much they liked or disliked 223 different food items. Fresh fruit, poultry and red meat remained the most popular food classes. Nine of the 15 most popular individual food items were fresh fruit. Significant differences were found between the food preferences of males and females for a number of food classes and individual food items. Compared to the 1986 results there appears to be a greater preference for nutritionally desirable items, more food from various cultures and more traditionally gourmet or 'novel' foods. It is hoped that the results of this survey may assist other nutrition and food service staff plan menus for Australian hospital patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of staff in a large, public health service involved in transitioning support services to a shared services model. It aims to understand their perceptions of the benefits and risks arising from this change. Design/methodology/approach - Thematic analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with both service provider and customer agency staff was used to identify, analyze and report patterns of benefits and risks within data. Findings - Staff expressed the need for relevant subject-matter-experts to work within customer agencies to facilitate effective communication between the customer agency and shared services provider, reflecting observations found in out-sourcing literature. Research limitations/implications - Results point to significant challenges continuing to occur for shared services in healthcare. Risks identified suggest a more intimate relationship between clinical and support services than previously discussed. Originality/value - Previous discussion of the shared services model has not considered the skills, knowledge and ability required by staff in the customer agency. This research indicates that in the absence of such consideration, the concepts of the shared services model are weakened.