Effective Resource Management

Provide an example as to how resources can be interchanged when completing the HSC.

• Individuals are user/ consumers of resources. Some non-human resources can be partially or wholly consumed through use and are therefore considered non-renewable, for example, oil, steel and coal. Careful management of renewable resources is needed to ensure that they are used to their best potential and not wasted.

• Effective resource management relies on people, businesses and governments to make carefully considered decisions about how, why and at what rate resources can be used so that they can be sustained for prolonged use. This can ultimately affect the availability and quality of resources for future use.

Provide an example as to how resources can be sustained when completing the HSC.

Provide an example as to how support (formal and informal) can be used when completing the HSC.

Provide an example as to how developing personal management skills can be used when completing the HSC.

Personal management skills:

1. Planning and organisation

2. Communication

3. Decision making

4. Problem solving

Provide an example as to how engaging in education and training can help when completing the HSC.

Case Study:

Watch: Insight Young Carers

Read: Caring for an elderly parent: The Pain and Joy of Caring for Parents New York Times

Apply each area of Effective Resource Management to the above material.

• Effective planning and preparation for an interview is essential.

• Prior to developing interview questions, ensure that you have a clear purpose for the interview (i.e you know what you want to achieve).

• Once your purpose is clear, develop suitable and meaningful interview questions.

Developing interview questions

• Ensure your questions aren’t ambiguous i.e have more than one possible meaning

• Ensure your questions have one purpose- i.e don’t ask two part questions.

• Avoid bias- you need to be as objective as possible when creating interview questions.

• Avoid assumptions- don’t assume an opinion based on common belief. Let the interviewee express their opinions- don’t lead them.

• Be concise- develop clear and concise questions that are easily understood by the interviewee. This limits misunderstanding.

• Only include relevant questions. Each question you develop should be meaningful to the overall purpose of you interview. Avoid wasting time with unnecessary questions.

Types of Questions:

Introductory:

Introductory questions aim to put the interviewee at ease and are general in nature.

Example: What sport do you play? // What school do you go to?

Focus:

Focus questions allow the interviewee to provide specific information and can account for further probing on a particular issue.

Example: What subjects are you doing this year? // What do you need to succeed in these subjects?

Open:

Open questions allow reasons, thoughts and opinions to be provided by the interviewee.

Example: How important is the HSC for you?

Closed:

Closed questions often result in brief answers.

Example: Do you like your subjects?

Introduction:

• introduce yourself to the interviewee and explain the purpose of the interview.

• Explain confidentiality

• Give approximate time frames

• Provide contact information

• Allow them to ask questions.

Effective ways to conduct an interview:

• Ask one question at a time

• Be as objective as possible when asking questions and listening to responses. Don’t let you opinions and beliefs influence the interview.

• Be wary of non-verbal communication i.e. surprise or anger at their response.

• Be in control of the interview- ensure the interview is remaining on track and sticking to time constraints.

Written:

• Take appropriate written notes as the interviewee is responding.

• After an interview you can make notes on your notes i.e. clarify abbreviations and complete notes you skipped over.

Audio:

• Use a tape recorder to record verbal responses that you can develop into a transcript Ensure you obtain permission for the use of the tape recorder.

Video:

• Use a video camera to record verbal and non-verbal responses. Ensure you obtain permission for the use of the video camera.

Structured:

• • Formal feel

  • Questions have been structured and ordered

  • Location and time of interview are planned

  • Prior research has been performed

  • Responses can be restricted

Unstructured:

• • Informal feel

  • Questions are less structured and can be impulsively created in response to previous answers

  • The interviews has more flexibility in shaping and changing the interview

  • Can be time- consuming or travel off topic due to lack of structure.

Basic analysis of quantitative information:

1. Make copies of your data and store the master copy away. Use the copy for making edits, cutting and pasting, etc.

2. Tabulate the information. For example: add up the number of ratings, rankings, yes's, no's for each question.

3. For ratings and rankings, consider computing a mean, or average, for each question. For example, "For question #1, the average ranking was 2.4". This is more meaningful than indicating, e.g., how many respondents ranked 1, 2, or 3.

4. Consider conveying the range of answers, e.g., 20 people ranked "1", 30 ranked "2", and 20 people ranked "3".

Basic analysis of qualitative information:

1. Read through all the data.

2. Organise comments into similar categories, e.g., concerns, suggestions, strengths, weaknesses, similar experiences, program inputs, recommendations, outputs, outcome indicators, etc.

3. Label the categories or themes, e.g., concerns, suggestions, etc.

4. Attempt to identify patterns, or associations and causal relationships in the themes, e.g., all people who attended programs in the evening had similar concerns, most people came from the same geographic area, most people were in the same salary range, what processes or events respondents experience during the program, etc.

Activity two: interview examples

Observe one interview such as ones from Rove with Elmo, Peter Overton with Tom Cruise, Rove with Pink and answer the following questions:

1. Is the interview structured or unstructured? What examples can you provide to support your answer?

2. Outline the preparation that would have been carried out prior to the interview.

3. Describe the communication techniques used by the interviewer to enhance the experience for the interviewee.

4. What techniques were used to create an effective interview?

5. List the advantages/disadvantages of interviews as a method of researching issues/information.

Using interviews as a research method

Constructing:

• As a class, develop eight questions that include both structured and unstructured questions about how accessing support at PHCS can contribute to effective resource management when completing the Preliminary Course.

Conducting:

• Individually, interview two individuals from the school community using the questions that were developed as a class. With permission, students can record these using Google Forms, pen and paper, recording device, smart phone.

Analysing

• In small groups, compare and contrast the interview responses. Then as a class, analyse the data to determine the extent to which accessing support at PHCS can assists individuals to complete the Prelim course by using qualitative (written responses) and quantitative (tables, statistics) data.