ABSTRACT. Communicating the risks of environmental contaminants in the food chain to northern Aboriginal peoples poses significant challenges for communities at risk and environment and health professionals alike. Reported results of poor risk communication practice on this issue include increased fear and confusion in northern communities, changes in the dietary behaviour and traditional lifestyles of their residents, and associated impacts on their society, economy, and health. A review of past communication research and activities on this issue in the Canadian North reveals a general ad hoc "learning by doing" approach to primarily one-way communication events. The lack of focused communication research on an issue that has garnered great focus and effort elsewhere in the country and continent has forced health professionals and communicators to rely on assumptions about the reception and level of comprehension of important health messages previously disseminated. The importance of this information is increasing as research begins to detect subtle health effects from exposure to these substances among newborns in some northern regions. Thus planning and evaluation are needed for risk communication, and possibly changes to the scale at which communication work is done in northern communities.Key words: environmental contaminants, health, risk communication, comprehension, evaluation, environmental health, communication research, country/traditional foods RÉSUMÉ. Le fait d'informer les peuples autochtones du Nord des risques associés à la présence de contaminants de l'environnement dans la chaîne alimentaire pose un défi de taille pour les collectivités exposées à ces risques, tout comme pour les professionnels de l'environnement et de la santé. Les résultats déjà rapportés d'une piètre pratique de divulgation des risques sur cette question mentionnent une augmentation de la peur et de la confusion dans les collectivités nordiques, des changements dans le comportement alimentaire et le style de vie traditionnel des résidents, et les impacts qui en résultent sur leur société, leur économie et leur santé. Un examen de la recherche en communications et des activités de divulgation antérieures sur cette question dans le Nord révèle que la communication est principalement unilatérale et se fait de façon improvisée sur le tas. Le manque d'une recherche en communications bien ciblée, sur une question ayant pris beaucoup d'ampleur et donné lieu à une importante mobilisation ailleurs à l'échelle du pays et du continent, ce manque donc a obligé les professionnels de la santé et les spécialistes en communications dans le domaine à se fier à des hypothèses quant à la réception et au niveau de compréhension d'importants messages relatifs à la santé diffusés antérieurement. Cette information acquiert de plus en plus d'importance à mesure que la recherche commence à détecter des effets ténus sur la santé dus à une exposition à ces contaminants chez les nouveau-nés dans certaines régions du Nord. Il faut donc procéder à une pl...

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This paper describes a model of personalised work-integrated learning that is collaborative in nature, uses emerging Internet technologies and is accessed fully online. The Ultraversity project was set up by Ultralab at Anglia Ruskin University to develop a fully online, three-year duration, undergraduate degree programme with an emphasis on action inquiry in the workplace. The course design aimed to provide a highly personalised and collaborative experience. Students engage in the processes of inquiry together as a cohort, making it possible to collaborate and support each other in the online communities. The focus of this paper is on three aspects of personalisation: students' use of technological infrastructure to develop online communities; integration of study in the workplace; and the work-study-life balance. Students were surveyed and interviewed after completion through questionnaire, telephone and face-to-face meeting. Transcripts were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. This grounded approach provided evidence of impact of the design on personalised learning. The course design made the assumption that blended learning was not necessary to ensure a rich learning experience and would be a barrier to those who could not attend, and this decision is vindicated by the accounts of participants. It was also confirmed that facilitated online communities can be used to support deep learning that is focussed on action inquiry in diverse and individual workplaces. The course was designed to impact on both the work practices of the individual and the wider institution. Participants reported this as a strength. Overall, the evidence presented shows that a course design that emphasises a high degree of trust in students' ability to self-manage learning can lead to a challenging, personalised and rewarding online student experience. Students demonstrated high levels of competence in managing work study and life. This assertion is further borne out by the high degree of success achieved in terms of outcomes, judged by the degree results obtained by the cohort studied.

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Purpose -This paper seeks to describe and analyse an approach to course design as part of a strategic, technology-inspired, cross-university intervention to widen participation. A curriculum framework was developed for students who wished to make their work the focus of their study and could not readily access current university provision. A deliberate assumption was made that this would require a technologically inspired response to teaching, learning and assessment. Design/methodology/approach -The approach taken was one of action research, by planning the curriculum framework, validating a course, delivery and review through interviews. Cybernetics was applied post-hoc to analyse the data generated. Findings -Staff found the framework a useful source of inspiration and critique for current practices, although established practice and preconceptions could render the framework meaningless. The ideas in the framework are not enough to change the institution -authoritative sanction may be needed. The cybernetic concepts of variety and its absorption proved useful in analysing the framework, and highlighted weaknesses in the design of the framework regarding the organisation of teaching.Research limitations/implications -Clarity about strategic purpose when making a change intervention is vital -in this instance raising the level of critical debate was more successful than recruitment. The establishment of an independent unit may be a more successful strategy than embedding university-wide. Further work is required to understand how to market novel approaches. The action research shows that the university has the capability to develop curriculum designs that offer new groups of students access to higher education while improving their work practice. Originality/value -The findings from interview confirm the value that peers attach to this development. Although the pedagogical design in this action research is based on previous work, the cybernetic analysis and conclusions are new. IntroductionThe Interdisciplinary Inquiry Based Learning (IDIBL) project uses an action research approach within the Institution with the aim of raising the capability of teaching staff to develop and deliver new programmes based on the IDIBL Framework. The framework followed the "Ultraversity" work-focused approach to learning (Millwood et al., 2008a) developed by Ultralab at Anglia Ruskin University. The approach was intended for students who cannot easily attend university and who wish to make improvement in the work that they do the focus of their study. The approach was developed over the past seven years and offers a personalised experience based on a combination of action research methodology, online community of inquiry for support, and patchwork text for assessment with an exhibition replacing the "traditional"