Anthony G. Deakin, Duncan H. Smith, Joseph W. Spencer, Darren Jones and Nigel Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for continuous acoustic condition monitoring of transformers based on chromatic principles for abstracting information on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for continuous acoustic condition monitoring of transformers based on chromatic principles for abstracting information on individual acoustic events as well as secondary trends in the behaviour of the events.
Design/methodology/approach
The potential benefits of condition monitoring of high-value transformer equipment are explored, and an approach based on chromatic information abstraction is illustrated and discussed.
Findings
Tracking of large numbers of complex and variable individual acoustic events over time using a chromatic approach appears to offer a means for remote operators to evaluate mechanical transformer tap changer condition in a traceable manner.
Originality/value
The condition monitoring is retrofittable and non-intrusive, and the approach may be applied generically for combining condition indicators for overall health-checking. A complex system behaviour may be operationally simplified without discarding the complexity.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of knowledge management (KM) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lithuania by looking at information and knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of knowledge management (KM) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lithuania by looking at information and knowledge resources, the development of information technology (IT) which supports the business process and the main processes of KM inside companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires and some interviews within Lithuanian SMEs helped reveal what the present situation is in terms of KM processes and the use of IT.
Findings
There appears to be a strong awareness of KM already. However, the development of adequate methods to make information management (IM) and KM fully effective appears to be lacking or only partially realized. There is some evidence to suggest that Lithuanian SME managers are becoming more psychologically prepared to work within KM but there is much less evidence to show that this is leading to effective innovation in practice at present.
Originality/value
There is great interest in the smaller emergent European economies in particular, and in SMEs in general. Lithuania inherited a stronger asset base than some ex‐Soviet republics and is positioning itself amongst the Baltic economies. With few natural resources, “knowledge” is a key area for growth, but SMEs and other sectors still need to engage strongly in development. SMEs have yet to drive the economy forward.
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Emma Mecham, Eric J. Newell, Shannon Rhodes, Laura J. Reina and Darren Parry
Using integrated, constructivist and inquiry-based curricular experiences to expand student understanding of historical thinking and exposure to Native perspectives on Utah…
Abstract
Purpose
Using integrated, constructivist and inquiry-based curricular experiences to expand student understanding of historical thinking and exposure to Native perspectives on Utah history, this paper aims to analyze the thinking and practice of teaching the Utah fourth grade social studies curriculum. As a team of researchers, teachers and administrators, the authors brought differing perspectives and experience to this shared project of curriculum design. The understanding was enhanced as the authors reflected on authors' own practitioner research and worked together as Native and non-Native community partners to revise the ways one group of fourth grade students experienced the curriculum, with plans to continue improving the thinking and implementation on an ongoing basis. While significant barriers to elementary social studies education exist in the current era of high-stakes testing, curriculum narrowing and continuing narratives of colonization in both the broad national context and our own localized context, the authors found that social studies curriculum can be a space for decolonization and growth for students and teachers alike when carefully planned, constructed and implemented.
Design/methodology/approach
This article represents an effort by a team of teachers, administrators and researchers: D, a councilman and historian dedicated to sharing the history of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation; S, an eleventh-year teacher, teaching fourth grade at Mary Bethune Elementary School (MBES); E, the director of experiential learning and technology at MBES; L, the MBES vice principal and EL, a faculty member in the adjacent college of education. Working in these complementary roles, each authors recognized an opportunity to build a more robust set of curricular experiences for teaching the state standards for fourth grade social studies, with particular attention to a more inclusive set of narratives of Utah's history at the authors' shared site, Mary Bethune Elementary School, a K-6 public charter school that operates in partnership with the College of Education in a growing college town (population 51,000) in the Intermountain west. The complexity of Utah history embedded within the landscape that surrounds MBES has not always been a fully developed part of our fourth grade curriculum. Recognizing this, the authors came together to develop a more robust age-appropriate curricular experience for students that highlights the complexity of the individual and cultural narratives. In addition to smaller segments of classroom instruction devoted to the Utah Core fourth grade standards (Utah Education Network, 2019) that focus particularly on the history of Utah, the authors focused the curriculum improvement efforts on four specific lengthy spans of instruction.
Findings
These fourth-grade students read, contextualized and interpreted the primary source documents they encountered as historians; they both appreciated and challenged the authors' perspectives. It is our belief that students are more likely to continue to think like historians as they operate as “critical consumers” (Moore and Clark, 2004, p. 22) of other historical narratives. This ability to think and act with attention to multiple viewpoints and perspectives, power and counter stories develops more empathetic humans. While the authors prize the ability of students to succeed in intellectually rigorous tasks and learn content material, in the end this trait is the most important goal for teaching students history.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recognize operating within primarily non-Native spaces and discourses about social studies; with curricular efforts, there are a variety of ways the authors could do harm. Along the way, the authors recognized places for future improvement, critically examining the authors' work. As the authors look to future planning, there are several issues identified as the next spaces that the authors wish to focus on improving the Utah Studies curriculum experience of fourth graders at MBES. This is an area for further exploration.
Practical implications
This precise set of primary sources, field experiences and assessments will not be the right fit for other classrooms with differences in resources, space and time. The authors hope it will serve as an example of how teachers can create curriculum that addresses the failings of status quo social studies instruction with regard to Indigenous peoples. The students were not the only beneficiaries of change from this curriculum development and implementation; as a team the authors also benefited. The experience solidified our self-perception as decision makers for our classroom. The authors' ability to extend past the packaged curriculum of textbooks and worksheets made it easily available to engage students as historical inquirers into the multiple perspectives and complex contexts of decolonizing-counter narratives built the authors' confidence that such work can be successful across the curriculum.
Social implications
The authors believe this is a more potent antidote to the colonizing-Eurocentric narratives of history that they will undoubtedly be exposed to in other spaces and times than simply teaching them a singular history from an Indigenous perspective; if students are able to contextualize, interpret, and question the accounts they encounter, they will be more likely to “challenge dominant historical and cultural narratives that are endemic in society” (Stoddard et al., 2014, p. 35). This too can make them more thoughtful consumers of today's news, whether that news is about Navajo voting rights in southeastern Utah or oil and gas development in South Dakota.
Originality/value
Working against the colonizing narratives present in media, textbooks and local folklore is necessary if the authors are to undermine the invisibility of Native experiences in most social studies curriculum (Journell, 2009) and the stereotyping and discrimination that Native American students experience as a result (Stowe, 2017, p. 243). This detailed look at how the authors developed and implemented standards-based curriculum with that intent adds to the “little research [that] exists on teacher-created curricula and discourse” (Masta and Rosa, p. 148).
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Non-dominant voices have been further marginalised in the most recent national curriculum in England (DfE, 2014), and those working across the English teaching profession often…
Abstract
Purpose
Non-dominant voices have been further marginalised in the most recent national curriculum in England (DfE, 2014), and those working across the English teaching profession often find the subject framed according to narrow, assessment-driven models and prescribed skill sets. This paper aims to bring together two perspectives on the importance of literacy education that remains rooted in young people’s everyday experiences of place.
Design/methodology/approach
Chapman is a newly qualified secondary English teacher. She will share examples taken from her own classroom practice of the ways in which she has responded to stories told by young people about the places in which they live.
Findings
Jones is a tutor of initial teacher education (ITE). She suggests that Chapman’s approach provides persuasive exemplification of how engagement with alternatives to a dominant view of literacy should remain a key objective for those working with beginning teachers of English.
Originality/value
For Chapman’s students, urban legends are powerful texts which offer the means to explore what we do when we tell stories, both inside and outside the English classroom. As will be shown, such stories are telling examples of the resources young people can bring to critical literacy learning in current classrooms. In the context of the dominance of a narrow, mandated experience of English as a subject, the imperative becomes even greater to recognise stories such as those shared by Chapman’s students as opportunities for authentic, creative and critical engagement with text.
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This paper discusses how a small business experiences professional management by examining the relationship between organisational networking and cultural organising in the…
Abstract
This paper discusses how a small business experiences professional management by examining the relationship between organisational networking and cultural organising in the workplace. A network perspective is presented in order to evaluate the ways in which workplace relations are enacted to cultural organising. A social constructionist perspective of organisational networking is proposed which emphasises how individuals attribute value and meaning to the interactions they have with co‐workers in the workplace. A work place ethnography is presented which discusses the recruitment of a “professional” manager and his attempts to introduce new working practices into the family business. The analysis highlights how organisational members shape cultural organising by invoking emotional categories to produce mutuality and a sense of belonging in the workplace. In continually re‐enacting workplace relationships in this way, it is found that individuals attempt to trade away variance, divergent views and new organising practices concerned with change. The paper concludes with a final analysis of the ethnography and its implication for small business research and training.
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Darren L. Bowring, Vasiliki Totsika, Richard P. Hastings and Sandy Toogood
The Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form (BPI-S) is a shorter version of the Behavior Problems Inventory-01. In this paper, BPI-S population norms are reported from a total…
Abstract
Purpose
The Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form (BPI-S) is a shorter version of the Behavior Problems Inventory-01. In this paper, BPI-S population norms are reported from a total administrative population of adults with intellectual disability (ID). To facilitate the use of the BPI-S in clinical services to assess behavior change, the purpose of this paper is to describe how to use BPI-S clinically significant and reliable change (RC) scores.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered on 265 adults with ID known to services. Proxy informants completed the BPI-S on challenging behaviors over the previous six months. Clinically significant cut-off values and RC scores were calculated using the Jacobson and Truax’s (1991) method.
Findings
BPI-S clinical reference data are presented to provide benchmarks for individual and group comparisons regarding challenging behavior. Examples demonstrate how to use clinical norms to determine change.
Practical implications
Behavior change is a major goal of researchers and practitioners. Data from the present study can make the BPI-S a valuable tool for determining change in challenging behavior following service input or intervention.
Originality/value
Whilst well used in research, the BPI-S may be less extensively used in practice. This present study provides data to enable researchers and practitioners to use the BPI-S more widely in assessing clinical outcomes, such as intervention research and service evaluation.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the entrepreneurial intentions of MBA students in Australia. Linan and Chen’s Entrepreneurial Intentions Questionnaire (EIQ) was used for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the entrepreneurial intentions of MBA students in Australia. Linan and Chen’s Entrepreneurial Intentions Questionnaire (EIQ) was used for this purpose which, in part, is based on Azjen’s theory of planned behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a pragmatic approach, a purposive convenience sample of 249 students from an Australian university was used. Permission was granted from the MBA director to visit a number of classes to distribute and collect completed survey forms.
Findings
The psychometric properties of the EIQ were confirmed. However, the “subjective norm” predictor variable was not corroborated as an antecedent of “entrepreneurial intent (EI)”.
Research limitations/implications
These findings cannot be truly generalised given the nature of the research design. Furthermore, the intentions of students may be different by the time they graduate.
Practical implications
The weak relationship between subjective norm and intent questions the value of networking with industry groups. University education should focus on developing those characteristics associated with the remaining independent variables. For example, a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship should be developed together with confidence building and self-efficacy linked to “perceived behavioural control”.
Originality/value
The psychometric properties of the EIQ were confirmed but, unlike other studies, the “subjective norm” predictor variable was not corroborated as an antecedent of EI. Therefore, the value of support from family, friends and associated support organizations such as Chambers of Commerce become questionable in terms of EI.
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Martin McMahon, Darren Lee Bowring and Chris Hatton
Having paid work, relationships and a choice of where to live are common policy priorities for adults with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to compare…
Abstract
Purpose
Having paid work, relationships and a choice of where to live are common policy priorities for adults with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to compare outcomes with respect to these three priorities between adults with intellectual disability and the general population in Jersey.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 217 adults with intellectual disability known to services, and 2,350 adults without intellectual disability using a stratified random sample. Data on employment, marital status and accommodation profiles were compared.
Findings
In sum, 87 per cent of adults with intellectual disability were currently single vs 16 per cent of adults without intellectual disability; 23 per cent of working-age adults with intellectual disability were in paid employment vs 92 per cent of working-age adults without intellectual disability; and 57 per cent of adults with intellectual disability lived-in sheltered housing vs 2 per cent of adults without intellectual disability.
Social implications
Very few adults with intellectual disability are in paid employment or intimate relationships, and the majority live in sheltered, supported housing, with very few owning their own home. There is a significant disconnect between policy and reality. Considerable work is required to make an ordinary life the reality for adults with intellectual disability.
Originality/value
This study adds to the body of evidence that suggests people with intellectual disabilities are less likely to experience an ordinary life. Furthermore, it illustrates that despite Jersey being an affluent society, the same difficulties and barriers exist there for persons with an intellectual disability as in other jurisdictions.
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Xiaoni Ren and Darren John Caudle
This paper aims to explore and compare academics’ experiences of managing work-life balance (WLB) in the British and Chinese contexts. The authors have three specific purposes…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore and compare academics’ experiences of managing work-life balance (WLB) in the British and Chinese contexts. The authors have three specific purposes. Firstly, to investigate whether there are marked gender differences in either context, given female and male academics’ work is considered fully comparable. Secondly, to examine contextual factors contributing to gender differences that influence and shape decisions in WLB and career paths. Thirdly, to explore the gendered consequences and implications.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-national and multilevel analytical approach to WLB was chosen to unpick and explore gender land contextual differences and their influence on individual academics’ coping strategies. To reflect the exploratory nature of uncovering individual experience and perceptions, the authors used in-depth, semi-structured interviews. In total, 37 academics participated in the study, comprised of 18 participants from 6 universities in the UK and 19 participants from 6 universities in China.
Findings
This study reveals gendered differences in both the British and Chinese contexts in three main aspects, namely, sourcing support; managing emotions; and making choices, but more distinct differences in the latter context. Most significantly, it highlights that individual academics’ capacity in cultivating and using coping strategies was shaped simultaneously by multi-layered factors at the country level, the HE institutional level and the individual academics’ level.
Originality/value
Very few cross-cultural WLB studies explore gender differences. This cross-national comparative study is of particular value in making the “invisible visible” in terms of the gendered nature of choices and decisions within the context of WLB. The study has significant implications for female academics exercising individual scope in carving out a career, and for academic managers and institutions, in terms of support, structure and policy.
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Darren A. Bryant, Chun Sing Maxwell Ho, Jiafang Lu and Yiu Lun Leo Wong
This study addresses a gap in the knowledge on how longitudinal engagement in a school improvement initiative influences change in middle leaders’ (MLs') interactions and assesses…
Abstract
Purpose
This study addresses a gap in the knowledge on how longitudinal engagement in a school improvement initiative influences change in middle leaders’ (MLs') interactions and assesses how school–university partnerships around school improvement can support teachers with formal leadership roles (i.e. MLs’) leadership development.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a two-year longitudinal research design, university staff facilitated middle leadership training in a school-defined improvement initiative on lesson study. Results from a pre-test followed by two post-tests administered at one-year intervals were collected on social networks. Analyses examined changes in indegree and brokerage patterns among groupings of senior leaders (SL), subject leaders, cross-school specialists and teachers.
Findings
Accounting for staffing changes, 27 of 67 staff members participated in each survey, yielding 1,623 distinct ties connecting school members. Over the first year, advice-seeking increased by 225%. SLs’ initial propensity to consult peers shifted towards MLs and teachers. Subject leaders advising other leaders and teachers increased tenfold. Teachers’ peer-to-peer consultation increased by 2,000%. Specialists with school-wide responsibilities became the dominant group for advising other leaders, such as SLs and subject leaders. These shifts were sustained over the second year.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates that engagement in the school–university partnership support and the corresponding structural changes stimulated robust cross-school dialogue among teachers and various leaders. Brokerage patterns indicated an enhanced role for MLs in driving the school-defined improvement initiative which corresponded to university-designed development activities.