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1 – 10 of 27Ahmed A.M. Abdelkader, Hend Hassan and Marwa Abdelkader
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is permeating many facets of our daily lives, appearing in household appliances, cell phones and popular online apps. AI has the capacity to…
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is permeating many facets of our daily lives, appearing in household appliances, cell phones and popular online apps. AI has the capacity to revolutionize teaching and learning processes in higher education institutions. The integration of AI technologies in education can lead to personalized learning experiences, improved educational quality and enhanced learning outcomes. However, the adoption of AI in higher education comes with challenges such as ethical considerations and the need to address equity and inclusion issues to ensure that all students benefit from AI advancements. This chapter considers how AI can be utilized in education, while acknowledging the challenges and finding ways to mitigate them. Useful tools include: Bespoke Learning, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Grading, Collaborative, Learning Assistance, Research Support and Adaptive Learning. The challenges addressed are: ethical considerations, resistance to change and data security and privacy. In navigating the complexities of integrating AI in higher education, institutions must strike a balance between leveraging the transformative potential of AI technologies and addressing the ethical, social and technical challenges that accompany their implementation. By prioritizing ethical considerations, addressing resistance to change and safeguarding data security and privacy, higher education institutions can harness the benefits of AI to enhance teaching and learning practices, foster innovation and prepare students for success in the digital age.
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Peter Nilsson and Maria Gustavsson
Staff shortages in the healthcare sector increase the competition for qualified staff. A magnet hospital is intended to attract, and retain healthcare professionals. This article…
Abstract
Purpose
Staff shortages in the healthcare sector increase the competition for qualified staff. A magnet hospital is intended to attract, and retain healthcare professionals. This article aims to investigate the challenges related to implementation of a magnet hospital model, and given these challenges, to analyse the interplay between different organisational levels in a Swedish hospital.
Design/methodology/approach
The data collection followed the implementation of a magnet hospital model and consisted of 14 meeting observations, 31 interviews and 13 document analyses.
Findings
The model implementation was driven by a top-down approach, with accompanying bottom-up activities, involving healthcare professionals, to ensure adaption to the hospital’s conditions at different organisational levels. The findings revealed that the model was more appealing to top management, seeking a standardised solution to attract and retain nurses. Clinic managers preferred tailor-made solutions for managing their employee resourcing challenges. Difficulties in translating and contextualising the model to the hospital’s conditions created challenges at every organisational level. Some were contained within a level while others spread to the organisational level below and turned into something else.
Originality/value
Apart from unique empirical material depicting the implementation of a magnet hospital model as an effort to attract and retain healthcare professionals, the value of this study lies in the attention given to the challenges that arise when responsibility for implementing a management model is shifted from top management to change agents tasked with facilitating and executing the organisational change.
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Christian Friedrich and Reiner Quick
Whistleblowers are individuals who detect and report misconduct in an organization. They help to mitigate organizational misbehavior and resulting damages effectively and…
Abstract
Purpose
Whistleblowers are individuals who detect and report misconduct in an organization. They help to mitigate organizational misbehavior and resulting damages effectively and relatively quickly. Whistleblower protection has not been systematically required in the European Union (EU), leaving many large organizations unregulated. This study aims to get in-depth insights into how unregulated organizations design, handle and view whistleblowing with the advent of a novel EU Whistleblowing Directive.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted 17 semistructured interviews with a diverse group of organizations headquartered in Germany and inductively analyzed them following Grounded Theory. Linking the Grounded Theory to the legal endogeneity model, they developed seven perspectives that help to explain how organizations view whistleblowing.
Findings
In trying to make sense of the role of whistleblowing in the organization’s governance, organizations and their managers assume different perspectives. These perspectives guide their approach to whistleblower protection in the context of evolving regulation with little regulatory guidance. Perspectives vary in the degree of supporting whistleblowing regulation, from viewing whistleblowing as a natural, everyday governance tool to denying it and fearing denunciation. Most organizations exhibit several perspectives.
Originality/value
Little is known about day-to-day whistleblowing practices from the perspective of organizations. The authors fill this research gap by providing initial evidence on how organizations approach whistleblowing and the EU Whistleblowing Directive. Identifying organizations’ perspectives may help us understand how ineffective or noncompliant whistleblowing systems emerge and how organizations can improve.
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Gordon Leua Nanau, Jeremy Dorovolomo, Billy Fitoó and Patrick Miniti
Solomon Islands plunged into a deadly inter-wantok conflict in 1998 (Nanau, 2011) that continued for 5 years until the Pacific Islands Forum requested the Regional Assistance…
Abstract
Solomon Islands plunged into a deadly inter-wantok conflict in 1998 (Nanau, 2011) that continued for 5 years until the Pacific Islands Forum requested the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to intervene. Thousands were displaced and at least 200 lives lost in this conflict. We call it an inter-wantok tension because it involved wantok groups (language and kinship groups), which has become known in Solomon Islands as ‘the Ethnic Tensions’ or simply as ‘the Tension’. The conflict deeply divided the country along wantok lines while appealing to artificial provincial identities created by the modern nation state. The country is still recuperating from its effects, and in this context, how can Solomon Islands promote unity, equality and peaceful coexistence? This question formed the basis of our research. We investigated sports as a neglected path to genuinely encourage patriotism and social cohesion in the country. We generated primary data with the aid of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), a consensus building tool. This chapter reports the research findings and suggestions on how sports can be used to help unite the nation and promote national identity. These include short-term measures, medium-term strategies and inclusive approaches to encourage and nurture patriotism and social cohesion in post-conflict Solomon Islands. The research project investigates, firstly, policy statements and implementation in sports development in Solomon Islands. Secondly, it determines the role sports could play in advancing national consciousness in a culturally diverse and fragmented society. Thirdly, it recommends strategies through which sports could be harnessed to promote patriotism, peace-building and unity.
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Krishan Sood and Abdishakur Tarah
The aim of this chapter is to understand the policy liberties and constraints within which school headteachers, and teachers aspire to promote high-quality education for their…
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to understand the policy liberties and constraints within which school headteachers, and teachers aspire to promote high-quality education for their pupils in private schools in Somalia in the context of conflict in the country. This chapter develops this understanding of headteachers particularly in low-cost primary private schools in Somalia. The analysis in this chapter is informed by Mumford et al.’s Skills Model, as this approach combines the notion of knowledge and abilities necessary for effective leadership. First, using interview data with headteachers, we critique how headteachers in private schools in Mogadishu, Somalia, lead and manage schools when there is a crisis and conflict surrounding them, by unpacking the concepts of leadership and management. Second, we shed light on how well they are prepared and developed professionally to manage in such a turbulent environment caused by the war in Somalia. Here, we consider the role of the Federal Ministry of Education in the level of support that headteachers get in enacting their education policy. Third, this chapter discusses the impact of such crises on the quality of education provision for local private schools. Finally, this chapter identifies lessons to be learnt through suggested recommendations for headteachers in leading and managing education in times of turbulence and conflict. Here, we pose a suggestion for headteachers to consider if glocalisation, as a phenomenon, may offer a way to resolve local crises with local solutions in providing high-quality education for their students.
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Social media (SM) has been heavily criticised in recent years for its damaging effects on societies globally. Tasked with empowering those same societies, libraries’ continued use…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media (SM) has been heavily criticised in recent years for its damaging effects on societies globally. Tasked with empowering those same societies, libraries’ continued use of SM is considered ethically contentious. This study presents the findings of a University of Sheffield study that investigated the ethical tension between libraries and their use of SM by aiming to establish whether: (1) libraries’ use of SM is ethically motivated; (2) ethically informed; (3) and compatible with codes of ethics in the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A phenomenographic approach was employed to gather and analyse the data for this study, which is drawn from the transcripts of seven online interviews with Bodleian Libraries staff who used Twitter, now X, in a professional capacity.
Findings
Three categories of description were identified among participants: (1) Collectivist conception; (2) Settled conception; (3) Questioning conception. The categories are bound by a shared context of conceptualisation made up of a small set of internal and external influences discussed in the interviews which affected all participants to varying degrees.
Originality/value
The findings were used to support the following determinations: (1) Libraries’ use of SM is ethically motivated. (2) Libraries’ use of SM is ethically informed, in part. Due to lack of evidence, no determination was made about whether libraries’ use of SM is compatible with codes of ethics in the LIS sector. Recommendations for LIS professions and professional bodies are offered based on these determinations.
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Patrick Kraus, Julian Kappl and Dennis Schlegel
Due to the disruptive nature of digital transformation, firms can hardly ignore the further digitalisation of processes and business models. Implementing such initiatives triggers…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the disruptive nature of digital transformation, firms can hardly ignore the further digitalisation of processes and business models. Implementing such initiatives triggers enormous investments in infrastructure and software, making the evaluation of digital investments crucial for a firm’s competitive situation.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the dynamics and uncertainties inherent in digital transformation, a qualitative, inductive research approach based on semi-structured interviews with high-level finance executives has been employed.
Findings
Our findings indicate widespread dissatisfaction with traditional investment appraisal methods for evaluating digital investments. Data also suggest that non-financial considerations are frequently taken into account, albeit implicitly, as participants struggled to clearly conceptualize these criteria.
Originality/value
The literature indicates important research gaps regarding the applicability and usage of traditional, predominantly financial, investment appraisal methods in digital contexts. This research enhances our understanding of digital investment evaluation, by (i) developing an exploratory conceptual framework of potential qualitative evaluation criteria and (ii) providing an in-depth and detailed understanding of the barriers to implementing investment appraisal methods.
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This chapter revisits, reinforces, and extends our view of the underpinning principles and practices of school leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand. It presents extracts from case…
Abstract
This chapter revisits, reinforces, and extends our view of the underpinning principles and practices of school leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand. It presents extracts from case studies of schools that illustrate the crucial role of the principal in ensuring ongoing improvement and innovation while working in increasingly complex and uncertain environments. The chapter discusses the need to understand the importance of relationships between individuals and groups, actions, contexts, environments, and cultures where processes of interaction shape principals' practices. Features of complexity thinking are used as a lens through which to understand schools as complex adaptive systems and illustrate the importance of the dynamics of the interactions among the agents and elements within the New Zealand educational system. The chapter concludes by drawing together the implications for leadership that emerge across this chapter.
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