Search results
1 – 9 of 9C. C. Wolhuter, Oscar Espinoza and Noel McGinn
This paper takes stock of developments in, and the state of, the field of comparative and international education at the beginning of the 21st century, using as data base articles…
Abstract
This paper takes stock of developments in, and the state of, the field of comparative and international education at the beginning of the 21st century, using as data base articles published in the journal Comparative Education Review during the second decade of the 21st century and to compare results with a content analysis done on the first 50 years of the existence of the Review and which was published in 2008. The 246 articles that were published in the Comparative Education Review during the decade 2010–2019 were analyzed under the following metrics: levels of analysis of articles; number of units covered by articles; research methods; narrative basis; phase of education articles cover; and mode of education articles deal with. Compared to the first 50 years of the existence of the Review, single-unit national-level studies still dominate the field, though less so. A case can be made out for a deconcentration to allow more space for research at geographic levels both larger and smaller than the nation-state. The most prominent narrative in which articles are framed is that of the social justice narrative. The neo-liberal economic narrative stands strong too, while the poor standing of the human rights narrative is disappointing. Turning to modes and phases of education is concerned, the shadow education system has registered on the comparative and international education research agenda, while there seems to be a modest upswing in interest in pre-primary education. Thoughts about the future trajectory of the field are suggested.
Details
Keywords
Panisa Arthachinda and Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of perceived group inclusion on the innovative work behavior of consulting team members, as well as to analyze its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of perceived group inclusion on the innovative work behavior of consulting team members, as well as to analyze its subsequent impact on team performance. In addition, the authors investigate whether the effect of perceived group inclusion on innovative work behavior could be moderated by two aspects of team characteristics: team size and the gender composition of its members.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected questionnaire data from 229 team members from 24 consulting firms located in Bangkok, Thailand. Team performance was assessed by team leaders to prevent common method bias. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results support the positive association between perceived group inclusion and innovative work behavior among consulting team members. Innovative work behavior also mediates the positive association between perceived group inclusion and team performance. Moreover, the authors found that the degree to which perceived group inclusion affects innovative work behavior is stronger in larger teams than smaller teams. However, the degree to which perceived group inclusion affects innovative work behavior tends to be weaker in teams that have a higher proportion of female members than in teams that have fewer female members.
Practical implications
Because employees are the most valuable asset contributing to the innovative performance of consulting firms, it is crucial to understand how members within a team should be properly managed so that the firms can maximize the benefits from their human capital. Essentially, management and practitioners in the consulting business can use the insight from this research regarding the essential roles of group inclusion and team composition to create a favorable and effective team environment that enhances collaboration and helps their firms to gain the full benefits of team synergy. In particular, group inclusion is the issue that management should emphasize. Moreover, the team should be large enough and have a decent level of gender diversity to strengthen the benefit of group inclusion.
Originality/value
The research extends the knowledge boundary in inclusion research, which still lacks evidence about the moderating role of team characteristics that might strengthen/weaken the effect of perceived group inclusion on innovative behaviors.
Details
Keywords
This study seeks to investigate the impact of marketing leaders in (in terms of marketing education, experience and knowledge/skills) generating firm capabilities (market…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to investigate the impact of marketing leaders in (in terms of marketing education, experience and knowledge/skills) generating firm capabilities (market orientation) necessary to compete in a small emerging economy.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with top marketing executives in Macau. Questionnaires were disturbed to and completed online by 125 top marketing executives from various industrial sectors in Macau. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Results suggest that top marketing executives with marketing-specific education and functional marketing skills allow them to foster an overall market orientation of the firm. Marketing experience as well as other types of skills, however, are found to be unrelated to market orientation. Results also show a positive relationship between market orientation and firm performance.
Originality/value
This study seeks to address the void in the current literature which focus mainly on the mere presence of top marketing executive in generating favorable outcome with insufficient attention given to how this persona can play a key role in firms. While there is empirical evidence in the developed markets, this study aims to explicate the important role of marketing leaders in a small economy which is understudied. By showing that marketing leaders can actualize their benefits through the cultivation of market orientation of firms, this study also strive to address the call for more research in investigating the antecedents of market orientation.
Details
Keywords
Thomas Noel, Joseph Gardner and Ariel Sylvester
This study aims to explore how Black homeschooling organizations based in the United States with a public web presence in 2023–2024 characterize their missions and what these…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how Black homeschooling organizations based in the United States with a public web presence in 2023–2024 characterize their missions and what these mission statements can tell us both about the growing homeschooling movement among Black parents, as well as its potential implications for education as a means of individual and collective uplift and positive social change.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used critical constructivist grounded theory (Levitt, 2021) and emergent coding to analyze the mission statements and organizational descriptions of all 19 U.S.-based Black homeschooling organizations with a public facing web presence identified via Google search in 2023 and 2024.
Findings
Utilizing Afrofuturism as our theoretical framework, themes such as Black self-determination, community, support, and resources, and safety and empowerment emerged. Black homeschooling organizations offer families a safe and informative community as they seek agency, autonomy and brighter futures for their children than may be on offer in traditional schools.
Originality/value
Our research fills an empirical gap in the literature on Black homeschooling by examining an existing but, so far as this paper could determine, unstudied population of U.S.-based Black homeschooling organizations. Our research also contributes by applying Afrofuturism and fugitive pedagogy as novel theoretical frameworks to better understand the move toward homeschooling by increasing numbers of Black parents.
Details
Keywords
Rabia Chahbounia and Abdellah Gantare
In emergency departments, effective communication is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of patients. However, communicating can be quite challenging when dealing with…
Abstract
Purpose
In emergency departments, effective communication is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of patients. However, communicating can be quite challenging when dealing with high-stress situations. This study aims to assess the efficacy of coaching workshops, informed by a transtheoretical coaching model, in managing communication challenges perceived by emergency nurses and enhancing their communication skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved seven emergency room nurses working at a public hospital in Morocco. The data were gathered through various instruments, including observation grids, interviews and pre- and post-test questionnaires.
Findings
The study identified prevalent challenges in communication among nurses, notably difficulties in accurately interpreting messages when faced with confrontational attitudes from colleagues or superiors. Additionally, some nurses exhibited asymmetrical communication patterns, prioritizing their own perspectives over others' during interactions. The findings revealed a statistically significant disparity between pre- and post-test scores (P = 0.017). The nurses’ mean score has improved by 5.14 after attending the four workshop coaching experience, passing from 5.71 in the pre-test to 10.85 in the post-test.
Originality/value
This is the first study in Morocco to evaluate the effectiveness of coaching workshops guided by a transtheoretical coaching model in improving communication skills and overcoming communication barriers among working emergency nurses.
Details
Keywords
Ba-Thanh Vu, Hung Le-Quang and Qi-Chang He
The phase-field method of interfacial damage is used to simulate the damage in composite structures containing the brittle orthotropic materials and their interface.
Abstract
Purpose
The phase-field method of interfacial damage is used to simulate the damage in composite structures containing the brittle orthotropic materials and their interface.
Design/methodology/approach
In the brittle fracture modeling, the strain tensor is decomposed into positive and negative parts characterizing tension and compression behaviors. By requiring an elastic energy preserving transformation involving the elastic stiffness tensor, these two strain parts must satisfy the orthogonality condition in the sense that the elastic stiffness tensor responds as a metric. However, most of the recent phase-field methods for brittle fracture do not verify this orthogonality condition. Additionally, to describe the damage in structures with anisotropic phases, recent studies have used multiple phase-field variables, with each preferential orientation represented by a phase-field variable to describe the bulk damage of component materials. This approach increases the complexity of simulation procedure. These disadvantages motivate the present study aimed at enhancing the simulation method.
Findings
The present study improves the phase-field method of interfacial damage by (1) incorporating the strain orthogonality condition into the phase-field method; (2) using only one phase-field variable instead of multiple phase-field variables to simulate damage in component orthotropic phases; and (3) investigating the interaction between interfacial damage and bulk damage as well as the effect of orientation tensor of preferential orientation in each orthotropic phase and the interfacial parameters on crack branching in composite structures.
Originality/value
Through several simulation examples, the present simulation method is proven to be accurate, effective, and helps the simulation process simpler than previous relevant methods.
Details
Keywords
Qi Zhang, Kong Zhou, Peipei Shu, Wenxing Liu, Xi Ouyang and Ao Sun
This research aims to address the knowledge gap regarding the influence of electronic performance monitoring (EPM) on supervisors' behavior. Building upon the sociomaterial…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to address the knowledge gap regarding the influence of electronic performance monitoring (EPM) on supervisors' behavior. Building upon the sociomaterial perspective and the general model of disinhibition, the study explores the internal mechanisms and boundary conditions between supervisor EPM use and supervisor undermining.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was administered via the Sojump platform, inviting supervisors from diverse industries in China to participate in a three-wave study, each wave being approximately two weeks apart. The study gathered multi-wave data from 225 supervisors to assess the conceptual model.
Findings
The results showed that supervisor EPM use was positively related to sense of power, which in turn positively related to supervisor undermining. Furthermore, supervisors' individual identity orientation moderates the relationship between supervisor EPM use and sense of power, as well as the indirect relationship between supervisor EPM use and supervisor undermining through sense of power.
Practical implications
This study advocates for responsible EPM use to mitigate supervisor undermining (e.g. making subordinates feel incompetent) and minimize negative leadership behaviors.
Originality/value
The presented results signify a substantial progression in comprehending the interplay between supervisor EPM use and individual identity orientation, and their combined impact on the sense of power and subsequent supervisor undermining.
Details
Keywords
Aryana Shahin, Michael Polonsky, Lincoln C. Wood, Alfred Presbitero and Mayuri Wijayasundara
This study evaluates how well Victorian local councils’ procurement policies align with the sustainable and circular economy (CE) approach that prioritises sustainable and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study evaluates how well Victorian local councils’ procurement policies align with the sustainable and circular economy (CE) approach that prioritises sustainable and regenerative practices. It proposes a set of criteria designed to effectively integrate environmental sustainability issues into purchasing policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing the Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) framework, a multi-dimensional content analysis guided by the goal-setting theory was applied to evaluate all 79 Victorian local councils’ procurement policies. This approach provided an assessment of policy specificity, measurability, assignability, realism and time sensitivity in promoting environmental sustainability through purchasing policies.
Findings
The findings underscored a significant deficiency in policy adherence to all SMART criteria concerning environmental sustainability, hindering the effective green purchasing decisions within government entities. This lack of integration of greening in purchasing policy poses challenges for manufacturers of waste-derived goods, obscuring the procurement objectives of these critical public sector customers.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to the sustainable procurement (SP) discourse by proposing guidelines aimed at improving the efficacy of governmental purchasing of sustainable products. These guidelines address the broader imperative to mitigate the environmental impacts of governmental spending on less sustainable goods, thereby fostering ecological sustainability and promoting responsible consumption.
Originality/value
While past studies have often relied on subjective content analysis methods, the SMART assessment used to develop the environmental sustainability criteria for purchasing policies, which distinguishes this study from previous governmental policy evaluation studies. This approach marks a departure from traditional governmental policy evaluation studies, offering a more structured analysis of policy effectiveness in promoting SP practices.
Details
Keywords
Aslina Nasir and Yeny Nadira Kamaruzzaman
This study was conducted to forecast the monthly number of tuna landings between 2023 and 2030 and determine whether the estimated number meets the government’s target.
Abstract
Purpose
This study was conducted to forecast the monthly number of tuna landings between 2023 and 2030 and determine whether the estimated number meets the government’s target.
Design/methodology/approach
The ARIMA and seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA) models were employed for time series forecasting of tuna landings from the Malaysian Department of Fisheries. The best ARIMA (p, d, q) and SARIMA(p, d, q) (P, D, Q)12 model for forecasting were determined based on model identification, estimation and diagnostics.
Findings
SARIMA(1, 0, 1) (1, 1, 0)12 was found to be the best model for forecasting tuna landings in Malaysia. The result showed that the fluctuation of monthly tuna landings between 2023 and 2030, however, did not achieve the target.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides preliminary ideas and insight into whether the government’s target for fish landing stocks can be met. Impactful results may guide the government in the future as it plans to improve the insufficient supply of tuna.
Practical implications
The outcome of this study could raise awareness among the government and industry about how to improve efficient strategies. It is to ensure the future tuna landing meets the targets, including increasing private investment, improving human capital in catch and processing, and strengthening the system and technology development in the tuna industry.
Originality/value
This paper is important to predict the trend of monthly tuna landing stock in the next eight years, from 2023 to 2030, and whether it can achieve the government’s target of 150,000 metric tonnes.
Details