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1 – 10 of 685Patricia M Boechler and Michael R W Dawson
The purpose of this study is to build on previous research in hypermedia by including an investigation of the relationships between navigation tools, path patterns and mental…
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to build on previous research in hypermedia by including an investigation of the relationships between navigation tools, path patterns and mental representations with traditional measures of navigation outcomes. We examined the effects of four different spatial layouts on three facets of hypermedia use, performance, path patterns and mental representation, during an information search task. Typically, such measures are evaluated independently. We have sought to reveal what types of information in a navigation tool might mediate links between these three aspects of hypermedia use. The performance measures indicated that providing certain types of spatial information does not enhance speed, accuracy or economy but does enhance recall of page titles. Reference is then made to an earlier analysis on the dataset of path patterns using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) which indicated that users’ paths reflected the most prominent type of information provided in the navigation tool. The MDS configurations were then compared to the results of a distance‐like ratings task using correlation and regression methods. Only users given explicit spatial cues in the navigation tool exhibited ratings that reflected the paths they had actually taken. Although spatial information may not impact surface performance measures such as speed and economy, spatial information does play a role in influencing where users go and the development of their mental representations of the material in a hyper document.
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In recent decades, it has become clear that the major economic, political, and social problems in the world require contemporary development research to examine intersections of…
Abstract
In recent decades, it has become clear that the major economic, political, and social problems in the world require contemporary development research to examine intersections of race and class in the global economy. Theorists in the Black Radical Tradition (BRT) were the first to develop and advance a powerful research agenda that integrated race–class analyses of capitalist development. However, over time, progressive waves of research streams in development studies have successively stripped these concepts from their analyses. Post-1950s, class analyses of development overlapped with some important features of the BRT, but removed race. Post-1990s, ethnicity-based analyses of development excised both race and class. In this chapter, I discuss what we learn about capitalist development using the integrated race–class analyses of the BRT, and how jettisoning these concepts weakens our understanding of the political economy of development. To remedy our current knowledge gaps, I call for applying insights of the BRT to our analyses of the development trajectories of nations.
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Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the growing academic literature on “post-racial” African American leadership by exploring the election and reelection of…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the growing academic literature on “post-racial” African American leadership by exploring the election and reelection of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Johnson is emblematic of the current generation of young African American leaders: politically moderate, less likely to employ overt racial appeals, and able to assemble a multiethnic political coalition.Design/methodology/approach – This chapter utilizes a combination of semi-structured interviews and multivariate quantitative analysis of an original dataset to reveal both the diversity of the Johnson coalition and the high support for Johnson’s candidacy in Sacramento’s African American community.Findings – Johnson’s case demonstrates the durability of an explicitly moderate, reform-minded, and technocratic coalition and epitomizes the “universalized interest” approach to governance – simultaneously developing strategies to mobilize African American support and formulating public policies to advance group interests while articulating a universalized policy framework.Social implications – On the night that Barack Obama was elected president, Johnson became the first African American, to be elected Mayor of Sacramento. To do so, Johnson assembled a diverse electoral coalition that resembled the Obama coalition. However, this case study demonstrates the unique challenges facing an African American mayor in a majority white city and reveals the continuing importance of race in “post-Obama” urban politics.Originality/value – This chapter utilizes a unique dataset and rigorous methodology for analyzing voting behavior and multiracial coalition formation in American cities. The voter file data analyzed in this study remains an underutilized resource for urban scholars.
Explains how ING, the global financial‐services group, called in drama‐based training specialist Steps Drama to help it to raise awareness of the business benefits of diversity …
Abstract
Purpose
Explains how ING, the global financial‐services group, called in drama‐based training specialist Steps Drama to help it to raise awareness of the business benefits of diversity – and the possible legal implications of non‐inclusive behaviour – for all 1,000 staff in its UK wholesale‐banking operation.
Design/methodology/approach
Presents information on the training garnered from an interview with the human‐resource manager at ING UK.
Findings
Demonstrates that Steps designed a three‐hour workshop combining professional role‐plays with ING company information and employment law input. The result was an entertaining and memorable experience, which provided a foundation in diversity.
Practical implications
Demonstrates that while for many organizations, diversity is simply a means of complying with employment law and anti‐discriminatory practices, ING Group believes that diversity management and an inclusive culture can contribute to long‐term profitability as well.
Originality/value
Highlights the benefits of combining role‐plays with company information and lawyer input, to get employees of all grades interested in, and discussing, diversity issues.
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Claudia A. Sacramento, Jeremy F. Dawson and Michael A. West
Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino (this volume) put forward a series of useful propositions about the nature of team creativity, its connection with individual creativity and…
Abstract
Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino (this volume) put forward a series of useful propositions about the nature of team creativity, its connection with individual creativity and cognitive processes, and its antecedents. This commentary highlights some issues raised by these propositions, and explores the emergence of team creativity in greater depth. In particular, it discusses existing principles of multi-level theory and measurement, and considers how they might be applied to team creativity. We conclude that there is no single unified way to treat the concept of team creativity, but just as the antecedents of creativity may change in different situations, so may the way in which the construct is defined.
Describes how an inspirational‐leadership program for senior managers at Cheltenham & Gloucester, one of the UK's largest mortgage lenders, is generating enthusiasm and energy…
Abstract
Purpose
Describes how an inspirational‐leadership program for senior managers at Cheltenham & Gloucester, one of the UK's largest mortgage lenders, is generating enthusiasm and energy within the business and helping the managers to get the best out of their teams, using more than just basic management techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
Is based on information gathered during interviews with C&G's director of HR and senior HR manager.
Findings
Reveals how the program, designed in close collaboration with development specialist Roffey Park, features six “forums”, which run over a 12‐month period, with each forum lasting one or two days. Recounts how the first five forums cover leadership and the leader's role during change, driving improvement, winning commitment (including the leader's use of communication), getting results and enhancing team effectiveness, while the final forum is a presentation by the participants on the results of a workplace assignment, undertaken as part of the learning. Describes the benefits that C&G has obtained by running the program.
Practical implications
Shows that one of the key benefits of the program is that it brings together top managers from different parts of the organization, since organizers deliberately mix and match the cohort groups and ensure that the participants stay together for the whole program.
Originality/value
Provides plenty to interest senior HR specialists who are keen to use senior management development to boost motivation and improve teamwork in their organizations.
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Michael Dawson, Duncan Borman, Robert B. Hammond, Daniel Lesnic and Dominic Rhodes
The purpose of this paper is to apply the meshless method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to the two‐dimensional time‐dependent heat equation in order to locate an unknown internal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the meshless method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to the two‐dimensional time‐dependent heat equation in order to locate an unknown internal inclusion.
Design/methodology/approach
The problem is formulated as an inverse geometric problem, using non‐invasive Dirichlet and Neumann exterior boundary data to find the internal boundary using a non‐linear least‐squares minimisation approach. The solver will be tested when locating a variety of internal formations.
Findings
The method implemented was proven to be both stable and reasonably accurate when data were contaminated with random noise.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to limited computational time, spatial resolution of internal boundaries may be lower than some similar case investigations.
Practical implications
This research will have practical implications to the modelling and monitoring of crystalline deposit formations within the nuclear industry, allowing development of future designs.
Originality/value
Similar work has been completed in regards to the steady state heat equation, however to the best of the authors' knowledge no previous work has been completed on a time‐dependent inverse inclusion problem relating to the heat equation, using the MFS. Preliminary results presented here will have value for possible future design and monitoring within the nuclear industry
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