Tanya Fitzgerald is a professor of Educational Leadership and Management at La Trobe University (Australia). She is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of…
Abstract
Tanya Fitzgerald is a professor of Educational Leadership and Management at La Trobe University (Australia). She is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of women's education, and contemporary perspectives on leadership and policy in higher education, including Outsiders or Equals? A History of Women Professors at the University of New Zealand 1911–1961 (2009) and Travelling Towards a Mirage: Gender, Policy and Leadership in Higher Education (2010, with Jane Wilkinson). Her forthcoming book, Historical Portraits of Women Home Scientists: The University of New Zealand 1907–1947 (with Jenny Collins) will be published by Cambria Press. Tanya's current research projects include a study of women leaders in higher education and a historical study of women's professional organisations. She is the editor of History of Education Review and co-editor of the Journal of Educational Administration and History.
Jenny Bronstein and Yosef Solomon
This study examines the information practices of Israeli lawyers highlighting the central role that information plays in professional communities of practice. Examining the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the information practices of Israeli lawyers highlighting the central role that information plays in professional communities of practice. Examining the information practices of lawyers characterizes the information behavior of this community of practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Information practices are those recurrent practices related to actively seeking information for a variety of sources socially and contextually situated within members of a professional community. Twenty semi-structured interviews were carried out with lawyers in Israel that investigated the different ways by which lawyers interact with information in their professional work. Data collected in the interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.
Findings
Findings from the content analysis of the interviews revealed three main themes: information assimilation, networking and self-promotion and content creation that encompass a wide variety of information practices related to seeking information related to a case, preparing and presenting a case, providing support for the client, collaborating with other members of the professional community and promoting their professional practice.
Originality/value
This study provides an innovating perspective of the ways by which an information-rich community of practice engages with information, solves problems, build social connections and creates new content.
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The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the experiences of conducting focus groups amongst acquaintances in naturally occurring settings, where participants were known to each…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the experiences of conducting focus groups amongst acquaintances in naturally occurring settings, where participants were known to each other and participation was less about being recruited, and more about being there when the focus group took place.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a qualitative study of multi-generational experiences of teenage parenting, and used interviews and focus groups. The study took an ethnographic approach, using case studies with a small number (4) of families, plus supplementary interviews, and focus groups with teenage parents and parents-to-be.
Findings
Using focus groups in naturally occurring settings alongside other qualitative data collection affords insights into the research topic that would not otherwise be available.
Originality/value
The paper discusses the challenges and benefits of using naturally occurring groups, and reflects on the way the findings from these groups illuminated aspects of the study concerning relationships. It argues that naturally occurring groups have advantages over conventionally organised focus groups that contribute to a deeper understanding of relationships between members.
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Abstract
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Amarachukwu Nnadozie Nwadike and Suzanne Wilkinson
The process followed in amending building code creates problems for code users within the building industry. These problems include the need and frequency of changes made to…
Abstract
Purpose
The process followed in amending building code creates problems for code users within the building industry. These problems include the need and frequency of changes made to building code, access to updated documents, method of communication, amendment interval and amendment pathway. This study aims to explore the viewpoints of building code users regarding building code amendments in New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a closed-ended questionnaire survey, this paper examined the New Zealand building code amendments by evaluating the views of experienced and relevant stakeholders within the research area.
Findings
A high proportion (50.90%) of the survey participants agreed to a three-years building code amendment cycle, as against the current biannual Amendment practiced in New Zealand. Findings from the study affirmed the necessity for building code amendment and the support for free amended building code documents to the public and other building standards. The study concludes with strong support to the use of intensive research and learning gained from disasters in building code amendment in New Zealand. Implementing the code users opinions encourages disaster resilience through effective application of the building code requirements in design and construction.
Originality/value
The contribution from this study offered a unique insight into the perspectives of building code users on building code amendment in New Zealand and ways of incorporating the findings in the building code later updates to improve disaster resilience in the built environment.
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Many jurisdictions fine illegal cartels using penalty guidelines that presume an arbitrary 10% overcharge. This article surveys more than 700 published economic studies and…
Abstract
Many jurisdictions fine illegal cartels using penalty guidelines that presume an arbitrary 10% overcharge. This article surveys more than 700 published economic studies and judicial decisions that contain 2,041 quantitative estimates of overcharges of hard-core cartels. The primary findings are: (1) the median average long-run overcharge for all types of cartels over all time periods is 23.0%; (2) the mean average is at least 49%; (3) overcharges reached their zenith in 1891–1945 and have trended downward ever since; (4) 6% of the cartel episodes are zero; (5) median overcharges of international-membership cartels are 38% higher than those of domestic cartels; (6) convicted cartels are on average 19% more effective at raising prices as unpunished cartels; (7) bid-rigging conduct displays 25% lower markups than price-fixing cartels; (8) contemporary cartels targeted by class actions have higher overcharges; and (9) when cartels operate at peak effectiveness, price changes are 60–80% higher than the whole episode. Historical penalty guidelines aimed at optimally deterring cartels are likely to be too low.