Tim Shaw, Deborah McGregor, Sue Sinclair, Robert Sutherland, Ana Munro and Jackie Ross
Cancer care is complex and an integrated cancer pathway involves many health professionals in a variety of care settings using many skills. The widely distributed and…
Abstract
Purpose
Cancer care is complex and an integrated cancer pathway involves many health professionals in a variety of care settings using many skills. The widely distributed and heterogeneous nature of the cancer workforce raises significant challenges with respect to professional development. Cancer Learning is a government-funded initiative designed to provide access to a wide range of quality online learning resources for all health care professionals involved in the care of cancer patients and their families. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-phase project, led by a consortium of national stakeholders in cancer care, informed the design, build, and deployment of Cancer Learning; an online, evidence based, information and learning portal to support professional development of health professionals across the continuum of cancer care in Australia. An action research approach allowed for an iterative process of ongoing dynamic evaluation and improvement of this workforce improvement resource.
Findings
The National Government Agency, Cancer Australia's Cancer Learning online hub has been supporting the professional development requirements of cancer care professionals since the site deployment in 2007. Since launch, site usage continues to grow and evaluations have been positive. Time constraints of health professionals continue to be a major barrier to sustained online learning participation.
Originality/value
This research recount of the development and implementation of an Australia first national online learning initiative highlights the rigorous approach undertaken for the delivery of a quality evidence-based resource for the professional development of all health professionals involved in the delivery of cancer care.
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Yaw A. Debrah and Ian G. Smith
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on…
Abstract
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.
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Kaupapa Māori research brings to the centre and normalises Māori academic success in higher education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Identity as Māori, through Iwi (tribal) affiliations…
Abstract
Kaupapa Māori research brings to the centre and normalises Māori academic success in higher education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Identity as Māori, through Iwi (tribal) affiliations and as tangata whenua (people of the land), are foundational values from a Māori world view. Strong Māori identity is significantly a consistent element in the stories of Māori academic successes. It is part of the ‘cultural capital’ that tauira Māori (students and graduates) take with them into educational institutions, where little active attention is given to it. At issue on a broader level is the resounding ‘silence of the archives’, the lack of information about Māori succeeding in higher education, particularly from a Māori world view. The dominant discourse in Aotearoa/New Zealand positions us into the ‘other’ and as ‘deficit’. In a reversal of this my doctoral research asked how and why do Māori succeed in higher education. Uniquely Māori elements of whenua (land), whānau (family) and connection with marae (meeting ground and complex) are part of the how and the why of Māori academic achievement. This chapter highlights how some Māori began their journeys that result in academic successes and IT qualifications. Their haphazard access to information about IT implicates the poorly developed pathways of entry into IT studies at that time and may explain some of the low uptake of IT qualifications and IT field employment by Māori and other New Zealanders.
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Rachel Ashworth, Tom Entwistle, Julian Gould‐Williams and Michael Marinetto
This monograph contains abstracts from the 2005 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference Cardiff Business School,Cardiff University, 6‐7th September 2005
Abstract
This monograph contains abstracts from the 2005 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, 6‐7th September 2005
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Lasse Torkkeli, Kaisu Puumalainen, Sami Saarenketo and Olli Kuivalainen
Purpose – The role that network competence, environmental hostility and knowledge intensiveness of the industry have on the propensity of small- and medium-sized enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose – The role that network competence, environmental hostility and knowledge intensiveness of the industry have on the propensity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to internationalise is examined.
Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are developed, based on earlier literature on the subject. Subsequently, binary logistic regression modelling using SPSS software is applied to test the hypotheses on a sample of 224 Finnish SMEs representing five industries, two of which are characterised by knowledge intensiveness and three of which are from less knowledge-intensive ones.
Findings – The propensity of SMEs to internationalise depends on both their level of network competence and their lack of perceived environmental hostility. Knowledge intensiveness of the industry is found to moderate the effect that network competence has on the internationalisation propensity.
Research limitations/implications – The present study indicates that possessing higher levels of network competence helps domestic SMEs in their efforts to turn international, and that its beneficial effect is especially important for small firms in industries characterised by high knowledge intensity. Possible limitations of the study are the small cultural context and inclusion of firms from only five industries.
Originality/value – This study is the first linking measurable network competence to internationalisation decisions of SMEs, while also including environmental and industry considerations. It also provides further evidence for the importance of networks in SME internationalisation theory, but indicates that it is not only the business networks themselves but also the competence in developing and maintaining those networks that help SMEs internationalise.
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We compare potential‐based (ø‐U‐P0) and displacement‐based finite element methods for static analysis of contained fluids. A general transient formulation may be specialized to…
Abstract
We compare potential‐based (ø‐U‐P0) and displacement‐based finite element methods for static analysis of contained fluids. A general transient formulation may be specialized to static analysis in both cases. In the potential‐based method velocity potentials (ø) and a single pressure (P0) variable are the unknowns in the fluid region. Displacements are the unknowns in the fluid for displacement‐based methods. Higher‐order displace‐ment‐based elements may produce singular matrices for some static analyses, restricting us to four‐node elements for reliability. While both methods can yield excellent results when compared with experimental data, potential‐based methods appear to have computational advantages over displacement‐based methods.
Ana Colovic and Olivier Lamotte
The purpose of this study is to investigate the internationalization of international new ventures (INVs). Specifically, this research explores the ways in which a formal cluster…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the internationalization of international new ventures (INVs). Specifically, this research explores the ways in which a formal cluster can facilitate the internationalization process of these firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors studied how four INVs benefitted from the actions of two clusters in France – Systematic and Mov’eo – as they internationalized. They conducted semi-structured interviews with the CEOs and other representatives of the INVs and with the members of the cluster management teams.
Findings
The findings indicate that clusters can facilitate the internationalization of INVs by providing resources, networking opportunities and legitimacy to help them reach global markets and by increasing the speed of internationalization.
Originality/value
By analyzing the specific role that a formal cluster plays in the internationalization of INVs, this research contributes to the literature examining the link between location and INV internationalization. The authors argue that the cluster’s role can be considered as that of an intermediary organization helping INVs to expand globally.
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Purpose: This chapter uses the different models developed in international business and the international experience of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to propose…
Abstract
Purpose: This chapter uses the different models developed in international business and the international experience of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to propose efficient ways of confronting globalization.
Design/methodology/approach: The positive experience of SMEs in countries driven by the pursuit of efficiency and innovation was analyzed, taking into account the stages of the development of the country. Uniqueness, cooperation, coalition, and integration are the key to success in the global market, as illustrated by case studies.
Findings: Factor-driven SMEs have the choice of contract marketing based on specialization or of increasing efficiency and establishing various kinds of coalition or cooperation. Efficiency- and innovation-driven SMEs can improve their global position by offering some unique value, by participating in or initiating a coalition, or by establishing strategic alliances with a multinational corporation.
Practical implications: Analysis of case studies illustrating each model of globalization helps the SMEs in selecting a relevant international business strategy over time.
Originality/value: Each model of globalization is illustrated by SMEs that have successfully implemented it.
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Louis Dodson and Dianna A. DaSilva
The main thesis of this paper is that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) hold tremendous opportunities for enhancing the quality and coverage of public goods in…
Abstract
The main thesis of this paper is that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) hold tremendous opportunities for enhancing the quality and coverage of public goods in developing countries. Within this context, the paper examines, through a SWOT analysis, the opportunity for using Computer‐Assisted Instruction (CAI) to enhance the quality and coverage of education delivery in Guy ana at the General Secondary School (GSS) level. Its main conclusion in this regard, is that through the use of CAI, the negative effects which the shortages of trained teachers have on the quality of education delivery at the GSS level, can be reduced if not eliminated. Noteworthy, CAI can be used to support Conventional Teacher‐Centered Instruction (CTCI). In addition, it can serve to reduce urban‐rural inequal ity in terms of access to quality secondary education. The paper considers, however, that these opportunities must be predicated on an understanding of the character istic weaknesses of the education system and the related possible threats to effective application of ICT to education delivery. Of import are the informal dynamics that inter‐play in the use of certain ICT in schools, namely computers; the risk of erosion of local educational materials and tools for learning given current indigenous capacity weaknesses and the increased marketability of trained teachers for the foreign market where the application of ICT to learning occurs on a higher level. However, this paper suggests that with prudent policy approaches, the weaknesses can be overcome, the threats can be minimised and therefore the opportunities can be accomplished. In this regard, this paper concludes with policy recommendations.
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Noel Scott, Brent Moyle, Ana Cláudia Campos, Liubov Skavronskaya and Biqiang Liu