Maja Stojanović and Petra Alaine Robinson
This paper aims to present the experiences, beliefs and perceptions of international faculty at a Research 1 institution in the Southern US regarding the perceived differences…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the experiences, beliefs and perceptions of international faculty at a Research 1 institution in the Southern US regarding the perceived differences between their and their students’ and colleagues’ cultures and first languages.
Design/methodology/approach
Face-to-face interviews were conducted with four international faculty from Europe and Asia who held appointments at a Research 1 institution in the Southern US. The interviews focused on the participants’ communication experiences with students and colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Findings
The findings have implications for academic and professional development and support as they show that understanding cultural aspects of language and communication can be challenging for individuals who may not be aware of possible cultural differences.
Originality/value
This study is unique because it presents stories of faculty from different backgrounds, who were born on different continents and who learned English at different ages but are all working in a linguistically homogeneous context. Also, the originality of the study comes from examining the intercultural communication between the participating faculty and their students, as well as their colleagues.
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Many, if not all, professions place a high value on ethical conduct. Professionals working in organisations that are perceived to have a low regard for ethics should therefore…
Abstract
Purpose
Many, if not all, professions place a high value on ethical conduct. Professionals working in organisations that are perceived to have a low regard for ethics should therefore experience occupational‐organisational conflict leading to lower organisational commitment. The purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship between police officers' perceptions of their organisation's commitment to ethics, and their affective commitment to that organisation and their occupation.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a recent survey (2005) of frontline police officers in Western Australia are analysed (n=1,837). Analysis of the gender, age, years in the organisation and other demographics show the sample of respondents is representative of the total workforce of frontline officers. The moderating role of tenure is examined for officers with two to ten years (n=697), 11‐20 years (n=687), and more than 20 years (n=453) using multi‐sample analysis.
Findings
Perceptions of officers early in their career about their organisation's commitment to ethics is more important to their commitment to their occupation than for officers with more than ten years' tenure. Perceptions of officers about their organisation's regard for ethics in the middle stage of their careers were found to impact relatively weakly on their commitment to their organisation compared with officers earlier or later in their career.
Practical implications
The study suggests that leaders and managers in policing organisations should pay particular attention to the perceptions early career officers develop regarding ethics if they want to strengthen occupational and organisational commitment and increase the likelihood they will remain in working in the profession.
Originality/value
The paper shows that police work demands that a strong climate for ethics exists within policing organisations. The importance to officers' sense of identification with their profession and commitment to their organisation at different stages of their career has received limited attention despite the implications for leadership and management practices.
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Brian English, David Morrison and Christopher Chalon
Previous research is equivocal about: whether affective organizational commitment increases or decreases with increasing tenure; and which psychological climate variables…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research is equivocal about: whether affective organizational commitment increases or decreases with increasing tenure; and which psychological climate variables correlated with affective commitment are important as tenure increases. The study's purpose is to examine whether the relationship between psychological climate and affective commitment is moderated by tenure.
Design/methodology/approach
The total workforce of a public sector agency in Western Australia (n=1,117) was surveyed with a response rate of 53 per cent. The moderating role of tenure was examined for employees with less than one year's tenure (n=87), one to nine years (n=232) and more than nine years (n=258).
Findings
Affective commitment was found to be stronger for employees with longer tenure; however, perceptions of psychological climate appear to be less positive for these employees. The finding of a moderation effect for tenure appeared to be attributable to the importance of supervisor involvement to affective commitment for employees with one to nine years' tenure.
Practical implications
Building affective commitment is an important issue for managers as it is strongly related to withdrawal cognitions and employee turnover. The findings of the study suggest that the criteria against which an organization is assessed by employees tends to shift with time and impacts on affective commitment.
Originality/value
The three‐way relationship between tenure, psychological climate and affective commitment has received little attention. The findings of the study suggest that the strength of affective commitment may depend on the extent to which the specific interests and capabilities of individual employees at different stages of tenure are met.
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IT SEEMS THAT librarians, in common with many other forms of mankind, do not learn from history. One of the more interesting sessions of the recent La Public Librarians'…
Abstract
IT SEEMS THAT librarians, in common with many other forms of mankind, do not learn from history. One of the more interesting sessions of the recent La Public Librarians' Conference in Aberdeen dealt with the need for many more librarians in school libraries, and the kind of qualifications which would best fit them for the work. Clearly, professional training in librarianship and knowledge of the educational process are both relevant and valuable.
Toni Eagar, Andrew Lindridge and Diane M. Martin
Existing brand literature on assemblage practices has focused on providing a map or geography of brand assemblages, suggesting that an artist brand’s ability to evolve and achieve…
Abstract
Purpose
Existing brand literature on assemblage practices has focused on providing a map or geography of brand assemblages, suggesting that an artist brand’s ability to evolve and achieve brand longevity remains constant. Using geology of assemblage, this study aims to explore the types and mechanisms of change in brand evolutions to address the problem of identifying when and how a brand can transform in an evolving marketplace.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply an interpretive process data approach using secondary archival data and in-depth interviews with 31 self-identified fans to explore the artist brand David Bowie over his 50-year career.
Findings
As an artist brand, Bowie’s ability to evolve his brand was constrained by his assemblage. Despite efforts to defy ageing and retain a youth audience appeal, both the media and his fans interpreted and judged Bowie’s current efforts from a historical perspective and continuously reevaluated his brand limiting his ability to change to remain relevant.
Practical implications
Brand managers, particularly artist brands and human brands, may find that their ability to change is constrained by meanings in past strata over time. Withdrawal from the marketplace and the use of silence as a communicative practice enabling brand transformations.
Originality/value
The geology of assemblage perspective offers a more nuanced understanding of brand changes over time beyond the possibilities of incremental or disruptive change. We identify the mechanisms of change that result in minor sedimentation, moderate cracks and major ruptures in a brand’s evolution.
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The first results from two collaborative UK programmes assessing the performance of non‐CFC cleaning options for the electronics assembly industry were presented at a one‐day…
Abstract
The first results from two collaborative UK programmes assessing the performance of non‐CFC cleaning options for the electronics assembly industry were presented at a one‐day conference on 6 February at the Heathrow Forte Crest Hotel. This was the latest of the long series of meetings on the CFC issue organised by the National Physical Laboratory.
Damien Arthur and Claire Eloise Sherman
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a marketer-sponsored edutainment centre as a consumer socialisation agent by examining effects on preference for the sponsor brands and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a marketer-sponsored edutainment centre as a consumer socialisation agent by examining effects on preference for the sponsor brands and the degree of socialisation children experience.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were undertaken with 16 children in their analytical stage of development as well as one of their parents immediately prior, immediately after, and one week following a part-day visit to the heavily branded edutainment centre Kidzania.
Findings
Results suggest that children did experience consumer socialisation. There was a movement in brand preferences towards the sponsored brands. The children also demonstrated advances in transaction knowledge. Specifically, significant increases were found in product and brand knowledge, shopping scripts and retail knowledge, with some children moving beyond perceptual and analytical thought and demonstrating reflective thought. In contrast, most children did not demonstrate an analytical level of advertising and persuasion knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are constrained by the children’s specific experiences and the aptitude of both the children as interviewees and the parents as observers/interpreters. Although delayed measures were used this does not necessarily confirm permanency of the effects.
Originality/value
This is the first study to date to examine a marketer-sponsored edutainment centre as a socialisation agent. Specifically, the study contributes to the understanding of this new, participatory form of marketing communications by demonstrating its value in achieving brand objectives while fostering the consumer socialisation of children.
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Considers the role of Her Majesty′s Inspectorate (HMI) in themaintenance, promotion and judgement of quality in schools. Drawing ondocumentary evidence and interview data, briefly…
Abstract
Considers the role of Her Majesty′s Inspectorate (HMI) in the maintenance, promotion and judgement of quality in schools. Drawing on documentary evidence and interview data, briefly sets out the historical context in which HMI operated and then focuses particularly on the role of HMI from the 1970s until 1993. Argues that although the statutory position of HMI as set out in The Rayner Report excludes them from responsibility for quality directly, and gives them the duty of reporting the health of the system to the Secretary of State, they engaged in the policy making with respect to key aspects of quality i.e. curriculum and pedagogy. Also argues that HMI are best seen as an interpretive community, and it was this that enabled them to struggle for the pedagogic device. Considers the arrangements for inspection since 1993 and suggests that there is some concern about the quality judgement of the new inspection process.
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Ambiguities in the term ‘evidence‐based practice’ (EBP) are often used to hide some of the tensions within the idea itself. This article seeks to clarify what EBP means and how…
Abstract
Ambiguities in the term ‘evidence‐based practice’ (EBP) are often used to hide some of the tensions within the idea itself. This article seeks to clarify what EBP means and how evidence and knowledge can contribute to the development of children's services. It acknowledges the ‘implementation gap’ between evidence‐based practice and evidence‐based practitioners, and discusses two contrasting perspectives on the problem and its solution. For ‘disseminators’ the primary issue is better translation of findings into practice, illustrated here by the work of the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). ‘Revisionists’ look beyond obstacles and drivers to implementation and instead advocate looking again at the relationship between research and practice and propose a number of radical proposals for how this relationship can be re‐envisioned.