David Goddard and Keith F. Punch
Surveys and analyses developments in the Western Australia education system between 1983 and 1989, a period of dramatic and unprecedented change. Demonstrates that patterns of…
Abstract
Surveys and analyses developments in the Western Australia education system between 1983 and 1989, a period of dramatic and unprecedented change. Demonstrates that patterns of control are underpinned and shaped by ideologies which exist in a wider socio‐political context. The main changes during this period are shown to proceed from two almost opposite ideological strands: a social imperative and an economic imperative. While reconcilable in theory, the attempt in Western Australia at the simultaneous implementation of changes driven by these imperatives resulted in the social imperative being subjugated to the politically‐based economic imperative. Concludes that this outcome occurred through intervening factors associated with patterns of control.
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In years past, when life seemed simpler and the Law much less complicated, jurists were fond of quoting the age‐old saying: “All men are equal before the Law.” It was never…
Abstract
In years past, when life seemed simpler and the Law much less complicated, jurists were fond of quoting the age‐old saying: “All men are equal before the Law.” It was never completely true; there were important exemptions when strict legal enforcement would have been against the public interests. A classic example was Crown immunity, evolved from the historical principle that “The King can do no wrong”. With the growth of government, the multiplicity of government agencies and the enormous amount of secondary legislation, the statutes being merely enabling Acts, this immunity revealed itself as being used largely against public interests. Statutory instruments were being drafted within Ministerial departments largely by as many as 300 officers of those departments authorized to sign such measures, affecting the rights of the people without any real Parliamentary control. Those who suffered and lost in their enforcement had no remedy; Crown immunity protected all those acting as servants of the Crown and the principle came to be an officials' charter with no connection whatever with the Crown. Parliament, custodian of the national conscience, removed much of this socially unacceptable privilege in the Crown Proceedings Act, 1947, which enabled injured parties within limit to sue central departments and their officers. The more recent system of Commissioners—Parliamentary, Local Authority, Health Service—with power to enquire into allegations of injustice, maladministration, malpractice to individuals extra‐legally, has extended the rights of the suffering citizen.
A system which depends on a sequence of slow extensions and developments instead of on the sudden application of a thought‐out and comprehensive code is liable to present…
Abstract
A system which depends on a sequence of slow extensions and developments instead of on the sudden application of a thought‐out and comprehensive code is liable to present surprising lacunæ. Such a system we see in our laws and enactments relating to public health, and one of the most obvious of the lacunæ is in regard to the protection of certain of our food supplies from bacterial pollution. In some directions the safeguards are very efficient, in others they are inadequate or non‐existent. Dr. C. E. Goddard has recently drawn attention to the dangers of bacterial contamination from the sale of bread delivered without wrappers, of fruit—grapes, dates, and others—without any protection, while the numerous articles in grocers' shops which attract flies and which are not protected from them form other risks, the same being said of the fingering of meat in butchers shops. As Medical Officer of Health for the Wembley area, which includes the British Empire Exhibition, 1924, Dr. Goddard will be brought in contact with food problems of great importance. While many such sources of food pollution might be cited, it is perhaps easy to exaggerate their significance in respect of public health. They form serious defects in our methods of food distribution, but of considerably greater importance is the absence of adequate control over the preparation and of subsequent care in respect of what may be called “prepared meat foods” and the lack of supervision over those who handle foods destined for consumption by the public.
Birgit Schyns, Sarah Gilmore and Graham Dietz
Football, or soccer as it is known in the United States, is one area in which managerial positions are hugely volatile with what is often called a ‘merry-go-round’ of managers…
Abstract
Football, or soccer as it is known in the United States, is one area in which managerial positions are hugely volatile with what is often called a ‘merry-go-round’ of managers sacked for poor performance at their club and reemployed by another club. Not only does this practice often not increase performance but it is also very costly. Considering the nature of football, that is, the relatively high impact of chance on the rare events that goals are, and the high correlation between success and the wage bill, the influence of managers on performance is often over-estimated. However, potentially better preparation of future managers might help to increase competitive advantages. In this chapter, we are looking in depth at leadership in the context of football and the lessons we can draw for other contexts.
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David Griffiths and Timothy Goddard
– The purpose of this paper is to propose a way of understanding the resistance shown by teachers to the adoption of some educational technologies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a way of understanding the resistance shown by teachers to the adoption of some educational technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
The Wookie Widget Server is taken as a case study. This has been a long-term development project at the Institute for Educational Cybernetics, located at the University of Bolton, and has been used with teachers in a number of implementations. The efforts to enhance teachers’ adoption of the system are outlined, and an explanatory framework is proposed called “MegaTech and MiniTech” which clarifies the reasons for teachers’ resistance to adoption.
Findings
The explanatory framework combines theoretical approaches from Harré’s positioning theory, Heidegger’s concept of “to hand” and Popper’s utopian and piecemeal social engineering. Application of this framework indicates that in deploying the Wookie Widget Server with teachers the researchers were adopting a position of power in relation to teachers. The nature of this power is explored by building on Bateson’s writings.
Practical implications
The explanatory framework and analysis of power provide a tool for analysis of the adoption of educational technologies.
Social implications
Increasingly ambitious claims are being made for educational technology. This paper recognises the potentially oppressive nature of these technologies, and provides a starting point for a coherent analysis, which enables this danger to be avoided.
Originality/value
The combination of theories which makes up the proposed explanatory framework is new, as is the application to educational technology of Bateson’s writing on power.
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Claudio Vitari and Christophe David
Exploring the ways in which innovation can serve to create better and more integrated social, environmental, and economic enterprises is a key challenge. How firms innovate and…
Abstract
Purpose
Exploring the ways in which innovation can serve to create better and more integrated social, environmental, and economic enterprises is a key challenge. How firms innovate and change depends strongly on their management models. Permaculture concepts and principles could help the transition toward more sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to understand how management models could rely on Permaculture principles to facilitate innovations and changes toward sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper helps meet this challenge by exploring possible innovative management models that could help in pursuing sustainability by aligning enterprises with socio-ecological realities. The possible innovative management models built on the Permaculture concepts will be the object of analysis for this study.
Findings
The literature review shows that there could be innovative management models built on the Permaculture concepts, a potential alternative to western “traditional” management models. They would give preference to long-term objectives, intrinsic motivation, emergent coordination, and collective wisdom in decision making.
Originality/value
It is strategically important to find new concepts, models, methods, and practices that will lead society to be ecologically sustainable and socially responsible, besides being economically efficient. These socio-cultural and economic challenges are central to the design and construction of a society in which all individuals feel integrated and responsible.
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This paper analyzes Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's recent film, Cabin in the Woods (2012), using Thomas J. Catlaw's Fabricating the People (2007), to illustrate the precarious…
Abstract
This paper analyzes Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's recent film, Cabin in the Woods (2012), using Thomas J. Catlaw's Fabricating the People (2007), to illustrate the precarious position of youth at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The author argues that just as the film requires young people to sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity, recent political events ask young people to sacrifice their well-being for the sake of neo-liberalism. Throughout the film, youth refuse the sacrificial logic of the Director, choosing instead a “logic of subtraction.” While the film seemingly ends with the nihilistic end of the world, when viewed through the lens of Fabricating the People it may also offer a hopeful suggestion for how young people can resist and change oppressive systems of governance.
David Mutua Mathuva, Elizabeth Wangui Muthuma and Josephat Mboya Kiweu
This paper aims to investigate the impact of name change, if any on the financial performance of deposit-taking savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) in a developing country…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of name change, if any on the financial performance of deposit-taking savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) in a developing country characterized by a vibrant SACCO sector. Sparse studies exist on the impact of name changes on revenue-cost performance in mutual financial institutions such as SACCOs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a standard event methodology over a six-year period (2008-2013) to investigate the impact of name change on the return on assets (ROA) and operating profit margin (OPM). The study then uses a panel regression method to study the impact of name change on ROA and OPM for a sample of 212 deposit-taking SACCOs over the period 2008-2013.
Findings
The results, which are robust for a variety of controls, provide evidence in support of a consistent positive association between name change and subsequent financial performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Kenya. The positive impact of name change seems to be experienced about four years after the name change. The results reveal muted influence of regulation on name change and financial performance of SACCOs in Kenya.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses solely on deposit-taking SACCOs in a developing country context over a six-year period only. Extending the time period and including a sample of control SACCOs operating purely back-office service activities would add power to the analyses.
Practical implications
The current study illustrates the contribution of name change on the financial performance of SACCOs in a developing country characterized by a vibrant SACCO sector. Overall, the results show that name change announcements signal an improvement in SACCOs’ future prospects.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence on the contribution of name change announcements on the financial performance of SACCOs in a developing country context. The study adds to the sparse literature on the impact of name change on the financial performance of mutual financial institutions that are not listed on the securities exchange.
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Martyn Harling, Christine Overy, Gavin Beckham, Rachel Denby, Steven Goddard, Carolyn O'Connor, Emma Piotrowski, Teri Prout and David Tully
Substance use tends to be overlooked in nursing training. As a possible consequence, many nurses harbour ill‐informed or even negative attitudes towards drug and alcohol users…
Abstract
Substance use tends to be overlooked in nursing training. As a possible consequence, many nurses harbour ill‐informed or even negative attitudes towards drug and alcohol users. The upshot can be poor care. In a bid to tackle this problem, a group of students developed a peer‐led workshop by encouraging open debate on issues associated with illicit drug use and access to healthcare for those with substance misuse problems. What ensued was an open and frank debate that increased awareness and the thirst for more knowledge.