Severin V. Grabski and David Mendez
Effective land use management in lesser developed countries is problematic due to a variety of factors including inexperience and turnover of decision makers, lack of…
Abstract
Effective land use management in lesser developed countries is problematic due to a variety of factors including inexperience and turnover of decision makers, lack of communication among experts in functional areas, and scattered or missing data needed by managers to make informed decisions. This paper describes a “first step” approach toward the solution of these problems that was implemented in the Dominican Republic. The paper introduces a framework used to organize and facilitate the sharing of data needed for land use decision across multiple disciplines. The framework provided the basis for the development of a prototype agricultural geographic decision support system for use in the Dominican Republic. This system is unique in that it combines concepts from semantic data modeling and database design, geographic information systems, and knowledge‐based systems.
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Heraeus has now introduced a new 6 page colour brochure describing its latest range of temperature and climatic walk‐in test chambers, making it easier for users to accurately…
Abstract
Heraeus has now introduced a new 6 page colour brochure describing its latest range of temperature and climatic walk‐in test chambers, making it easier for users to accurately choose the precise size and configuration of chamber required.
Krista E. Leh, Linda Kay Mayger and Christina Yuknis
This study investigated how superintendents lead the process of within-district racial and socioeconomic integration.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated how superintendents lead the process of within-district racial and socioeconomic integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers used Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology to analyze interviews with superintendents, documents and videos from four school districts in suburban, southeastern Pennsylvania.
Findings
The emergent “Leadership for In-District Integration” theory indicated that superintendents who led redistricting initiatives aligned their systems for organizational equity only after developing culturally competent leadership practices and building trusting relationships within the school community. Despite these efforts, only two of the four districts achieved racial or socioeconomic balance in the targeted grade levels. In all districts the efforts to integrate their schools for equity were ongoing.
Practical implications
The current study's findings indicate that school leaders may face less conflict with constituents about school desegregation if they capitalize on existing needs to redraw district boundaries for other purposes. Superintendents seeking to engage in such work should set clear goals for what constitutes desegregation, view integration as more than demographic balancing and seek support to develop culturally competent leadership practices that build trusting relationships among community members.
Originality/value
The Leadership for In-District Integration theory adds conceptual and practical value to the field of educational administration by effectively illustrating what it meant to superintendents to integrate a school system and revealing insights that may help other school leaders make such a change. This research is significant because it is one of the few studies that focuses primarily on leadership factors associated with integration within suburban school districts.
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José A. Pérez-Méndez, María Pérez-Urdiales and David Roibas
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of the subsidies established by Measure 123 of the Rural Development Policy on the productivity of a sample of agri-food and forestry…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of the subsidies established by Measure 123 of the Rural Development Policy on the productivity of a sample of agri-food and forestry companies in the region of Asturias over the period 2006-2009.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors estimate a stochastic frontier function which allows subsidies to be considered as affecting both the level of technical efficiency and technical progress.
Findings
The results show that while subsidies have a positive effect on the technical progress of companies in the agri-food industry, for the forestry industry, the effect materializes as an improvement in technical efficiency. Additionally, other factors affecting either, technical progress and technical efficiency were identified.
Originality/value
This study adopts a model that allows the separate identification of the effect of subsidies on the level of efficiency, on the one hand, and on the technical progress, on the other.
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David Freund, Robert Lee, Heinz Tüselmann and Qi Cao
The main purpose of this study is to explain the combined effects of host country weak network ties and absorptive capacity on the innovative foreign knowledge inflows of…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to explain the combined effects of host country weak network ties and absorptive capacity on the innovative foreign knowledge inflows of international high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Data are drawn from the two largest and most authoritative German Federal Government census-databases of biotech and nanotech SMEs. A structured survey questionnaire was administered and regression analysis adopted.
Findings
This study demonstrates weak network ties in the host country and developing absorptive capacity produce a combined effect that positively influences international high-tech SMEs innovative foreign knowledge inflows. Also, host country weak network ties and absorptive capacity when considered separately, each respectively, positively influence innovative foreign knowledge inflows.
Practical implications
The results help inform key personnel in international high-tech SMEs about the relevance of host country weak network ties and absorptive capacity for foreign knowledge inflows. In addition, the results help policymakers and think-tanks to promote tailored advice and guidance e.g. those policymakers implementing the EU Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan.
Originality/value
There is a recent call in the literature to combine network theory and absorptive capacity theory to better explain knowledge creation in the context of international high-tech SMEs knowledge sourcing. By addressing this call, the study provides a more refined and comprehensive account of international high-tech SMEs innovative foreign knowledge inflows.
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Celina Torres-Arcadia, Sergio Nava-Lara, César Rodríguez-Uribe and Leonardo David Glasserman-Morales
The paper aims to present what is known from the school principals who participated in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) in Mexico. The paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present what is known from the school principals who participated in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) in Mexico. The paper reviews 14 publications (5 articles, 5 conference papers and 4 books) on successful school principals in Mexico that were published between 2009 and 2021 as part of the ISSPP. The papers were analysed using a conceptual framework consisting of perceived qualities of the principal, school organisation, suitability of teachers and principals, educational materials and methods and educational infrastructure.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping study review methodology was used to explore publications and conference proceedings on ISSPP research on Mexican principals and schools in order to answer the question: What do we know about successful school principals in the Mexican context? Conference papers, journal articles, book chapters and books formed the knowledge base for the review.
Findings
As a result of the analysis across the five analysis categories it was found that the principals emphasised improving the educational quality of their schools and understood this as the basic criterion to judge their leadership success. Principals were central to school success and a nested model was produced to show how the successful school is built from the core of the principal, as a socio-emotional skills role model, to a culture of continuous improvement. The model included principal socio-emotional skills, school organisation, continuous improvement of teaching and principal practices and having appropriate educational materials, methods and infrastructure.
Originality/value
The ISSPP has produced a large amount of research. The paper is the first review of the substantial contribution from ISSPP research in Mexico. The model produced from the review adds to the several models produced in the ISSPP.
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David du Toit and Lindy Heinecken
The nature of paid domestic work is changing, with the growth in companies delivering domestic cleaning services. Few studies have looked at why people opt to use these services…
Abstract
Purpose
The nature of paid domestic work is changing, with the growth in companies delivering domestic cleaning services. Few studies have looked at why people opt to use these services and the underlying drivers. As with the outsourcing of non-core tasks in businesses, outsourcing domestic work is motivated by similar, yet different reasons, which have to do with the personal and private nature of domestic employment. This study aims to establish the reasons why “clients”, who were former employers of domestic servants, opted to outsource domestic work to a domestic cleaning service provider.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the limited research on domestic cleaning services in South Africa, a mixed-methods research approach is used.
Findings
The findings showed that there are three key motivations: the nature of the domestic cleaning service supplier, the services rendered by domestic workers and the tripartite employment relationships. These three benefits imply that clients have access to functional and numerical flexibility, unlike employing a domestic worker directly. This study contributes to the literature on outsourcing and domestic work by showing that clients not only look to change the economic structure of the relationship with domestic workers, but it allows them to psychologically and emotionally distance themselves from domestic workers.
Research limitations/implications
This study shows that some people are no longer willing to have a relationship with the people who clean their homes, and that they believe it is simply not worth the effort to maintain a relationship. This is an aspect that needs further research, as this is the one sphere where women are united in their plight, albeit from different worldviews. Thus, a limitation is that this study only focuses on clients' views of outsourcing. Have domestic workers employed by the outsourced domestic cleaning service supplier become just like assembly-line workers, where they are anonymous to their clients, performing routine tasks with little recognition from those whose homes they are servicing? Future studies could focus on domestic workers' views on outsourcing and the effects it has on their working conditions and employment relations.
Originality/value
Firstly, studies mainly focus on the Global North where domestic work and outsourcing have different dynamics, regulation policies and social changes when compared to South Africa. Secondly, few studies have sought to establish why people shift from employing a domestic or care worker directly to an outsourced domestic agency when direct domestic help is available and affordable. Considering these shortcomings, this study aims to provide a better understanding of domestic cleaning service suppliers from the perspective of clients, often omitted from the literature. Accordingly, this study aimed to establish what the benefits are for clients (former employers of domestic workers) who use domestic cleaning service suppliers.