The Senior Staff Tutor of the Further Education Staff College, Coombe Lodge, explains a new system for measuring costs in further education.
The open‐learning student has far more responsibility for setting the learning agenda than in traditional systems. Guidance is needed to help confirm the choice of course and…
Abstract
The open‐learning student has far more responsibility for setting the learning agenda than in traditional systems. Guidance is needed to help confirm the choice of course and explain particular difficulties associated with open learning. Tasks of the tutor include defining aims and learning objectives; organising learning material; presenting this material and assessing and providing feedback on achievement. The emphasis within this mix of activities changes in open learning, with more time on counselling and providing a mark and comment service. Ready availability of individualised learning materials is critical to the development of open learning. Lack of resources has been one reason why open learning has not been more widely adopted. The more effective the investment in materials development, the less likely the requirement for high levels of tutorial support. Development costs of learning materials and calculation of the cost of delivery systems are discussed.
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Derek P. Torrington and Cary L. Cooper
The extent to which stress at work produces a degree of psychological impairment has become a central issue in the current debate on the quality of working life. Various analyses…
Abstract
The extent to which stress at work produces a degree of psychological impairment has become a central issue in the current debate on the quality of working life. Various analyses of alienation as a result of paced assembly lines and other forms of mass production have spawned a range of possible initiatives to mitigate that condition: job enrichment, autonomous work groups and versions of industrial democracy being some of the best known.
Paul Gill, Zoe Marchment, Sanaz Zolghadriha, Nadine Salman, Bettina Rottweiler, Caitlin Clemmow and Isabelle Van Der Vegt
Purpose – This chapter provides a roadmap for future research and evaluation on violent extremist risk analysis.Methodology/Approach – The authors synthesize the lessons learned…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter provides a roadmap for future research and evaluation on violent extremist risk analysis.
Methodology/Approach – The authors synthesize the lessons learned from process evaluations of general violence risk assessment, bias research, survey designs, linguistic analyses, and spatial analyses, and apply them to the problem of violent extremist risk assessment and management.
Findings – The next generation of violent extremist risk assessment research will necessitate a focus upon process, barriers to effective implementation and taking the human element of decision-making into account. Furthermore, the development of putative risk factors for violent extremist attitudes and behaviors necessitates a movement toward more survey-based research designs. Future risk assessment processes may additionally take language and spatial components into account for a more holistic understanding.
Originality/Value – Based on existing literature, there is a paucity of research conducting process evaluations, survey designs, linguistic analyses, and spatial analyses in this area. The authors provide several roadmaps, assessments of respective strengths and weaknesses, and highlight some initial promising results.
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It is now about twelve years since the first discovery —by accident—that antibiotic supplements to the feeding stuffs of young livestock produced increased weight gains and…
Abstract
It is now about twelve years since the first discovery —by accident—that antibiotic supplements to the feeding stuffs of young livestock produced increased weight gains and improved conversion of food into flesh. Already a commercial practice of some magnitude in the U.S.A., it has grown in this country to such an extent that the trend is being reviewed at high level authority.
Derek W. Thompson, Rajat Panwar and Eric N. Hansen
The aim of this paper is to examine the social responsibility orientation (SRO) gaps between the forest industry executives and societal members in the US Pacific Northwest.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine the social responsibility orientation (SRO) gaps between the forest industry executives and societal members in the US Pacific Northwest.
Design/methodology/approach
Using mail survey responses to pre‐existing SRO scales, the two samples are grouped into distinct social orientation clusters and compared based on demographic and firm characteristic variables.
Findings
The forest industry executives were found to have a significantly lower SRO than societal members, indicating a more individualistic social orientation. Demographic analyses suggested that individualistic beliefs were more prominent in males and rural residents among general society respondents. However, SRO among business executives showed no significant differences based on demographics or firm characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted within a specific region of the USA and as such these findings may not be generalized to other regions. The paper argues that one's SRO may have an impact on one's corporate social responsibility orientation; however, this remains an area that must be empirically investigated, both within and beyond the geographic and industrial context presented here.
Practical implications
Previous research has shown that executives with more egalitarian orientations can be more successful and inclusive problem‐solvers and negotiators. As businesses continue to face the challenge of balancing multiple stakeholders' demands, an understanding of gaps in SRO between business executives and general society provides a preliminary basis for companies to understand their misalignment with societal values and to find appropriate ways to narrow these gaps, wherever feasible.
Originality/value
The study represents the first region‐specific assessment of SRO. Additionally, the originality of the study lies in examining the SRO gap between industry executives and general society. Results prompt discussion surrounding the influence of social responsibility orientation gaps on an executive's ability to balance the demands of the firm and stakeholders.
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Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange…
Abstract
Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange for Auto Parts procurement by GM, Ford, Daimler‐Chrysler and Renault‐Nissan. Provides many case studies with regards to the adoption of technology and describes seven chief technology officer characteristics. Discusses common errors when companies invest in technology and considers the probabilities of success. Provides 175 questions and answers to reinforce the concepts introduced. States that this substantial journal is aimed primarily at the present and potential chief technology officer to assist their survival and success in national and international markets.
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In this chapter, I explore my autobiographical beginnings as a means of better understanding what brought me to the research I explore throughout this text. As Clandinin and…
Abstract
In this chapter, I explore my autobiographical beginnings as a means of better understanding what brought me to the research I explore throughout this text. As Clandinin and Connelly as well as Clandinin and Caine suggested, examining our own stories along with the stories of our research participants is essential to understand the identity-making process. Autobiographical beginnings within narrative inquiry bring to the surface those factors influencing the researcher’s perspectives, thus locating the researcher within the inquiry as well as within a larger life context. The experience of metaphorically travelling back into the muskeg where I grew up in Northern Saskatchewan and then writing about it shaped the structure of my reflections on this inquiry into identity-making and curriculum making on the edges of community. In this chapter, I refer to the edges of community as a metaphorical space or spaces occupied by people positioned or constructed as marginalized from a dominant norm positioned or constructed as central to a community. I suggest a reframing of our understanding of spaces conventionally referred to as marginalized as well as contend that the notion of marginalization, itself, is a metaphor. In my inquiries into identity-making and curriculum making, I attend to the ways in which people’s positioning within communities is complex and shifting. As this chapter illustrates, our individual identities are multivalent and inextricably intertwined with who we are, who we were, and who we wish to become, whether we are researchers, teachers, or pre-service teachers.
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Sally Galovic, Philip Birch, Margaret H. Vickers and Michael Kennedy
The purpose of this paper is to present results from a qualitative study exploring the complaints system within New South Wales Police Force in Australia. The stories shared…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present results from a qualitative study exploring the complaints system within New South Wales Police Force in Australia. The stories shared illustrate the impact of the complaints system on officers currently serving in this force. The study reveals how the complaints system impacts on both the working conditions and workplace environment of police officers, as well as impacting on the professional relationships amongst each other.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is qualitative in design, in which in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 14 rank and file police officers. The qualitative analysis draws upon a thematic approach and a direct reference to police officer comments and perspectives are illustrated and used to inform the framework of the discussion and implications for further research in this area.
Findings
The findings yield three central themes – “police perceptions of accountability”; “the complaints tool – a question of intra institutional justice”; and “performance impact”. These are discussed in direct relation to what police officers revealed about their experiences and thoughts on the current complaints process in New South Wales.
Practical implications
To review the complaints process in order to develop a more transparent process; to recognise the critiques of the complaints process, both by the general public and police officers, as valuable information to be used to inform improving the process; to consider restorative justice practices employed by other police forces as a means of finalising some complaint processes; to develop a more swift complaints process with more timely conclusions in order to minimise long-term issues such as sustained sick leave.
Originality/value
This paper examines the link between accountability and performance, and the unintended consequences the complaints process has on police officers at work. This examination is conducted by drawing on current rank and file police officers lived experiences.
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Government appointed and sponsored committees of every description—select, ad hoc, advisory, inquiry—such a prominent feature of the public scene since the last War, are…
Abstract
Government appointed and sponsored committees of every description—select, ad hoc, advisory, inquiry—such a prominent feature of the public scene since the last War, are understandable, even acceptable, reflect the urgency of the times in which we live. In the gathering gloom of more recent twilight years, they have flourished inordinately, especially in the socio‐political field, where most of their researches have been conducted. Usually embellished with the name of the figure‐head chairman, almost always expensively financed, they have one thing in common—an enormous output of words, telling us much of what we already know. So much of it seems dull, meaningless jargon, reflecting attitudes rather than sound, general principles.