In recent years there has been a significant increase in the involvement of Australian schools with various aspects of the law and this has led to a number of claims that…
Abstract
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the involvement of Australian schools with various aspects of the law and this has led to a number of claims that education has become legalised. A major consequence of this development is the need for principals to have a level of legal literacy sufficient to identify when a legal problem is developing in their school. Moreover, given the increased involvement of schools with the law, there would seem to be a need for principals to introduce preventive legal risk management strategies into school policies and practices. However, to implement such programmes, principals require a sound knowledge of those aspects of the law that they are required to manage. A recent study of some 300 principals from government schools in Queensland raises serious questions, however, regarding the level of principals’ professional knowledge of the law. This paper examines the concept of the legalisation of education and the extent to which school principals’ professional knowledge is adequate to meet the demands the law is making of them.
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Lynn Healy, Lisa C. Ehrich, Brian Hansford and Doug Stewart
The research reported in this article formed part of a university/industry collaborative grant in which the role of leaders in managing cultural change across an industry site was…
Abstract
The research reported in this article formed part of a university/industry collaborative grant in which the role of leaders in managing cultural change across an industry site was investigated. The focus of the article concerns the leadership of a district director in a rural setting in Queensland. The study was shaped by the interests of the district director who sought feedback on her leadership style and influence on principals in the district. A team of researchers from the School of Professional Studies in the Faculty of Education at Queensland University of Technology conducted semi‐structured interviews with a sample of six principals with whom she had worked over a period of one year to gauge their perceptions of her influence on their thinking and acting. A key finding of the research was that that well‐led conversations can be an effective professional development strategy for learning, growth and change in educational leaders.
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The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online…
Abstract
The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:
In this chapter, we consider the possibility that a firm may use costly resources to improve its technical efficiency. Results from static analyses imply that technical efficiency…
Abstract
In this chapter, we consider the possibility that a firm may use costly resources to improve its technical efficiency. Results from static analyses imply that technical efficiency is determined by the configuration of factor prices. A dynamic model of the firm is developed under the assumption that managerial skill contributes to technical efficiency. Dynamic analysis shows that the firm can never be technically efficient if it maximizes profits, the steady state is always inefficient, and it is locally stable. In terms of empirical analysis, we show how likelihood-based methods can be used to uncover, in a semi-non-parametric manner, important features of the inefficiency-management relationship using a flexible functional form accounting for the endogeneity of inputs in a production function. Managerial compensation can also be identified and estimated using the new techniques. The new empirical methodology is applied in a data set previously analyzed by Bloom and van Reenen (2007) on managerial practices of manufacturing firms in the UK, US, France and Germany.
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Lianne Jones, Rachelle Rogers, Doug Rogers, Austin McClinton and Lisa Painter
The ever-changing educational landscape, exacerbated by recent events surrounding COVID, political and cultural unrest, necessitates educators who are antifragile, able to…
Abstract
Purpose
The ever-changing educational landscape, exacerbated by recent events surrounding COVID, political and cultural unrest, necessitates educators who are antifragile, able to withstand pressures and thrive amidst uncertainty. To this end, the pilot study reported here aims to examine mathematics educators’ initial reflections on what it means to be a risk-taker in the classroom, what prevents them from engaging in instructional risks and what would support their instructional risk-taking.
Design/methodology/approach
The pilot study utilized interviews with participants, including four pre-service teachers who were enrolled at the university and seven in-service teachers who were employed on active PDS campuses within the school district.
Findings
Preliminary findings suggest teacher beliefs concerning risk-taking, the barriers to engaging in such behaviors and the support needed to be able to take instructional risks. Results highlight the role of school–university partnerships in cultivating a culture of risk-taking through active collaboration and dialogue.
Research limitations/implications
These findings have important implications for universities and PDS partners engaged in preparing teachers for an educational field that is unpredictable and continually changing. Additional research should be completed in varying PDS settings.
Practical implications
Findings highlight the role of school–university partnerships in cultivating a culture of risk-taking through active collaboration and dialogue.
Originality/value
Educators are currently faced with an unprecedented instructional landscape. Antifragile, risk-taking teachers are needed who are adaptable and innovative, thus better equipped to enter the challenging and uncertain realities of education.
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Jane Barlow, Doug Simkiss and Sarah Stewart‐Brown
The aim of this article is to summarise the available evidence from systematic reviews about the effectiveness of interventions to prevent or treat child physical abuse and…
Abstract
The aim of this article is to summarise the available evidence from systematic reviews about the effectiveness of interventions to prevent or treat child physical abuse and neglect. A computerised search was undertaken of major electronic databases up to December 2005 using key search terms. Only systematic reviews were included in which the primary studies evaluated the effectiveness of targeted or indicated interventions for child physical abuse or neglect. A total of 31 systematic reviews were identified and 15 met all the inclusion criteria. They covered a range of interventions/services, including home visiting, parenting programmes, multi‐component interventions, intensive family preservation services, family‐focused casework and multi‐systemic family therapy. There was limited evidence of the effectiveness of services in improving objective measures of abuse and neglect, due in part to methodological issues involved in their measurement, but good evidence of modest benefits in improving a range of outcomes that are associated with physical abuse and neglect, including parental and family functioning and child development. The results also showed some interventions (eg. media‐based and perinatal coaching) to be ineffective with high‐risk families. The evidence provided by these reviews has clear implications for children's services in the UK and other western developed countries.
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Denise Maria Conroy, Amy Errmann, Jenny Young and Ilaisaane M.E. Fifita
This research aims to gain insight into how consumers interact with a commercially available genetic nutrition programme, DNAfit, to explore health change via an intervention.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to gain insight into how consumers interact with a commercially available genetic nutrition programme, DNAfit, to explore health change via an intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
Focus groups were conducted between June and October 2019, pre-, during- and post-intervention, with a total sample of 14 younger (aged 25–44 years) and 14 mature (aged 45–65 years) cohorts from New Zealand. Qualitative thematic analysis was completed with the help of NVivo software.
Findings
Younger participants in this study engaged less overall with DNAfit, felt the service did not match their lifestyles and did not encourage their believability of genetic personalised nutrition (GPN). In contrast, mature participants had positive engagement with GPN, as their motivation to use the service fit with their motivation for longevity. Overall, social uptake in health changes based on GPN is likely to depend on life stage.
Originality/value
This paper adds to limited social marketing research, which seeks novel avenues to explore how consumers engage with GPN technologies to drive social change, assisting social marketers on how to more effectively deliver health programmes that allow consumer-driven interaction to build health capabilities.
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Amidst the backlash against gay rights in the U.S., a rapidly expanding number of companies are instituting inclusive policies. While in 1990 no major corporations provided health…
Abstract
Amidst the backlash against gay rights in the U.S., a rapidly expanding number of companies are instituting inclusive policies. While in 1990 no major corporations provided health insurance for the partners of lesbian and gay employees, by early 2004, over 200 companies on the Fortune 500 list (approximately 40%) had adopted domestic partner benefits. This study of Fortune 1000 corporations reveals that the majority of adopters instituted the policy change only after facing pressure from groups of lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees. Despite such remarkable success, scholars have yet to study the workplace movement, as it is typically called by activists. Combining social movement theory and new institutional approaches to organizational analysis, I provide an “institutional opportunity” framework to explain the rise and trajectory of the movement over the past 25 years. I discuss the patterned emergence and diffusion of gay employee networks among Fortune 1000 companies in relation to shifting opportunities and constraints in four main areas: the wider sociopolitical context, the broader gay and lesbian movement, the media, and the workplace. Next, using the same wide-angle lens, I explain the apparent decline in corporate organizing since 1995. My multimethod approach utilizes surveys of 94 companies with and without gay networks, intensive interviews with 69 networks and 10 corporate executives, 3 case studies, field data, and print and virtual media on gay-related workplace topics. By focusing on not simply political but also broader institutional opportunities, I provide a framework for understanding the emergence and development of movements that target institutions beyond the state.
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.