Bilingual education is a strong component in some education systems, districts, and academic curriculums, and non‐existent in others. There is presently much controversy…
Abstract
Bilingual education is a strong component in some education systems, districts, and academic curriculums, and non‐existent in others. There is presently much controversy surrounding the issue of whether or not bilingual education is effective in providing non‐English speaking children a good education. Government officials, researchers, and educators all differ as to the need of bilingual education, especially when funding is under consideration. Thus, the need for in‐depth research is in great demand. The availability of the Bilingual Education Bibliographic Abstracts (BEBA) database provides a primary resource for research in this burgeoning area. The question is thus raised, how effective is BEBA in comparison with other databases such as ERIC, Exceptional Child Education Resources, Language and Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA Bibliography, National Institute for Mental Health, Psychological Abstracts, School Practices Information File, and Sociological Abstracts. This study attempts to investigate the differences among these databases and to provide the reader a better understanding of BEBA.
The practice of bilingual education in the United States has been discussed since the 1920s. During the 1920s and early 1930s several states taught in the native language or…
Abstract
The practice of bilingual education in the United States has been discussed since the 1920s. During the 1920s and early 1930s several states taught in the native language or developed curriculum materials based on the cultural background of the students. Some school districts provided partial instruction in English, and partial instruction in the native tongue. However, little research can be found in the literature during this time frame.
Claudio Pousa, Timothy Hardie and Xiaodi Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of managerial coaching on frontline employee customer orientation, sales orientation and performance in a Chinese context…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of managerial coaching on frontline employee customer orientation, sales orientation and performance in a Chinese context. Further to this first goal, the authors also aim to compare these results with those obtained with a sample of Canadian bank employees in order to understand to what extent differences between Eastern and Western cultures affect business practices and employee responses in both environments.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper replicates a study from 2014 that used a sample of Canadian financial advisors to test the impact of managerial coaching on customer orientation, sales orientation and performance. In this new study, 185 frontline employees from a large insurance company in Chongqing (China) answered a paper-and-pencil questionnaire in Mandarin providing information about the coaching received from their managers, their own customer and sales orientation, as well as performance. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS as well as multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate cross-cultural differences.
Findings
The authors found that for the Chinese respondents managerial coaching is positively related to employee performance both directly and through the mediation effect of customer orientation. The authors found no support for the mediation of sales orientation between coaching and performance. These results suggest that managerial coaching might be a good strategy to promote relational behaviors in frontline employees, but not to reduce manipulative behaviors. The authors also found that these results are statistically equivalent for Chinese and Canadian respondents, suggesting that cultural differences are less prevalent than expected in this business sector.
Research limitations/implications
The study makes several contributions to research. First, it suggests that managerial coaching can help employees develop their customer orientation–a central construct for commercial organizations working under a relational marketing approach. Second, it presents one of the first studies that evaluate the efficiency of managerial coaching in an Eastern country. And finally, results underline the equivalence of results for Eastern (China) and Western (Canada) respondents suggesting that in a global environment (like the financial industry) the business logic guiding the development of good customer relationships and employee customer-oriented behaviors prevails over potential cultural differences and makes leader and employee behaviors more similar and comparable across different regions in the world.
Practical implications
First, the use of managerial coaching seems to increase frontline employee relational behaviors, like customer orientation. Accordingly, managerial coaching seems to be a link that can help financial institutions bridge the formulation of a marketing relational strategy in the boardroom and the implementation of such a strategy at the customer interface between frontline employees and customers. Second, given the equivalence of results between the Canadian and the Chinese sample, it seems that the similarities between business models and business logics within the financial services sector are more important—and supersede—the potential cross-cultural differences between Eastern and Western countries.
Originality/value
The study makes a contribution to the limited literature on the use of managerial coaching in financial institutions to increase frontline employee relational behaviors. At the same time, it presents one of the few cross-cultural studies comparing results obtained from Chinese and Canadian respondents.
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This index accompanies the index that appeared in Reference Services Review 16:4 (1988). As noted in the introduction to that index, the articles in RSR that deal with specific…
Abstract
This index accompanies the index that appeared in Reference Services Review 16:4 (1988). As noted in the introduction to that index, the articles in RSR that deal with specific reference titles can be grouped into two categories: those that review specific titles (to a maximum of three) and those that review titles pertinent to a specific subject or discipline. The index in RSR 16:4 covered the first category; it indexed, by title, all titles that had been reviewed in the “Reference Serials” and the “Landmarks of Reference” columns, as well as selected titles from the “Indexes and Indexers,” “Government Publications,” and “Special Feature” columns of the journal.
Kathleen de la Peña McCook and Tosca O. Gonsalves
If ethical or legal mandates have failed to compel organizations to manage diversity in meaningful ways, competition has emerged as the new impetus to do so. A recent cover story…
Abstract
If ethical or legal mandates have failed to compel organizations to manage diversity in meaningful ways, competition has emerged as the new impetus to do so. A recent cover story in Nation's Business by Sharon Nelton, “Winning with Diversity,” outlines successful business experiences with a diverse workforce that responds more effectively to developments in the marketplace. Nelton reports that a 1992 survey of 578 companies indicated that over one‐third of the organizations polled felt that employees with multicultural communication skills were necessary for doing business in other nations and communicating with a diverse workforce.
This paper discusses how libraries have and can address the digital divide through collection development. It provides specific examples of services and/or programs that have been…
Abstract
This paper discusses how libraries have and can address the digital divide through collection development. It provides specific examples of services and/or programs that have been implemented with this objective in mind. Since the term “digital divide” is often debated, a working definition is presented. The definition includes various components, each of which are discussed in relation to libraries. The paper also provides an overview of how collection development has changed in general through the emergence of digital technology. The importance of partnership among various institutions of society is stressed if the divide is to be properly addressed.
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Rebecca T Lenzini and Ward Shaw
Presents an overview of two projects undertaken by CARL systems toprovide on‐line indexing and self‐service document delivery forjournals. Considers two major issues raised by…
Abstract
Presents an overview of two projects undertaken by CARL systems to provide on‐line indexing and self‐service document delivery for journals. Considers two major issues raised by indexing services: copyright and economic realignment. Summarises that UnCover2 is a transition project, one of the major challenges facing the profession being the accessibility of scholarly discourse to all.
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UnCover, a multidisciplinary article access database, was released in December 1988 to members of CARL (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries). Since its release, access to…
Abstract
UnCover, a multidisciplinary article access database, was released in December 1988 to members of CARL (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries). Since its release, access to UnCover has been acquired by additional libraries through a gateway connection. UnCover is made possible by the cooperation of eight of the CARL libraries, which presently send their journals to CARL Systems Inc., where they are checked in and their table of contents entered into the UnCover database (See Table 1). The journals are returned to their libraries within 24 hours. The diversity of the universities' academic programs and the many interests of the public library clients have resulted in the creation of this large database containing journal citations on virtually every subject (See Table 2). As of June 1990, UnCover contains nearly 10,000 journal titles and over 900,000 article titles.
Interlending activities in various countries, particularly inacademic libraries, are examined. The growth of networking and theimportance of a strong infrastructure are discussed…
Abstract
Interlending activities in various countries, particularly in academic libraries, are examined. The growth of networking and the importance of a strong infrastructure are discussed. A system of cost recovery for large net‐lenders is outlined. Developments in copyright are reviewed.
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Valeriia Palii, Mariana Velykodna, Marcio Pereira, Rosaleen McElvaney, Sam Bernard, Vitalii Klymchuk, Oleg Burlachuk, Alexander A. Lupis, Nadiia Diatel, Jane L. Ireland, Kimberley McNeill, Janina L. Scarlet, Ana L. Jaramillo-Sierra, Bassam Khoury, Diana Rocio Sánchez Munar, Sarah L. Hedlund, Tara Flanagan, Jeanne LeBlanc, Diana Maria Agudelo Velez and Yvonne Gómez-Maquet
This paper aims to discuss current work and further steps of the psychological hotline launched by the National Psychological Association of Ukraine (NPA), along with a call for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss current work and further steps of the psychological hotline launched by the National Psychological Association of Ukraine (NPA), along with a call for action to mental health professionals worldwide.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the training and support of the NPA’s hotline staff as well as reflections on the hotline’s work from June 2022 to April 2023.
Findings
With broad international support, the NPA’s psychological hotline currently operates in 21 countries providing psychological assistance and referrals to other service providers within Ukraine and abroad. The authors propose further steps of its work, including international collaboration.
Originality/value
Providing citizens of Ukraine with broad public access to evidence-based remote psychological support through NPA’s hotlines is a high priority considering the war’s negative impact on mental health diverse and the limited capacity of the state mental health system.