Women are, in increasing numbers, participating in the labour market and are an important part of an organisation’s human resource pool. Nevertheless, women still face…
Abstract
Women are, in increasing numbers, participating in the labour market and are an important part of an organisation’s human resource pool. Nevertheless, women still face inappropriate treatment at work. One cause of this is family‐related issues. In particular, pregnancy and child birth present special challenges for working women. Discrimination towards pregnant women is commonplace in work settings. Problems are often related to individual work relationships, for example, the one between the pregnant follower and her manager. It is important to understand problems that impact on women in working life that can disturb their job satisfaction, their performance and willingness to give their best for the organisation. Therefore, for the benefit of both employer and employee, existing practices in leader follower relationships during pregnancy are worth studying in more depth. In leadership studies, the Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) theory is focused on dyadic leader‐follower relationships and is thus used here to understand this phenomenon. In the present article, the literature on pregnancy and work as well as on LMX is re viewed. On the basis of these reviews, a future research agenda is offered.
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Tiffany M. Nyachae, Mary B. McVee and Fenice B. Boyd
Purpose – This chapter discusses youth participation in a Social Justice Literacy Workshop (SJLW). Participants were predominantly Black youth residing in an urban community with…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter discusses youth participation in a Social Justice Literacy Workshop (SJLW). Participants were predominantly Black youth residing in an urban community with a rich history and important community resources such as libraries and churches. The SJLW used a variety of print texts, videos, artwork, documents, and other texts to explore the topic of police brutality and other justice-related topics.
Design/Methodology/Approach – This chapter uses the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model as a lens to revisit the SJLW as designed and implemented by the first author Tiffany Nyachae. Nyachae designed and implemented the SJLW as space to inspire students to engage in critical thinking and analysis of authentic texts, and to use these textual interactions as an impetus for activism in their community. With the help of her co-authors, Nyachae reflects on the SJLW through a GRR lens to describe how students were scaffolded and supported as they moved toward activism.
Findings – Students brought their own understandings of police brutality and awareness of activism to the SJLW. These prior understandings were shaped both by their own lived experiences but also by their awareness of and interaction with social media. During the SJLW, youth read and discussed the novels All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (2015) and Hush by Jacqueline Woodson (2002). The youth engaged in activities and discussions about how prevalent issues in each novel connected to larger social and political concerns. Students discussed the current events, engaged in reflective writing, read short pieces, and analyzed documents and videos. The SJLW was successful in such a way that all students felt comfortable voicing their opinions, even when opinions differed from their peers. Students demonstrated critical thinking about issues related to justice. All students completed an action plan to address injustice in their community. While applying the GRR to this context and reflecting, first author Nyachae began to consider the other scaffolds for youth that could have been included, particularly one youth, JaQuan, who was skeptical about what his community had done to support him. Nyachae revisits the SJLW to consider how the GRR helped to reveal the need for additional scaffolding that JaQuan or other youth may have needed from leaders in the SJLW. A literature review also revealed that very few literacy practices have brought together the GRR and social justice teaching or learning.
Research Limitations/Implications – This chapter demonstrates that the GRR framework can be effectively applied to a justice-centered teaching and learning context as a reflective tool. Since very little research exists on using the GRR framework with justice-centered teaching, there is a need for additional research in this area as the GRR model offers many affordances for researchers and teachers. There is also a need for literacy researchers to consider elements of justice even when applying the GRR framework to any classroom or out-of-school context with children and youth.
Practical Implications – The GRR can be a useful tool for reflecting the practices of literacy and justice-centered teaching. Just as the GRR can be a useful framework to help teachers think about teaching reading comprehension, it can be an effective tool to help teachers think about supporting students to grow from awareness to activism in justice-centered teaching and learning.
Originality/Value of Paper – This chapter is one of only a handful of published works that brings together a social justice perspective with the GRR.
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June Mitsuhashi and J.J. Morrell
Wetting wood plastic composites (WPCs) prior to testing can be challenging because of the inherent water repellency of the plastic. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use…
Abstract
Purpose
Wetting wood plastic composites (WPCs) prior to testing can be challenging because of the inherent water repellency of the plastic. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of heating and wetting to accelerate moisture uptake on two WPCs.
Design/methodology/approach
Full size samples of the two WPCs were immersed in water at various temperatures or heated in an autoclave. Samples were removed periodically and dissected to determine the moisture profile by oven drying and weighing.
Findings
Moisture uptake is accelerated by heating, but the effect is mainly confined to the outer 5 mm of the samples. Moisture levels deeper in the samples are largely unaffected.
Research limitations/implications
Moisture uptake can be enhanced by heating, but the inability to increase moisture levels deeper in the wood suggests that tests assessing the role of moisture on WPC properties should use thinner specimens to ensure that moisture is well distributed in the materials.
Practical implications
The results suggest the need for a re‐evaluation of test methodologies for WPCs where moisture uptake is an integral part of the procedures to more closely align the methods to the WPC/moisture behaviour.
Originality/value
This paper will help researchers develop better methods for assessing the role of moisture in WPC behaviour.
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The school-to-prison pipeline is a booming pipeline that is the cause for alarm. Increasingly, this pipeline includes more of Chicano males, and this dynamic is reflected in low…
Abstract
The school-to-prison pipeline is a booming pipeline that is the cause for alarm. Increasingly, this pipeline includes more of Chicano males, and this dynamic is reflected in low rates of high school graduates going to college contrasted with the growing number of Chicanos in the juvenile justice and court systems. This study focuses on the impacts of the school-to-prison pipeline on Chicano students. Furthermore, utilizing a CRT and LatCrit framework, this study centers the experiential knowledge that Chicano students contribute to conceptualizing ways of disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. Themes of this study include the following: (1) Chicano student experiences with the school-to-prison pipeline, (2) innovation of discipline policy and practice, and (3) effective alternative practices to a zero tolerance framework. Through this, Chicano students point to a praxis grounded in community to clear educational pathways and interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.
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Kaitlyn DeGhetto, Zachary A. Russell and Gerald R. Ferris
Large-scale organizational change, such as seen through mergers and acquisitions, CEO succession, and corporate entrepreneurship, sometimes is necessary in order to allow firms to…
Abstract
Large-scale organizational change, such as seen through mergers and acquisitions, CEO succession, and corporate entrepreneurship, sometimes is necessary in order to allow firms to be competitive. However, such change can be unsettling to existing employees, producing considerable uncertainty, conflict, politics, and stress, and thus, must be managed very carefully. Unfortunately, to date, little research has examined the relationships among change efforts, perceptions of political environments, and employee stress reactions. We introduce a conceptual model that draws upon sensemaking theory and research to explain how employees perceive and interpret their uncertain environments, the politics in them, and the resulting work stress, after large-scale organizational change initiatives. Implications of our proposed conceptualization are discussed, as are directions for future research.
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W.H. Wang, Q.W. Wang, H. Xiao and J.J. Morrell
To investigate the effects of moisture and freeze‐thaw cycling on the absorption and flexural properties of rice‐hull‐polyethylene (PE) composite.
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the effects of moisture and freeze‐thaw cycling on the absorption and flexural properties of rice‐hull‐polyethylene (PE) composite.
Design/methodology/approach
Various rice‐hull‐PE composite specimens were submerged in water at various temperatures and subjected to various freeze‐thaw cycles. Various characterisations including water absorption, bending strength and stiffness, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope imaging were performed.
Findings
High temperatures accelerated the water sorption of the rice‐hull‐PE composite and increased the equilibrium moisture content. The uncoated surface was not significantly more easily permeated than the coated surface, contrary to expectations. However, more water was absorbed from the cut surface than from the original extruded surface. This was attributed to the tiny checks left on the surface by the sawing action, which indicated the importance of protecting the original surface layer from scraping or other damage. Bending strength and stiffness of the rice‐hull‐PE composite decreased significantly after the freeze‐thaw cycling treatment. The modulus of elasticity decreased more than the modulus of rupture. Compared to the effect of water immersion alone, freeze‐thaw cycling treatment slightly accelerated this decrease.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study were obtained from accelerated laboratory experiments. Further research could be carried out to evaluate the properties of this rice‐hull‐PE composite in practical application.
Practical implications
The research revealed a possible degradation in quality when the rice‐hull‐PE composite is used in moist or freezing conditions. The resin layer on the extruded surface provides an important protection.
Originality/value
In China, rice‐hull powder is widely used as a reinforcing component in plastic composite. However, the durability of rice‐hull/PE composites has rarely been investigated. Results from this study will help users apply rice‐hull‐PE composites correctly and encourage the development of other agro‐fibre/polymer materials.
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In Canada, food insecurity is characterized by the consumption of low quantity or low-quality foods, worrying about food supply and/or acquiring foods in socially unacceptable…
Abstract
In Canada, food insecurity is characterized by the consumption of low quantity or low-quality foods, worrying about food supply and/or acquiring foods in socially unacceptable ways, such as begging or scavenging. As of 2012, approximately 15.2% of Ontario, Canada, children are living in food insecure households, a prevalence which has remained steady since 2005. This is particularly concerning when considering that school-aged children are a population whose growth and developing is sensitive to nutritional stress, and the experience of childhood food insecurity is highly associated with the development of adverse physical, mental and learning outcomes. This study aims at establishing the relationship between food insecurity and Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) standardized test scores in order to highlight the incompatibility of the EQAO's reliance on test outcomes in determining Ontarian school's accountability, specifically for those with a high prevalence of food insecurity.