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1 – 10 of 90Ann Mulhaney, James Sheehan and Jacqueline Hughes
Awards for business excellence are difficult for SMEs to achieve. This paper describes the case of a Merseyside SME that gained ISO 9000 certification in 1991 as well as a…
Abstract
Awards for business excellence are difficult for SMEs to achieve. This paper describes the case of a Merseyside SME that gained ISO 9000 certification in 1991 as well as a Business Excellence award from Excellence North West. Despite these achievements, the organisation soon became aware that business growth could not be absorbed into the ISO 9000 standard and resources for continual improvement were non existent. In order to comply with the new ISO 9000 requirements this situation would have to change. The paper details how the new ISO 9001 guidelines are facilitating the re‐definition of standards within the business and how, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University the company is undertaking business process re‐engineering, identifying key performance measures at both managerial and operational levels, to establish a learning culture to promote continual improvement. The paper offers a model for the management of an ISO 9000 system within a SME, and documents the many lessons learned from the study.
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Jacqueline Manuel and Don Carter
This paper provides a critical interpretative analysis of the first secondary English syllabus for schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, contained within the Courses for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper provides a critical interpretative analysis of the first secondary English syllabus for schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, contained within the Courses for Study for High Schools (New South Wales Department of Public Instruction, 1911). The purpose of the paper is to examine the “continuities that link English curriculum discourses and practices with previous discourses and practices” in the rhetorical curriculum. The analysis identifies those aspects of the 1911 English syllabus that have since become normative and challenges the appropriateness of certain enduring orthodoxies in a twenty-first century context.
Design/methodology/approach
Focussing on a landmark historical curriculum document from 1911, this paper draws on methods of historical comparative and documentary analysis. It sits within the tradition of historical curriculum research that critiques curriculum documents as a primary source for understanding continuities of discourses and practices. A social constructionist approach informs the analysis.
Findings
The conceptualisation of subject English evident in the structure, content and emphases of the 1911 English syllabus encodes a range of “discourses and practices” that have in some form endured or been “reconstituted and remade” (Cormack, 2008, p. 275) over the course of a century. The analysis draws attention to those aspects of the subject that have remained unproblematised and taken-for-granted, and the implications of this for universal student participation and attainment.
Originality/value
This paper reorients critical attention to a significant historical curriculum document that has not, to date, been explored against the backdrop twenty-first century senior secondary English curriculum. In doing so, it presents extended insights into a range of now normative structures, beliefs, ideas, assumptions and practices and questions the potential impact of these on student learning, access and achievement in senior secondary English in NSW in the twenty-first century.
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PETER BETTESS and JACQUELINE A. BETTESS
Survey of period infinite element developments The first infinite elements for periodic wave problems, as stated in Part 1, were developed by Bettess and Zienkiewicz, the earliest…
Abstract
Survey of period infinite element developments The first infinite elements for periodic wave problems, as stated in Part 1, were developed by Bettess and Zienkiewicz, the earliest publication being in 1975. These applications were of ‘decay function’ type elements and were used in surface waves on water problems. This was soon followed by an application by Saini et al., to dam‐reservoir interaction, where the waves are pressure waves in the water in the reservoir. In this case both the solid displacements and the fluid pressures are complex valued. In 1980 to 1983 Medina and co‐workers and Chow and Smith successfully used quite different methods to develop infinite elements for elastic waves. Zienkiewicz et al. published the details of the first mapped wave infinite element formulation, which they went on to program, and to use to generate results for surface wave problems. In 1982 Aggarwal et al. used infinite elements in fluid‐structure interaction problems, in this case plates vibrating in an unbounded fluid. In 1983 Corzani used infinite elements for electric wave problems. This period also saw the first infinite element applications in acoustics, by Astley and Eversman, and their development of the ‘wave envelope’ concept. Kagawa applied periodic infinite wave elements to Helmholtz equation in electromagnetic applications. Pos used infinite elements to model wave diffraction by breakwaters and gave comparisons with laboratory photogrammetric measurements of waves. Good agreement was obtained. Huang also used infinite elements for surface wave diffraction problems. Davies and Rahman used infinite elements to model wave guide behaviour. Moriya developed a new type of infinite element for Helmholtz problem. In 1986 Yamabuchi et al. developed another infinite element for unbounded Helmholtz problems. Rajapalakse et al. produced an infinite element for elastodynamics, in which some of the integrations are carried out analytically, and which is said to model correctly both body and Rayleigh waves. Imai et al. gave further applications of infinite elements to wave diffraction, fluid‐structure interaction and wave force calculations for breakwaters, offshore platforms and a floating rectangular caisson. Pantic et al. used infinite elements in wave guide computations. In 1986 Cao et al. applied infinite elements to dynamic interaction of soil and pile. The infinite element is said to be ‘semi‐analytical’. Goransson and Davidsson used a mapped wave infinite element in some three dimensional acoustic problems, in 1987. They incorporated the infinite elements into the ASKA code. A novel application of wave infinite elements to photolithography simulation for semiconductor device fabrication was given by Matsuzawa et al. They obtained ‘reasonably good’ agreement with observed photoresist profiles. Häggblad and Nordgren used infinite elements in a dynamic analysis of non‐linear soil‐structure interaction, with plastic soil elements. In 1989 Lau and Ji published a new type of 3‐D infinite element for wave diffraction problems. They gave good results for problems of waves diffracted by a cylinder and various three dimensional structures.
Ann Robinson and Debbie Dailey
The various levels of research support undergirding effective practices are outlined. Evidence supporting specific programming, service delivery models, and curricular…
Abstract
The various levels of research support undergirding effective practices are outlined. Evidence supporting specific programming, service delivery models, and curricular interventions, and a subset of research-based classroom strategies for talented learners is reviewed. Trends and innovations for effective practices in the future are suggested.
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Akansha Mer and Avantika Srivastava
Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the organisations in the form of increased job demands which manifested through increased workload, time pressure, etc…
Abstract
Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the organisations in the form of increased job demands which manifested through increased workload, time pressure, etc. Similarly, stress and burnout engulfed the employees. Remote work became the new normal post-pandemic. Remote workers require more engagement. This has brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the forefront for engaging employees in the new normal.
Purpose: With limited studies on AI-enabled employee engagement in the new normal, this study investigates and proposes a conceptual framework of employee engagement in the context of AI and its impact on organisations.
Methodology: A systematic review and meta-synthesis method is undertaken. A systematic literature review assisted in critically analysing, synthesising, and mapping the extant literature by identifying the broad themes.
Findings: Since many organisations are turning to remote work post-pandemic and remote work requires more engagement, organisations are investing in AI to boost employee engagement in the new normal. Several antecedents of employee engagement such as quality of work life, diversity and inclusion, and communication are facilitated by AI. AI helps enhance the quality of work life by playing a major role in providing fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, immediate opportunity to use and develop human capacities, continued growth and security, work and total life space, and social relevance of work life. This has led to positive organisational outcomes like increased productivity, employee well-being, and decreased attrition rate. Furthermore, AI helps in measuring employee engagement. The various tools of AI, such as wearable technology, digital biomarker, neural network, data mining, data analytics, machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), etc., have gone a long way in engaging employees in the new normal.
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Jacqueline A. Stefkovich, Kevin M. McKenna and Andrew L. Armagost
A charter school is a public school but without some of the constraints that bind public school leaders. On the other hand, charter schools are businesses, needing to find space…
Abstract
A charter school is a public school but without some of the constraints that bind public school leaders. On the other hand, charter schools are businesses, needing to find space, market their “product,” and attract teachers who share their mission. This business aspect of education combined with a specifically articulated mission and somewhat greater freedom and flexibility in educating children can, and often does, raise the ethical stakes for administrators and teachers as they endeavor to provide leadership in charter schools. These issues are best addressed through examining standards and dispositions set forth by professional bodies as well as a consideration of the ethical frames of justice, care, critique, and the profession.
George Benson, Andrew McPherson, Jacqueline McCallum and Nicola Roberts
The purpose of this paper is to develop an alcohol withdrawal syndrome risk stratification tool that could support the safe discharge of low risk patients from the emergency…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an alcohol withdrawal syndrome risk stratification tool that could support the safe discharge of low risk patients from the emergency department.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective cohort study that included all patients referred to the acute addiction liaison nursing service over one calendar month (n=400, 1–30 April 2016) was undertaken. Bivariate and multivariate modelling identified the significant variables that supported the prediction of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (SAWS) in the cohort population.
Findings
The Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (GMAWS), hours since last drink, fast alcohol screening test (FAST) and systolic blood pressure correctly identified 89 per cent of patients who developed SAWS and 84 per cent of patients that did not. Increasing each component by a score of one is associated with an increase in the odds of SAWS by a factor of 2.76 (95% CI 2.21, 3.45), 1.31 (95% CI 1.24, 1.37), 1.30 (95% CI 1.08, 1.57) and 1.22 (95% CI 1.10, 1.34), respectively.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in a single healthcare system that had a high prevalence of alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS). Second, the developed risk stratification tool was unable to guarantee no risk and lastly, the FAST score previously aligned to severe ADS may have influenced the patients highest GMAWS score.
Practical implications
The tool could help redesign the care pathway for patients who attend the emergency department at risk of SAWS and link low risk patients with community alcohol services better equipped to deal with their physical and psychological needs short and long term supporting engagement, abstinence and prolongation of life.
Originality/value
The tool could help redesign the care pathway for emergency department patients at low risk of SAWS and link them with community alcohol services better equipped to deal with their physical and psychological needs, short and long term, supporting engagement, abstinence and prolongation of life.
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George Mortimer Pullman (1831-1897), nineteenth century US luxury rail car entrepreneur, divides opinion. Some commemorate Pullman as a brilliant industrialist, innovator and…
Abstract
Purpose
George Mortimer Pullman (1831-1897), nineteenth century US luxury rail car entrepreneur, divides opinion. Some commemorate Pullman as a brilliant industrialist, innovator and self-made man. Others view him as a loathsome robber baron, union buster, racist and affront to democracy. This paper aims to demonstrate Pullman’s significant contribution to marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
Historical accounts of Pullman are re-examined to highlight his company’s unique adaptation of numerous marketing techniques (consumer research, brand strategy, public relations, product launch, fashion cycle, advertising, product placement and customer service marketing).
Findings
Pullman’s distinct flair for understanding his market enabled him to develop marketing strategies intertwined with broader cultural changes in ideals and practices. Pullman’s construction of destination tourism met an expanding white middle class desire for recreation and escape from the economic and racial inequality of the city. Pullman’s creed that beauty acted as a civilizing agent spoke to the social norms of leisure class femininity. Constant release of ever-grander rail cars shaped a fashion cycle around which wealthy men’s status competition turned. Pullman pioneered the leasing of luxury to control his best asset: the service of black Porters’.
Originality/value
First, this paper provides a new perspective on George Pullman, a significant figure in US history. Second, it addresses a common bias in nineteenth century historical accounts that privilege the contribution of men, industrial labor and production and shadow the role of consumption, women and leisure. Third, it challenges the idea of a clean divide between industrial and post-industrial economies by tracing contemporary consumer culture practices to their nineteenth century roots (marketing, destination tourism, brand stories, democratization of fashion, tipping and service with a smile).
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Defined as perceiving the past via the lens of former peoples, historical empathy engenders rich cognitive and affective understandings. Drawing on Ricoeur's hermeneutics (1981…
Abstract
Purpose
Defined as perceiving the past via the lens of former peoples, historical empathy engenders rich cognitive and affective understandings. Drawing on Ricoeur's hermeneutics (1981, 2004), this paper departs from previous work on historical empathy by conceiving empathy as dialogically mediated by sociocultural and narrative perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
This hermeneutic phenomenology explores eight adolescents' engagements with primary sources from the Second World War.
Findings
This study reveals the power of empathy to draw the students into the past and to investigate sources. Alternately, the students struggled with fanciful elaborations and overidentifications with historical figures.
Practical implications
Cultivating wise judgments begins with accepting the inherent link between students' historicity and historical empathy and then teaching students to wisely interpret.
Originality/value
This study broadens historical empathy's framework to include Ricoeur's hermeneutic philosophies of narrative and history.
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