Tommie L. Ellis, Robert A. Nicholson, Antoinette Y. Briggs, Scott A. Hunter, James E. Harbison, Paul S. Saladna, Michael W. Garris, Robert K. Ohnemus, John E. O’Connor and Steven B. Reynolds
Rising operational costs and software sustainment concerns have driven the Air Force to move to newer technology to ensure that the Air Force Standard Base Supply System (SBSS…
Abstract
Purpose
Rising operational costs and software sustainment concerns have driven the Air Force to move to newer technology to ensure that the Air Force Standard Base Supply System (SBSS) can continue to provide affordable and sustainable mission support in the years to come. This paper aims to summarize the successful software modernization effort the Air Force undertook to achieve that objective.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the preliminary system updates that were required to isolate the SBSS software from all internal and external system and user interfaces in preparation for the subsequent successful code roll effort. Once the legacy SBSS component was fully isolated, the SBSS software modernization objective was achieved via a “code roll” conversion of the SBSS software from legacy COBOL to Java code, and movement of the integrated logistics system-supply application from a proprietary information technology (IT) platform to an open IT operating environment.
Findings
The SBSS system modernization yielded immediate and significant IT operational cost reductions and provided an important foundation for achieving Air Force logistics system consolidation and cloud computing objectives going forward.
Originality/value
The SBSS modernization experience should be useful in assisting similar data system software modernization efforts.
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FRANK FARNER and JAMES S. ROSE
This research study was started at the University of Oregon, School of Education, in the Spring of 1967. A group of advanced graduate students in school finance under the…
Abstract
This research study was started at the University of Oregon, School of Education, in the Spring of 1967. A group of advanced graduate students in school finance under the supervision of the senior author, undertook the study to examine systematically the relationships between and among measures of human resource development, education, manpower utilization and economic growth in the states of the United States. The model for the research was the Harbison and Myers classic study of this important issue among the nations of the world entitled, “Education, Manpower and Economic Growth”. (McGraw‐Hill, 1964.) The research reported touches upon several important fields—economics of education, political science, human resource management and governmental planning. The relationships studied hold important implications for the allocation of scarce human and economic resources to attain state and national social and economic goals.
A review of publications in teaching and teacher education over 10 years (2000–2010) on teacher professional development is the subject of this chapter. The first part synthesises…
Abstract
A review of publications in teaching and teacher education over 10 years (2000–2010) on teacher professional development is the subject of this chapter. The first part synthesises production referred to learning, facilitation and collaboration, factors influencing professional development, effectiveness of professional development and issues around the themes. The second part selects from the production nine articles for closer examination. The chapter concludes by noting how the production brings out the complexities of teacher professional learning and how research and development have taken cognizance of these factors and provided food for optimism about their effects, although not yet about their sustainability in time.
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The critical dimension and the one that can unify knowledge through systemic interrelationships, is unification of the purely a priori with the purely a posteriori parts of total…
Abstract
The critical dimension and the one that can unify knowledge through systemic interrelationships, is unification of the purely a priori with the purely a posteriori parts of total reality into a congruous whole. This is a circular cause and effect interrelationship between premises. The emerging kind of world view may also be substantively called the epistemic‐ontic circular causation and continuity model of unified reality. The essence of this order is to ground philosophy of science in both the natural and social sciences, in a perpetually interactive and integrative mould of deriving, evolving and enhancing or revising change. Knowledge is then defined as the output of every such interaction. Interaction arises first from purely epistemological roots to form ontological reality. This is the passage from the a priori to the a posteriori realms in the traditions of Kant and Heidegger. Conversely, the passage from the a posteriori to a priori reality is the approach to knowledge in the natural sciences proferred by Cartesian meditations, David Hume, A.N. Whitehead and Bertrand Russell, as examples. Yet the continuity and renewal of knowledge by interaction and integration of these two premises are not rooted in the philosophy of western science. Husserl tried for it through his critique of western civilization and philosophical methods in the Crisis of Western Civilization. The unified field theory of Relativity‐Quantum physics is being tried for. A theory of everything has been imagined. Yet after all is done, scientific research program remains in a limbo. Unification of knowledge appears to be methodologically impossible in occidental philosophy of science.
As information services become more complex and the methods of delivery more diverse, the professionals providing this service must become skilled in problem solving, and have a…
Abstract
As information services become more complex and the methods of delivery more diverse, the professionals providing this service must become skilled in problem solving, and have a sound theoretical understanding of their discipline. It is not sufficient to offer users vague, unsatisfactory solutions to their problems because we are unsure of our own strategies. As educators, we must look to the best means accessible to us to systematize our discipline; expert system development applied in a variety of subject areas is worthy of close examination as a means of working towards this goal.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in learning experiences in mono- and intercultural workplace interactions and to address the research question of how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in learning experiences in mono- and intercultural workplace interactions and to address the research question of how employees experience learning in mono- and intercultural interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
The author reports and compares the main findings from two samples and 63 in-depth interviews with employees involved either in monocultural interactions or intercultural interactions, namely, 25 and 38 subjects, respectively. The abductive approach was used to analyze the data in interplay between empirical findings and theoretical lens of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model.
Findings
Learning was more often emphasized in intercultural interactions than monocultural interactions, which can be associated with the constellation of specific job demands and job resources in mono- and multicultural workplaces. The subjects involved in mono- and intercultural interactions portrayed learning, using slightly different vocabulary.
Research limitations/implications
The research gives some insights about workplace learning experiences and illuminates learning in social interactions and the JD-R model. In particular, it emphasizes the role of work design in promoting learning and identifies, using the JD-R model, job demands and job resources that can relate to learning in mono- and intercultural interactions. The results may contribute to the literature on workplace learning in culturally homogenous or heterogeneous social interactions. Moreover, they shed some new light on organizational learning via mono- and intercultural contact at work. Finally, they draw attention to the potential embedded in intercultural interactions and multicultural workplaces. Yet, the explorative character of the research does not allow for a broader results’ generalization.
Practical implications
The results suggest that job design may be of vital importance in stimulating learning at work. Thus, organizations should enable social interactions of their employees, especially intercultural ones, which are likely associated with more learning. Furthermore, to enhance workplace learning, they need to provide more organizational resources and support via HR interventions the development of personal resources of their staff to help individuals to deal with job demands and reduce strain, which impedes employee learning.
Originality/value
By applying the theoretical lens of the JD-R model to the analysis, the author exposes differences in learning experiences in mono- and intercultural interactions. The specific job demands (cultural differences and adaptation, the necessity to speak a foreign language) and resources (learning opportunities) inherent in multicultural workplaces can be perceived as a trigger of workplace learning.
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The purpose of this study is to explore schoolteachers’ experiences of knowledge sharing as a source of informal learning in the workplace when teaching new education programs on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore schoolteachers’ experiences of knowledge sharing as a source of informal learning in the workplace when teaching new education programs on financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on interviews with American schoolteachers teaching education programs provided by Junior Achievement USA that aim to equip pupils with practical skills in financial literacy and entrepreneurship to improve their work-readiness in adult life.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that knowledge sharing is a source of informal learning among the teachers when dealing with the JA programs. This takes place through collaboration in communities of practice. Experienced teachers (who have previously taught the programs) are especially valuable in sharing their insights and helping the teachers prepare their teaching. Such knowledge-sharing practices help the schoolteachers to improve their practices. Having a supportive social culture encourages knowledge sharing between schoolteachers, but more time is needed to prioritize this kind of collaboration between co-workers.
Originality/value
Teaching financial literacy and entrepreneurship through pupil-driven activities can be experienced as different from teaching regular subjects, and teachers in the study seem to benefit from sharing experiences when it comes to preparing or adding to their teaching. The findings suggest that to facilitate knowledge-sharing practices can be helpful to schoolteachers when introducing new topics and pedagogical methods in schools.