John K. Lee and Peter E. Doolittle
A gap in the literature on digital history was explored through the use of a survey of 104 high school social studies teachers, administered in a large urban/suburban school…
Abstract
A gap in the literature on digital history was explored through the use of a survey of 104 high school social studies teachers, administered in a large urban/suburban school district in the southeastern United States. The survey examined the extent to which social studies teachers were using non-digital and digital historical resources and the ways in which they were using them. Results indicated that social studies and history teachers were using primary historical sources, but important questions remained regarding the nature of this use. Specifically, it was found that while the teachers in this survey reported using digital and non-digital primary historical sources in their classrooms, they did not report using these resources in a manner consistent with literature-based best practices for social studies and history education.
James Munro, Fred Motson, Jim Turner, Lara A. Frumkin and Lee John Curley
Since the passage of the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011, mirroring changes in other jurisdictions, a person who has been acquitted in Scotland can, under certain…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the passage of the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011, mirroring changes in other jurisdictions, a person who has been acquitted in Scotland can, under certain circumstances, be retried for that offence. Jurors could have knowledge of the previous acquittal verdict (whether not guilty or not proven) through media sources, potentially biasing the new jury in their decision-making. The purpose of this study is to detemine the influence of knowing a trial is a retrial, on conviction rates.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study invited 253 participants to give a verdict to a mock murder trial after either receiving pretrial information about the original verdict or no information about the case being a retrial.
Findings
Significantly more acquittal verdicts were given when the participants were told that it was a retrial, compared to the control condition, irrespective of whether the prior verdict was not guilty or not proven.
Originality/value
Findings are discussed in light of jurors’ knowledge of legal concepts and acquittal verdicts and the increasing exposure of the general Scottish public to the not-proven verdict due to increased media coverage.
Details
Keywords
Meghan McGlinn Manfra and John K. Lee
In this qualitative case study we explored the experiences of low- achieving students responding to an educational blog. Our intention was to leverage the unique affordances of…
Abstract
In this qualitative case study we explored the experiences of low- achieving students responding to an educational blog. Our intention was to leverage the unique affordances of blogs to teach United States history concepts primarily by providing access to digital primary sources and facilitating on-line participation. Overall, our findings point to the positive potential of blogs to enhance instruction with low-achieving students. We found the integration of the educational blog provided an effective instructional format to differentiate content instruction and deliver “equity pedagogy.” In this study student participation increased, students engaged in historical work (although tentative), and the resources activated their prior knowledge. Rather than withholding Web 2.0 technologies from low-achieving students we encourage teachers to use them to meet the unique learning needs of all of their students. With thoughtful scaffolding, it appears teachers might be able to leverage the unique features of blog-based activities to improve student experiences.
Details
Keywords
Lori Holcomb, Candy Beal and John K. Lee
This article seeks to demonstrate how social studies has come to be an all-inclusive subject: it has become supersized. When supported by Web 2.0 technology, social studies…
Abstract
This article seeks to demonstrate how social studies has come to be an all-inclusive subject: it has become supersized. When supported by Web 2.0 technology, social studies enables students to address multifaceted problems that require the deep understanding necessary to arrive at both wise and timely solutions. We discuss how curriculum integration and emerging technology applications can support the supersizing of social studies. Two instructional projects and two instructional tools are presented as examples of how social studies can be supersized through the use of Web 2.0 technologies.
Details
Keywords
John Lee Kean Yew and Jesrina Ann Xavier
This paper aims to explore and explain following a generational change, the latter generation in Chinese family firm is seen to apply different innovation strategies to thrive in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore and explain following a generational change, the latter generation in Chinese family firm is seen to apply different innovation strategies to thrive in a competitive environment. The Chandlerian perspective on management, marketing and manufacturing techniques (3Ms), derived from American business historian, Alfred Chandler has shown conclusively that one of a small yet established enterprises in Malaysia, London Biscuits Berhad (LBB) was able to capture a larger market by focusing on strategy and structure. This case study analytically and empirically describes the insights surrounding enterprise development among family small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
By using the longitudinal way to compare the development of family business through time, the historical profiles that were obtained from Malaysia’s companies commission house (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) shows how organizational characteristic is often formulated by capitalizing tacit knowledge as a controlled input in the production process while promoting organization capabilities, as generations change. Secondly, findings from the interviews will show how the latter generation of this family firm innovates and adds value in product manufacturing by upgrading its quality, using resources and revitalizing the stages of business cycle.
Findings
Findings show that enterprise development is influenced by objective setting during generational change. As time goes by, the next generations have a tendency of minimizing risk and maintaining harmony in the family enterprise. The next generation starts to recruit and retain professional staff while contributing innovative ideas toward the enterprise development, in comparison to the founding generation. The findings also show that diversification activities (manufacturing), improvement in domestic and international networking (marketing) and professional management adoption (management) can clearly be seen in the development of LBB.
Practical implications
This case study traces how organizational and administrative characteristics of a firm are crucial if the enterprise is to capitalize on tacit knowledge and commercialize it through product development. It also clearly indicates that family enterprises may last several generations if the Chandlerian perspective on 3Ms is successfully transferred and practiced among family members.
Originality/value
The selected case study focuses on the Chandlerian concept, which is the contribution of organization capabilities that foster strategic competition. This is done by investigating a successful enterprise run by a prominent Chinese family in Malaysia, which has gone through generational change. This paper proves that strategizing a family enterprise through the Chandlerian concept of 3Ms can transform a small business into a large and successful multinational enterprise.
Details
Keywords
Siu-Yau Lee, John Chi-Kin Lee and Bess Yin-Hung Lam
The purpose of this paper is to offer direct tests of the effectiveness of renaming vocational education and training (VET) in enhancing the image and popularity of the subject…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer direct tests of the effectiveness of renaming vocational education and training (VET) in enhancing the image and popularity of the subject. Although many proponents of renaming argue that the word “vocational” is associated with lower levels of skills and knowledge and should therefore be supplemented by better recognised words, empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of this strategy is scant.
Design/methodology/approach
This study exploits a rare policy change in Hong Kong, where VET was renamed as vocational and professional education and training (VPET) and conducted an original survey experiment of 1,004 parents in the city to test if the new name would improve respondents' perceptions of the subject.
Findings
The findings reveal a complex picture regarding the effects of renaming. Although renaming does not seem to improve the overall popularity of vocational education, it may widen the support base for vocational education by diluting its class character. Specifically, while attitudes toward VET are significantly and negatively correlated with family income, no such association is found in regard to VPET.
Originality/value
This paper offers the first direct and comprehensive test of the effectiveness of renaming vocational education – a popular policy suggestion in many countries. Its findings complicate conventional expectations and contribute to the study of educational preferences in advanced economies.
Details
Keywords
Chao-Hsiung Lee, John Y. Lee and Yasuhiro Monden
In this article, we examine the link between product development organization and target cost management. More specifically, we investigate the interactive effects of alternative…
Abstract
In this article, we examine the link between product development organization and target cost management. More specifically, we investigate the interactive effects of alternative product development organizations, methods for setting target costs, and alternative decision-making authority in assigning targets. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey of Japanese manufacturers, we intend to provide some early evidence on those interactive effects to stimulate further research in this area of target cost management. We find that organizational efficiency is connected with cost reduction performance in target cost management from the two perspectives: (1) the relationship between the simultaneous involvement of project leaders and functional staff and the use of a particular target cost-setting method, and (2) the correlation of the simultaneous project-function involvement with the level of expected cost reduction performance. No particular product development organization shows any preference for the use of a target cost-setting method. The preference, however, is shown clearly when a particular target cost allocation decision authority is aligned with the use of a target cost-setting method. Companies with higher levels of cost reduction performance (expected or experienced) tend to make project leaders and functional staff get simultaneously involved in target cost allocation decisions.
Gregory John Lee and Alexander Davison
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and recommend formal guidelines for the initial design of country-level or sectoral payroll levy systems that are intended to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and recommend formal guidelines for the initial design of country-level or sectoral payroll levy systems that are intended to incentivize new firm training. The paper presents and illustrates two necessary conditions for new training to be stimulated, one involving transaction costs and the other the incentive payback. Ultimately, the purpose is to guide more successful designs for such systems in future.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is principally theoretical, but the South African levy-grant system of the late 1990s is used as a case study. The paper illustrates how World Bank data may have been used to guide the design.
Findings
The paper demonstrates how during the design phase, policy makers can employ knowledge of pre-incentive training levels of firms, and possibly also estimates of unit transaction costs, to estimate the number of employees that may be positively affected. In the South African case, the actual system used may have been underspecified and unlikely to reach many employees with new training.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may employ these guidelines in empirical studies of the relative success of payroll levies.
Practical implications
The practical value of the paper is formal guidelines for policy makers seeking to implement such payroll levy systems.
Social implications
Better design for these systems may have positive implications for productivity and social externalities while avoiding unnecessary waste.
Originality/value
While there have been several more general reflections of payroll levy systems, and empirical investigations of their efficacy, this is the first paper formally modeling and testing design guidelines that can be implemented practically in the pre-implementation phase.