Donna Anderson, Ronald C. Plotnikoff, Kim Raine and Linda Barrett
This purpose of this research was to develop and establish psychometric properties of scales measuring individual leadership for health promotion.
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this research was to develop and establish psychometric properties of scales measuring individual leadership for health promotion.
Design/methodology/approach
Scales to measure leadership in health promotion were drafted based on capacity assessment instruments developed by other provinces involved in the Canadian Heart Health Initiative (CHHI), and on the literature. Content validity was established through a series of focus groups and expert opinion appraisals and pilot testing. Psychometric analyses provided empirical evidence of the construct validity and reliability of the leadership scales in the baseline survey (n=144) of the Alberta Heart Health Project.
Findings
Principal component analysis verified the construct of the leadership scales of personal work‐related practices and satisfaction with work‐related practices. Each of the theoretically a priori determined scales factored into two scales each for a total of four final scales. Scale alpha coefficients (Cronbach's alpha) ranged between 0.71 and 0.78, thus establishing good scale internal consistencies.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the relatively small sample size used in determining psychometric properties. In addition, further qualitative work would enhance understanding of the complexity of leadership in health organizations. These measures can be used by both researchers and practitioners for the assessment leadership for health promotion and to tailor interventions to increase leadership for health promotion in health organizations.
Originality/value
Establishing the psychometric properties and quality of leadership measures is an innovative step toward achieving capacity assessment instruments which facilitate evaluation of key relationships in developing health sector capacity for health promotion.
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Linda L. Barrett, Ronald C. Plotnikoff and Kim Raine
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational leadership and its relationship to regional health authority actions to promote health.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational leadership and its relationship to regional health authority actions to promote health.
Design/methodology/approach
Through use of four previously developed measures of Perceived Organizational Leadership for Health Promotion, this paper focused on leadership as a distributed entity within regional health authority (RHA) jurisdictions mandated to address the health of the population in the province of Alberta, Canada.
Findings
First, examination of differentials between organizational levels (i.e. board members, n=30; middle/senior management, n=58; and service providers, n=56) on ratings of the four leadership measures revealed significant differences. That is, board members tended to rate leadership components significantly higher than service providers and middle/senior managers: from across all 17 RHAs; and in low health promotion capacity and high health promotion capacity RHAs. Second, regression analyses identified that the leadership measures “Practices for Organizational Learning” and “Wellness Planning” were positively associated with health authority actions on improving population heart health (heart health promotion). The presence of a “Champion for Heart Health Promotion” and the leadership measures “Workplace Milieu” and “Organization Member Development” were also positively associated with health authority actions for health promotion. A subsidiary aim revealed low to moderate positive relationships of the dimensions of Leadership, Infrastructure and Will to Act with one another, as proposed by the Alberta Model on “Organizational Capacity Building for Health Promotion.”
Originality/value
This paper, conducted on the baseline dataset (n=144) of the “Alberta Heart Health Project's Dissemination Phase”, represents a rare effort to examine leadership at a collective organizational level.
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The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to libraries and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from…
Abstract
The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to libraries and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from 1981. A few items from 1980 have been included because information about them was not available in time for the 1980 listing. A few items have not been annotated because the compiler was unable to secure copies of these items.
In this chapter, I suggest that institutional guidelines and principles for conducting ethical research within Indigenous and cross-cultural contexts (see for example, the…
Abstract
In this chapter, I suggest that institutional guidelines and principles for conducting ethical research within Indigenous and cross-cultural contexts (see for example, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Guidelines for Ethical Research in Indigenous Studies, 2012) may not, in themselves be enough to promote the ethical practices nor lead to innovative outcomes if the fundamental premises of Western research in Indigenous contexts remain the same. Alternatively, valuing and applying Indigenous conceptions of Being, relationality and knowing when engaging with Indigenous participants and also, within actual procedures of research may lead to greater ethical know-how and a deeper understanding of how Indigenous modes of knowledge production can extend the frontiers of knowledge to solve real world problems. Such possibilities are predicated on recognising the limitations of our own epistemologies and ontologies and addressing the question of how we might refigure the role and positioning of ‘outsider’ researchers in ways that imbed, more self-reflexive and culturally appropriate modes of engagement and the application of Indigenous notions of Being, knowing and doing into research procedures to enhance the impact and benefits of research both within and beyond Indigenous communities.
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Alice M. Tybout, Julie Hennessy, Natalie Fahey and Charlotte Snyder
The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case…
Abstract
The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case introduces students to the pharmaceutical industry, its practices, and some of the complexities of pricing and drug choice, with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists, and patients all playing a role. It also provides a primer on hypothyroidism, its symptoms, and its treatment.
Because Synthroid was developed and introduced before FDA regulations and drug standards of identity were fully established, it was difficult for competitors to get their drugs certified as identical to Synthroid. Through a series of efforts with physicians, especially endocrinologists, Synthroid's owners were able to maintain the perception for forty-six years that Synthroid was uniquely effective. In 2004, however, the FDA declared several competitive products to be bioequivalent to Synthroid, which posed a significant challenge to its owner, Abbott Laboratories. Students are challenged to consider options to maintain the drug's unit volume, revenue, and/or profit in these difficult circumstances.
The case is written in two parts. The (A) case provides background on the history of the drug, the pharmaceutical industry and its marketing practices, and hypothyroidism and its treatment, and it concludes in 2004 as Abbott's marketers face the impending challenge of defending the Synthroid business against generic competition. The (B) case describes what Abbott actually did to maintain its share in the United States and outlines its strategy in India, a market without patent protection for pharmaceuticals.
After analyzing the case students should be able to:
Describe strategies that branded competitors can use to defend their business from lower-priced competition
Understand the basics of pharmaceutical marketing and pricing, including the global challenge of defending branded drugs against generic equivalents
Discuss ethical issues in the marketing of high-margin branded products that have lower-priced alternatives, especially in the healthcare industry
Describe strategies that branded competitors can use to defend their business from lower-priced competition
Understand the basics of pharmaceutical marketing and pricing, including the global challenge of defending branded drugs against generic equivalents
Discuss ethical issues in the marketing of high-margin branded products that have lower-priced alternatives, especially in the healthcare industry
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Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the…
Abstract
Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.
Charles E. Pettijohn, Linda S. Pettijohn and Albert J. Taylor
Increasingly, attempts to improve the relative status ofsalespeople are being undertaken by both practitioners and academicians.These attempts have included changes in the ways in…
Abstract
Increasingly, attempts to improve the relative status of salespeople are being undertaken by both practitioners and academicians. These attempts have included changes in the ways in which sales personnel are described and changes in the salesperson′s job description and training. Frequently, sales representatives are referred to as sales consultants, sales advisors, and sales counselors; and their job descriptions have been changed to emphasize the consulting, advising, and counseling roles. The research question addressed examines whether effective counseling behavior is related positively and significantly to effective sales performance. Counseling behaviors of 113 automobile sales representatives were measured and their relationship to sales performance assessed. The results indicate that sales performance is positively and significantly related to the sales representative′s congruity, but unrelated to other measures of counseling behavior.
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Upamali Amarakoon and Linda Colley
This study examines employee attraction and retention issues and uses a case study of an Australian regional medium-sized enterprise to highlight the importance of organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines employee attraction and retention issues and uses a case study of an Australian regional medium-sized enterprise to highlight the importance of organisational context factors such as place and scale in designing human resource (HR) solutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presents a qualitative case study, with data drawn from strategic documents, interviews and focus groups, analysed thematically.
Findings
A carefully constructed set of HR strategies – including purposeful use of employer branding, synchronising of human resource management (HRM) formality and informality and capitalising on the regional context – are key to employee attraction and retention and in turn the growth and competitiveness of the case study organisation.
Originality/value
The HRM literature acknowledges the tendency to study larger corporations in metropolitan areas, at the expense of more nuanced research related to context. This research contributes to knowledge of attraction and retention through employer branding, with particular attention to scale and place, through study of a medium sized firm in a regional location. It highlights the importance of informality-formality dynamism.
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In recent years there has been a constant growth in digital portfolio use in tertiary education. Portfolios are used by educational institutions for assessment, as a showcase of…
Abstract
In recent years there has been a constant growth in digital portfolio use in tertiary education. Portfolios are used by educational institutions for assessment, as a showcase of both student and institution work, and with an increasing trend also as a tool for higher employability of graduates and support of lifelong learning. This chapter introduces concepts of portfolio, digital portfolio, language portfolio, autonomy, and self-assessment. It approaches both positivist and constructivist paradigms of digital portfolio and presents examples of ePortfolio implementation at the University of Pardubice. Selected examples of good practice with respect to autonomous learning, experiential learning, and international cooperation are also given.