Rebecca Andrews, Fay Hadley, Manjula Waniganayake, Iain Hay, Catherine Jones and Xinyun Meg Liang
Retention of early childhood teachers in Australia is a critical issue, particularly for new teachers. The demanding nature of new teachers’ everyday work and high rates of stress…
Abstract
Purpose
Retention of early childhood teachers in Australia is a critical issue, particularly for new teachers. The demanding nature of new teachers’ everyday work and high rates of stress and burnout have resulted in teachers leaving the sector. By designing a formal mentoring project, our aim was to support teachers to stay and flourish as respected professionals. This paper presents findings from the perspective of the mentees – new teachers in their first five years of employment in the sector.
Design/methodology/approach
We designed and offered a two-phase multi-layered mentoring project to 145 new teachers (mentees) matched with 51 experienced teachers (mentors). It began with a mentor training course implemented by three experienced early childhood education academics and utilised a community of practice approach (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Data collected throughout the project included a pre- and post-survey and a needs satisfaction and frustration scale.
Findings
Analysis of survey data shows that mentee new teachers gained a better understanding of their role and built connections with peers and leaders. Survey data also demonstrates that effective mentoring can successfully contribute to addressing workforce challenges faced by early childhood teachers.
Originality/value
The project makes an original contribution through the design, implementation and evaluation of an innovative online mentoring project for teachers employed across the state of New South Wales, Australia.
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Margaret Sims, Manjula Waniganayake and Fay Hadley
The purpose of this paper is to explore sense-making of early childhood (EC) leaders in EC services rated as exceeding/excellent in Australian accreditation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore sense-making of early childhood (EC) leaders in EC services rated as exceeding/excellent in Australian accreditation.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist ontology and social constructivist epistemology informs the study. The conceptual framework uses the concept of sense-making to explore how leaders make sense of the policy frameworks and use these to shape practice.
Findings
Previous research identified that many leaders focussed on ensuring staff complied with new policy requirements. In contrast, this study found that these leaders paid more attention to relationships with staff and less to directing compliance.
Practical implications
The paper posits high quality service delivery is possible when leaders (in the words of a participant) look after their staff.
Originality/value
In Australia, neoliberal discourses have profoundly impacted on recent reforms in the EC sector. Previous research identified the ambiguities inherent in the Australian EC leadership role as leaders and staff grappled with new understandings and practices, and the uncertainties around lines of authority and influence. This paper is the first to explore the understandings of those leaders whose services are assessed to be operating at the highest level of quality.
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Paolo Manghi, Michele Artini, Claudio Atzori, Alessia Bardi, Andrea Mannocci, Sandro La Bruzzo, Leonardo Candela, Donatella Castelli and Pasquale Pagano
The purpose of this paper is to present the architectural principles and the services of the D-NET software toolkit. D-NET is a framework where designers and developers find the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the architectural principles and the services of the D-NET software toolkit. D-NET is a framework where designers and developers find the tools for constructing and operating aggregative infrastructures (systems for aggregating data sources with heterogeneous data models and technologies) in a cost-effective way. Designers and developers can select from a variety of D-NET data management services, can configure them to handle data according to given data models, and can construct autonomic workflows to obtain personalized aggregative infrastructures.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a definition of aggregative infrastructures, sketching architecture, and components, as inspired by real-case examples. It then describes the limits of current solutions, which find their lacks in the realization and maintenance costs of such complex software. Finally, it proposes D-NET as an optimal solution for designers and developers willing to realize aggregative infrastructures. The D-NET architecture and services are presented, drawing a parallel with the ones of aggregative infrastructures. Finally, real-cases of D-NET are presented, to show-case the statement above.
Findings
The D-NET software toolkit is a general-purpose service-oriented framework where designers can construct customized, robust, scalable, autonomic aggregative infrastructures in a cost-effective way. D-NET is today adopted by several EC projects, national consortia and communities to create customized infrastructures under diverse application domains, and other organizations are enquiring for or are experimenting its adoption. Its customizability and extendibility make D-NET a suitable candidate for creating aggregative infrastructures mediating between different scientific domains and therefore supporting multi-disciplinary research.
Originality/value
D-NET is the first general-purpose framework of this kind. Other solutions are available in the literature but focus on specific use-cases and therefore suffer from the limited re-use in different contexts. Due to its maturity, D-NET can also be used by third-party organizations, not necessarily involved in the software design and maintenance.
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Examines the environmental legislation facing companies in theUnited Kingdom. Discusses the legislative background, environmentalaudit definition, audit types, the American…
Abstract
Examines the environmental legislation facing companies in the United Kingdom. Discusses the legislative background, environmental audit definition, audit types, the American experience, the reasons for auditing, the auditing team, collecting information, conducting the audit, and the audit report. Concludes that the environmental legislation means a period of uncertainty for the commercial property sector, the evidence from American industry showing that any party can demand an environmental audit.
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Considers the ways in which property managers can minimizedifficulties after a disaster by appreciating potential damage by smoke,water and hazards such as asbestos. Summarizes…
Abstract
Considers the ways in which property managers can minimize difficulties after a disaster by appreciating potential damage by smoke, water and hazards such as asbestos. Summarizes the benefits of proactive damage management to be: stabilization of damage, effective reinstatement and disaster recovery planning. Examines one case of damage management : Portsmouth City Council′s civic offices. Concludes that property managers should develop closer links with loss adjusters since swift action can make the difference between survival and failure of a business.
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This paper reports on one segment of a research project which investigates what faculty members perceive to be acting as barriers in their attempts to integrate [information and…
Abstract
This paper reports on one segment of a research project which investigates what faculty members perceive to be acting as barriers in their attempts to integrate [information and communication] technology into their teaching at a laptop university. A web-based questionnaire was used to collect information from 69/288 (24%) faculty members from a small U.A.E. university. From the data gathered, patterns and associations emerged from which the researcher is able provide recommendations as to what type of interventions and programs could be provided to increase current levels of teaching with technology.
Elsa Kristiansen, Kristin Rydjord Tholin and Marit Bøe
Early childhood education (ECE) centre directors have to meet various leadership demands at present, and this has become even more important in a time of extensive policy changes…
Abstract
Purpose
Early childhood education (ECE) centre directors have to meet various leadership demands at present, and this has become even more important in a time of extensive policy changes. There is little research on work-related stress from the perspective of ECE directors. The purpose of this study was therefore to enhance one’s knowledge of (a) what ECE centre directors perceive to be work-related stressors; (b) what causes stressful situations; and (c) how they cope with the identified stressors.
Design/methodology/approach
Eighty directors from three groups in part-time leadership education programmes participated between 2017 and 2020. Data was collected through class discussions and whiteboard notes, focus group interviews with 24 directors and student role-play scenarios that were acted out in class.
Findings
The findings illustrated three main categories of stressors: an overwhelming number of administrative tasks, leading others and lack of social support. Unexpected findings were a lack of knowledge about coping strategies and a need for more resources so that directors can focus on pedagogical leadership.
Research limitations/implications
The study has been done in the Norwegian educational context with Norwegian ECE centre directors participating in a leadership programme. Several qualitative methods were used on three groups of centre directors. These limitations must be considered when generalizing.
Practical implications
The results can be used as guidance for supporting ECE centre directors, owners and policymakers in how to develop and sustain leadership and increase well-being and work satisfaction.
Originality/value
The current study is among the few ones focussing on perceived stressors among centre directors and the consequent coping in the early childhood setting.
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Zhihua Zhang, Andy Jones and M. James C. Crabbe
Currently, negotiation on global carbon emissions reduction is very difficult owing to lack of international willingness. In response, geoengineering (climate engineering…
Abstract
Purpose
Currently, negotiation on global carbon emissions reduction is very difficult owing to lack of international willingness. In response, geoengineering (climate engineering) strategies are proposed to artificially cool the planet. Meanwhile, as the harbor around one-third of all described marine species, coral reefs are the most sensitive ecosystem on the planet to climate change. However, until now, there is no quantitative assessment on the impacts of geoengineering on coral reefs. This study aims to model the impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on coral reefs.
Design/methodology/approach
The HadGEM2-ES climate model is used to model and evaluate the impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on coral reefs.
Findings
This study shows that (1) stratospheric aerosol geoengineering could significantly mitigate future coral bleaching throughout the Caribbean Sea; (2) Changes in downward solar irradiation, sea level rise and sea surface temperature caused by geoengineering implementation should have very little impacts on coral reefs; (3) Although geoengineering would prolong the return period of future hurricanes, this may still be too short to ensure coral recruitment and survival after hurricane damage.
Originality/value
This is the first time internationally to quantitatively assess the impacts of geoengineering on coral reefs.
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This study, by critically analyzing material from multiple sources, aims to provide an overview of what is available on evaluation tools for educational apps for children. To…
Abstract
Purpose
This study, by critically analyzing material from multiple sources, aims to provide an overview of what is available on evaluation tools for educational apps for children. To realize this objective, a systematic literature review was conducted to search all English literature published after January 2010 in multiple electronic databases and internet sources. Various combinations of search strings were used due to database construction differences, while the results were cross-referenced to discard repeated references, obtaining those that met the criteria for inclusion.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study was conducted according to the methods provided by Khan et al. (2003) and Thomé et al. (2016). The whole procedure included four stages: planning the review, identifying relevant studies in the literature, critical analysis of the literature, summarizing and interpreting the findings (Figure 1). Furthermore, in this analysis, a well-known checklist, PRISMA, was also used as a recommendation (Moher et al., 2015).
Findings
These review results reveal that, although there are several evaluation tools, in their majority they are not considered adequate to help teachers and parents to evaluate the pedagogical affordances of educational apps correctly and easily. Indeed, most of these tools are considered outdated. With the emergence of new issues such as General Data Protection Regulation, the quality criteria and methods for assessing children's products need to be continuously updated and adapted (Stoyanov et al., 2015). Some of these tools might be considered as good beginnings, but their “limited dimensions make generalizable considerations about the worth of apps” (Cherner, Dix and Lee, 2014, p. 179). Thus, there is a strong need for effective evaluation tools to help parents and teachers when choosing educational apps (Callaghan and Reich, 2018).
Research limitations/implications
Even though this work is performed by following the systematic mapping guideline, threats to the validity of the results presented still exist. Although custom strings that contained a rich collection of data were used to search for papers, potentially relevant publications that would have been missed by the advanced search might exist. It is recommended that at least two different reviewers should independently review titles, abstracts and later full papers for exclusion (Thomé et al., 2016). In this study, only one reviewer – the author – selected the papers and did the review. In the case of a single researcher, Kitchenham (2004) recommends that the single reviewer should consider discussing included and excluded papers with an expert panel. The researcher, following this recommendation, discussed the inclusion and exclusion procedure with an expert panel of two professionals with research experience from the Department of (removed for blind review). To deal with publication bias, the researcher in conjunction with the expert panel used the search strategies identified by Kitchenham (2004) including: Grey literature, conference proceedings, communicating with experts working in the field for any unpublished literature.
Practical implications
The purpose of this study was not to advocate any evaluation tool. Instead, the study aims to make parents, educators and software developers aware of the various evaluation tools available and to focus on their strengths, weaknesses and credibility. This study also highlights the need for a standardized app evaluation (Green et al., 2014) via reliable tools, which will allow anyone interested to evaluate apps with relative ease (Lubniewski et al., 2018). Parents and educators need a reliable, fast and easy-to-use tool for the evaluation of educational apps that is more than a general guideline (Lee and Kim, 2015). A new generation of evaluation tools would also be used as a reference among the software developers, designers to create educational apps with real educational value.
Social implications
The results of this study point to the necessity of creating new evaluation tools based on research, either in the form of rubrics or checklists to help educators and parents to choose apps with real educational value.
Originality/value
However, to date, no systematic review has been published summarizing the available app evaluation tools. This study, by critically analyzing material from multiple sources, aims to provide an overview of what is available on evaluation tools for educational apps for children.
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Katharine K. Baker and Michelle Oberman
This paper evaluates the modern baseline presumption of nonconsent in sexual assault (rape) cases in light of different theories of sexuality (feminism on the one hand and sex…
Abstract
This paper evaluates the modern baseline presumption of nonconsent in sexual assault (rape) cases in light of different theories of sexuality (feminism on the one hand and sex positivism/queer theory on the other) and in light of how sexuality manifests itself in the lives of contemporary young women. The authors analyze social science literature on contemporary heterosexual practices such as sexting and hook-ups, as well as contemporary media imagery, to inform a contemporary understanding of the ways in which young people perceive and experience sex. Using this evidence as a foundation, the authors reconsider the ongoing utility of a baseline presumption of nonconsent in sexual assault cases. This paper demonstrates the complex relationship between women’s sexual autonomy, the contemporary culture’s encouragement of women’s celebration of their own sexual objectification and the persistence of high rates of unwanted sex. In the end, it demonstrates why a legal presumption against consent may neither reduce the rate of nonconsensual sex, nor raise the rate of reported rapes. At the same time, it shows how the presumption itself is unlikely to generate harmful consequences: if it deters anything, it likely deters unwanted sex, whether consented to or not.