Shimelis G. Assefa and Mary Stansbury
The purpose of this study is to investigate information seeking behavior of immigrants in disadvantaged communities in the state of CO, USA, using school choice decisions as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate information seeking behavior of immigrants in disadvantaged communities in the state of CO, USA, using school choice decisions as a problematic situation. The study investigated the extent to which immigrant families in poor neighborhoods took advantage of school choice policies and the extent to which these decisions were mediated by information seeking activities.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative study using survey questionnaire was used. The study design used everyday life information seeking behavior (Savolainen, 1995) and information-poverty lived-experiences of poor people (Chatman and Pendelton, 1995) as a framework and theoretical lens, respectively. Parents of school-age children who met the criteria of “poor” based on the federal poverty guideline were recruited to participate in the study.
Findings
The study found that only 21 per cent (24 families out of 113) participated in school choice programs. Within the smaller group of parents that took advantage of school choice policy, 72 per cent gathered information before choosing a school, and of this group, about 80 per cent asked friends followed by school visit and a phone call to schools as information sources. Library use as sources of information was also selected by 61 per cent of the respondents. One important finding of this study is that although a majority of the families are aware of school choice policy, their level of participation is low and that is largely due to their economic and life circumstances.
Social implications
Access to quality education is widely investigated and multiple entities have a stake in it, including parents, policymakers, researchers and school districts. The social implications of this study are significant in that the mere presence and awareness of school choice policy did not translate into increased participation by parents from disadvantaged communities for whom the policy was designed to benefit. Consistent with findings in the extant literature, parents in low socio-economic status also value quality education for their children. To address the issue of low participation in school choice, cities need to work toward strengthening schools and library systems in poor neighborhoods instead of diverting resources away.
Originality/value
Based on two theoretical accounts – i.e. the information-poverty lived-experiences of poor people, or the outsiders, (Chatman, 1999, 1996), and theory of everyday life information seeking (Savolainen, 1995) – this study investigated how immigrants and disadvantaged communities seek, acquire and use information to navigate school choice policy in the city of Aurora, CO. The findings of this study are relevant for educators, policymakers, libraries, school districts, cities, counties and parents to determine the necessary policy measures that are required to increase school choice participation by immigrants and disadvantaged communities.
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This research draws on qualitative interviews with primarily lower socioeconomic status (SES) public library internet users to illuminate their perceptions of economic benefits…
Abstract
This research draws on qualitative interviews with primarily lower socioeconomic status (SES) public library internet users to illuminate their perceptions of economic benefits afforded by the internet. This powerful evidence challenges utopian new technological theories. The results from this study allow for the comparison of perspectives from Millennials, Generation Xers, Boomers, and the Silent generation. These results suggest a disconnect between the cultural mythology around the internet as an all-powerful tool and the lived experiences of lower SES respondents. Lower SES participants primarily use the internet to train and educate themselves in areas where they would like to work in the process of applying for jobs using the internet. Participants recognized marginal benefits such as socialization and less burdensome job application processes. However, they struggled to identify significant job-related benefits when comparing applying for jobs online as opposed to applying for jobs in person. With the exception of millennials, all generational groups believed in the economic promise of the internet to make their lives easier given enough time. Millennials, however, challenged the techno-utopianism expressed by other generations. Only millennials recognized the realities of digital inequalities that make techno-utopian outcomes unattainable given broader economic realities for low-SES individuals.
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Kenneth A. Merchant and Lourdes Ferreira White
This paper examines the linkages between the ethics and management control literatures and suggests some potentially fruitful areas for future research and for integration in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the linkages between the ethics and management control literatures and suggests some potentially fruitful areas for future research and for integration in the classroom.
Methodology/approach
We review topics in the ethics and management control literatures organizing them around the six modules used in the accounting ethics course taught at the University of Southern California: (a) professional standards, (b) distinguishing right from wrong, (c) understanding why (good) people do bad things, (d) getting employees to behave ethically (corporate ethics programs), (e) getting people to speak up when they see something wrong taking place (Giving Voice to Values), and (f) whistleblowing (the last resort).
Findings
While we find many topics where ethics and management control are concerned with similar issues, there are very few papers that approach these topics from the two perspectives.
Originality/value
We provide an overview of topics where ethics and management control overlap, and highlight the need for greater convergence between the two literatures. By linking MCS and ethics, organizations can provide a framework to promote behavior that both contributes to the achievement of the organization’s objectives and also follows ethical principles. We comment on what may happen when ethics and management control diverge, and discuss controls that can promote a strong ethical climate.
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By 2006, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards had offered advanced certification to 50,000 accomplished teachers using performance-based assessments of their…
Abstract
By 2006, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards had offered advanced certification to 50,000 accomplished teachers using performance-based assessments of their teaching knowledge and practice (about 2% of the US teaching force). However, the Board has had much greater impact than the initial numbers of certified teachers suggested. As the first professional effort to define accomplished teaching, it has also had an enormous influence on standard-setting for beginning teacher licensing, teacher education programs, teacher assessment, on-the-job evaluation, and professional development for teachers throughout the United States. This chapter describes some of the results of the Board's work, evaluates its impact, and discusses issues that it raises for the future of teaching and the nature of the teaching career.
At a Fish Merchants' dinner at Lowestoft early in January, the Mayor (Mr. W. H. B. Sanders) pleaded for genuine oak‐smoked kippers, undyed. He said: “Quality does help in the long…
Abstract
At a Fish Merchants' dinner at Lowestoft early in January, the Mayor (Mr. W. H. B. Sanders) pleaded for genuine oak‐smoked kippers, undyed. He said: “Quality does help in the long run. We have the Yarmouth bloater, so why not take the lead and have the Lowestoft kipper?”
Musa Mbago, Joseph Mpeera Ntayi and Henry Mutebi
The purpose of the study is to examine the role of legitimacy in forming whistleblowing behavior in Ugandan procuring and disposing entities (PDEs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to examine the role of legitimacy in forming whistleblowing behavior in Ugandan procuring and disposing entities (PDEs).
Design/methodology/approach
This study has adopted both a quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional research design to collect data from a sample of 97 out of the population of 129 PDEs in Kampala, which are regulated by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority.
Findings
This paper finds that improvement in the perception of public servants about the appropriateness of the Whistleblowers Act and its enforcers can increase on the reporting of unethical practices in public procurement.
Research limitations/implications
This study has used a cross-sectional survey data. The causal relationships between variables are possibly obscured; as data from all participants are collected at the same point of time, perceptions go on changing over time. Therefore, further studies should use a longitudinal approach. Second, there are no constructs for legitimacy in public procurement and those from law are domesticated.
Practical implications
There should be a promotion of legitimacy of the Whistleblowers Act and the enforcement agencies of the Act. The government should devise means for the public servants to have an obligation to obey the holders of authority, to trust and have confidence in them and to enforce the Whistleblowers Act in an ethical and normative framework.
Originality/value
This study reveals the whistleblowing intentions and behavior of public servants in PDEs. This study would help the Government of Uganda to make the Whistleblowing Act legitimate and its enforcers to increase on the reporting of unethical practices in public procurement.
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Earlier in the year, during the national steel industry strike, the House of Lords overturned a judgment of Lord Denning, MR, that sections of the industry unaffected by the trade…
Abstract
Earlier in the year, during the national steel industry strike, the House of Lords overturned a judgment of Lord Denning, MR, that sections of the industry unaffected by the trade dispute could be regarded as outside the Act and its amendments and that unions could be restrained in their application of immune activities to those firms. The decision apart, their Lordships in delivering judgment reaffirmed that only Parliament had power to make the Law; it was not the function of Judges to do this, their's to interpret and apply the Law. In strict legal terms and applying to statutes and statutory instruments, this is true; but in the widest sense, judges have been making law for centuries. Otherwise, from whence cometh the Common Law, one of the wonders of the world, if not from the mouths of H.M. Judges. Much of it is now enshrined in statute form, especially Criminal Law, but initially it was all judge‐made. In most systems of human control and function, complete separation is rarely possible and when attempted the results have not been conspicuously successful.
Three-dimensional printing of acrylic-based medical devices is projected to grow exponentially despite the limitations of photopolymerization and the lack of information on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Three-dimensional printing of acrylic-based medical devices is projected to grow exponentially despite the limitations of photopolymerization and the lack of information on the clinical performance of the materials. The purpose of this paper is to address an issue of critical importance in the translation of the three-dimensionally printed structures to the clinic, which is assessing the toxicity of the polymers and their precursors.
Design/methodology/approach
This review highlights the different manufacturing processes, challenges and novel experimental work including the zebrafish embryo model, which offers a potential method for toxicity profiling of biomedical photopolymers and their precursors due to its high genetic similarity to humans.
Findings
Materials information and experimental data available so far suggest that there is a need for regular and rigorous evaluation of new materials to establish their safety and protect users engaging in biomedically-related printing activities.
Originality/value
The review identifies stringent, contemporary and cost-effective analytical methods for assessing the safety of biomedical photopolymers and their precursors.
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Cam Caldwell, Larry Floyd, Joseph Taylor and Bryan Woodard
The purpose of this paper is to define “beneficence” as a management concept that is the action associated with “benevolence” the intention. This paper explains how beneficence is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define “beneficence” as a management concept that is the action associated with “benevolence” the intention. This paper explains how beneficence is a critical element for leaders in building trust. The authors identify how beneficence honors the ethical duties owed to followers and creates competitive advantage for organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach of this paper is to present an extensive conceptual review of beneficence as it relates to leaders and managers and to suggest eight propositions identifying how beneficence can create competitive advantage.
Findings
The findings of this paper include eight propositions about beneficence as a source of competitive advantage.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this paper are for practitioners and scholars. This paper provides an opportunity for leaders to recognize the importance of translating good intentions into specific action in acting virtuously toward others. For scholars, this paper provides testable propositions for learning more about beneficence as a source of increased commitment, greater trust, and competitive advantage.
Originality/value
Although benevolence has been acknowledged to be a foundation of trustworthiness, benevolence is an attitude or intention. This paper explains the importance of beneficence as the action derived from benevolence as an attitude or intention to do that which benefits others.