Patricia McGee and Felecia Briscoe
This case study examines whether an academic listserv functions primarily as a medium for progressive discourse in which enacted power relations are collaborative or primarily as…
Abstract
This case study examines whether an academic listserv functions primarily as a medium for progressive discourse in which enacted power relations are collaborative or primarily as a medium for discourse in which norms are unilaterally established and off‐line hierarchical power relations are re‐enacted. A few instances of progressive norm setting and other indicators of collaborative power relations were found. However, findings overall suggest that the hierarchical power relations of the college context were re‐enacted in the listserv as revealed by the manner in which the discourse was patterned by gender, rank, and role.
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Sherman L. Hayes and Patricia B. McGee
It is important to understand the organizational structures and decision making processes in the university and their relationship to the CWIS. This article describes, reviews and…
Abstract
It is important to understand the organizational structures and decision making processes in the university and their relationship to the CWIS. This article describes, reviews and summarizes March and Cohens’ theories on the university as a structured anarchy. It also raises a list of questions that CWISs struggle with regularly which may be best answered by this theory. A second part of the article describes the companion theory of garbage can decision making proposed by March, Cohen and Olsen. Besides proposing the decision making model, March and Cohen even offer tactics to use in a structured anarchy that can enhance chances of success. Although CWIS problems seem dominated by management of technical questions, the authors feel that the ability to understand the organizational model of an institution and to manage the decision making process may be equally important to success as technical expertise is.
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Julia Halpin, Patricia Wain and Peter Nolan
This paper reports on a study undertaken in one mental health NHS foundation trust in the UK, which sought to examine to what extent advanced practice nursing could contribute to…
Abstract
This paper reports on a study undertaken in one mental health NHS foundation trust in the UK, which sought to examine to what extent advanced practice nursing could contribute to advancing new ways of working in the future. The literature on advanced nursing in the UK is critically discussed and where availability permits, reference is made to international literature. The findings of a survey of nurses with a Masters degree or acting at advanced level are reported and discussed. Though the data reported here are largely confirmed by similar studies, nevertheless the insights provided should alert organisations to the complexity of introducing new roles during a time of radical change in the health care system. Despite the efforts of a highly motivated trust, respondents identified barriers and obstacles that were of such significance that some were forced to rethink their readiness to embrace the role. It is hoped that the recommendations derived from this study may assist other organisations at a similar stage of implementing advanced nursing practice roles.
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Rodney C. Runyan, Patricia Huddleston and Jane L. Swinney
The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative study of small retailers, designed to uncover perceptions of resources which may be utilized to create competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative study of small retailers, designed to uncover perceptions of resources which may be utilized to create competitive advantages and improve performance. The resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm has focused on large firms, and this study extends RBV to the small firm.
Design/methodology/approach
Using focus groups of small retailers within four communities in the USA, open‐ended questioning and discussions were utilized to help elicit responses about owner's resources.
Findings
The concepts of community brand identity, local social capital and environmental hostility (though not part of the original discussion guide), emerged as important constructs. Both community brand identity and social capital were articulated by focus group participants as resources which helped them to be successful. Brand identity was seen as important regardless of environment, while social capital emerged as a resource used more in hostile environments.
Research limitations/implications
Brand identity and social capital are non‐economic resources which may help small retailers to compete in increasingly competitive environments. The RBV holds that to provide a competitive advantage, a firm's resources must be valuable, rare, imperfectly mobile and non‐substitutable. This qualitative study supports the conceptualization of brand identity and social capital as such resources.
Practical implications
Small business owners need to recognize the value of non‐monetary resources. Once these are recognized they can then be leveraged by the business owner to improve performance.
Originality/value
Few studies exist which apply the RBV to small firms. Only recently have scholars begun to operationalize constructs of the RBV. Researchers have not investigated social capital or brand identity as mitigators of environmental hostility. This study addresses each of these issues.
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Paola Isabel Rodríguez Gutiérrez, María del Pilar Pastor Pérez and Patricia Esther Alonso Galicia
The purpose of this paper is to describe the elements and relationships that explain the entrepreneurial intent in university students, evaluating possible gender and degree…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the elements and relationships that explain the entrepreneurial intent in university students, evaluating possible gender and degree differences.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is of quantitative approach, survey research design and cross-sectional method. The instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire answered by undergraduate university students enrolled in a public university. The sampling was stratified random, with a representative sample size of 734 cases. For data analysis and hypothesis testing, a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model were made.
Findings
The results show that the entrepreneurial self-efficacy attribute largely explains the entrepreneurial intent, while all other variables, such as entrepreneurial identity aspirations and outcome expectations, play a less important role but maintain some influence.
Research limitations/implications
According to the findings of this research, institutions of higher education should direct efforts to improve the entrepreneurial skills of students, especially for women. And the creation of an institutional entrepreneurial culture should also be emphasized so that the university students are able to build an entrepreneurial identity.
Originality/value
The value of the research is the proposed integrative model that explains how to trigger entrepreneurial intent, shows the prominent role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a predictor variable of entrepreneurial intent and the role of entrepreneur identity aspirations and entrepreneurial self-efficacy as mediating variables. Additionally, this research identifies differences in the model of entrepreneurial intent derived from the variables of gender and degrees.
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Hollie (2011) maintains that pedagogy is the most frequently overlooked facet of culturally responsive teaching. This chapter puts forward a promising pedagogy for working with…
Abstract
Hollie (2011) maintains that pedagogy is the most frequently overlooked facet of culturally responsive teaching. This chapter puts forward a promising pedagogy for working with diverse learners, particularly those from ethnic minorities. It opens by providing a brief background to the New Zealand context in which my research has been conducted, before moving on to identifying key UNESCO principles relating to cultural and linguistic diversity, and examining key tensions and challenges that impact on the development of relevant pedagogies for diversity in different international contexts. Relevant pedagogies identified in the international literature are then summarized. Next, examples from case study data on teachers in New Zealand schools are presented. These data highlight four key aspects of a promising pedagogy: knowing, doing, being, and belonging. Consideration of how these aspects influence the pedagogical objective of becoming suggests that, while generating relevant practices (doing) is more effective in combination with theoretical input (knowing), this is insufficient without concurrently engendering a sense of being with and belonging in diverse communities of learners. The final model for a promising pedagogy is therefore more than just a simple, linear process, but the components doing, knowing, being, and belonging are viewed as part of a dynamic, interactive, and cyclical model.
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Sarah L. Rodriguez, Rosemary Perez, Angie Kim and Rudisang Motshubi
The purpose of this study was to examine how two socio-historical contexts within the United States, the Movement for Black Lives and the COVID-19 pandemic, informed approaches to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine how two socio-historical contexts within the United States, the Movement for Black Lives and the COVID-19 pandemic, informed approaches to improving racial climate in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) graduate education.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a general qualitative inquiry research study design to conduct focus groups (n = 121) with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members from across STEM disciplines as well as administrators whose work involves STEM graduate students. Participants were from two US institutions involved in a National Science Foundation networked improvement community seeking to create inclusive environments for STEM graduate students.
Findings
This study demonstrates how these socio-historical contexts illuminated and amplified on-going efforts to address racial climate for graduate students in US-based graduate education. In response to these events, STEM faculty devoted time that otherwise might have gone to purely technical or scientific endeavors to addressing racial climate. However, some faculty members remain hesitant to address racial climate and efforts appear to have further waned over time. While diversity, inclusion and equity efforts came to the forefront of the collective consciousness during this time, participants worry that these efforts are not sustainable, particularly without support from faculty and administrators.
Practical implications
The findings from this study will inform efforts to improve racial climate in STEM graduate programs.
Originality/value
This study fills an identified need to capture how socio-historical contexts, like the US Movement for Black Lives and the COVID-19 pandemic, have influenced approaches to improving racial climate in STEM graduate programs.
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Businesses in Mexico, particularly small and mid-sized companies, are faced with numerous challenges: a lack of competition, difficulty in positioning and maintaining oneself in…
Abstract
Purpose
Businesses in Mexico, particularly small and mid-sized companies, are faced with numerous challenges: a lack of competition, difficulty in positioning and maintaining oneself in the market, irrational use of natural resources, and poverty in the environment in which they develop. In spite of these problems, many are able to succeed; however, there is limited knowledge about how these businesses could implement organizational changes that would positively impact their results.
Design/methodology/approach
Using dynamic capabilities theory and survey data obtained from pottery businesses in several artisan communities in Mexico through the application of face-to-face interviews, this paper analyzes the relationship between organizational capability for change (OCC) and economic and environmental performance.
Findings
This research proves that OCC positively and significantly impacts economic and environmental performance. Results contribute to the existing literature on OCC in the context of poverty.
Originality/value
This study offers empirical research that illustrates the relationship between OCC and the environmental and economic performance of pottery businesses. Additionally it contributes to a field of knowledge in progress; that is, OCC in contexts of subsistence where poverty is a constant issue. Artisans living in this context can also develop business capabilities that contribute to the permanence of their business in the market.