Stephen Edwards and Terry Wyatt
Air‐conditioning installations in buildings have been the focus of much criticism, with many commentators going so far as to propose a causal connection between sick buildings and…
Superconductivity has been around for most of this century. In 1911 Kamerlingh Onnes, a Dutch physicist, discovered that the resistance of mercury to electric current dropped…
Abstract
Superconductivity has been around for most of this century. In 1911 Kamerlingh Onnes, a Dutch physicist, discovered that the resistance of mercury to electric current dropped effectively to zero at 4° Kelvin. This extremely low temperature — 452°F below zero — was able to be achieved by his production, three years earlier, of liquid helium.
Nga Thi Tuyet Phan and Terry Locke
The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of culture on the sense of self-efficacy in teaching English as a Foreign Language of a group of university teachers in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of culture on the sense of self-efficacy in teaching English as a Foreign Language of a group of university teachers in Vietnam. Research exploring the relationship between culture and self-efficacy is extremely rare despite the acknowledged importance of culture in the formation of self-efficacy beliefs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study took the form of qualitative research with diverse, data collection instruments: individual interviews, focus group discussions, observations and journaling.
Findings
Findings indicate that certain features of the Vietnamese cultural context impacted on the way the study teachers constructed their sense of self-efficacy. Specifically, under the influence of a Vietnamese sense of belonging, the study teachers tended to rely more on efficacy-building information from other people rather than from themselves. The perception of inequality in power may have heightened negative emotional arousal, thus contributing to a negative sense of self-efficacy among the teachers. The Vietnamese concept of face and the high status of teachers in the social hierarchy in part mediated teachers’ sense of self-efficacy.
Social implications
The perceived burden of performing both parenting and teaching roles and responsibilities may have diminished the self-efficacy in teaching of female teachers.
Originality/value
The contribution and implications of the study are discussed.
Details
Keywords
While sports have historically provided a space for Black males to experience a high sense of self-efficacy, the question about whether or not it transfers to educational…
Abstract
While sports have historically provided a space for Black males to experience a high sense of self-efficacy, the question about whether or not it transfers to educational endeavors persists. A challenge for practitioners is to ensure that Black males also thrive educationally as well as in their athletic pursuits. The author presents a brief history of Black males’ participation in sport, along with the historical implications of such participation. The utility of empowerment theory is explored within the context of promoting the college and career readiness of Black male student-athletes in high school. High school counselors’ use of empowerment theory is specifically highlighted. Specific indicators of college and career readiness are discussed, and the author posits the use of empowerment theory in counseling and advising can facilitate positive change in this process, assuring that sports remains the positive mobilizing mechanism that it can be for all student-athletes.
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E. Michael Bamber and Venkataraman Iyer
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between auditors' perception of their firm's tone at the top and attributes of their professional environment and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between auditors' perception of their firm's tone at the top and attributes of their professional environment and their job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Research hypotheses are developed based on prior research including research on social judgment theory. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data collected through a survey of auditors.
Findings
The results show that the tone at the top affects job autonomy and organizational‐professional conflict. Each of these variables directly or indirectly affects job satisfaction. This paper also provides evidence that the tone at the top filters down to at least the senior rank.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the usual caveats associated with the survey method. Notwithstanding these limitations, the results suggest that a tone at the top that emphasizes audit effectiveness may not only improve the quality of today's audits, but by improving job satisfaction have long‐term benefits for audit firms' culture.
Originality/value
This paper empirically measures “tone at the top” and it shows that a tone at the top emphasis on audit effectiveness is consistent with auditors' own professionalism and may not only improve the quality of today's audits, but by improving job satisfaction have long‐term benefits for audit firms' culture.
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Peter Williams, Karen Bunning and Helen Kennedy
This paper aims to present a critical discussion of theoretical concepts that drive the main contributions of the academic partners, by highlighting the contrasting perspectives…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a critical discussion of theoretical concepts that drive the main contributions of the academic partners, by highlighting the contrasting perspectives and identifying areas of commonality.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper follows a contextualised approach to debating the issues of access and participation for people with ID in learning environments. Each discipline considers the user of ICT within a social context but draws on the theoretical domains and published literature associated with its own area.
Findings
Resonances are to be found across the academic disciplines in terms of an ecological or holistic view of the person with ID as a user of a learning environment. This is what binds the multi‐disciplinary perspective together.
Originality/value
This paper is a rare attempt to integrate three distinct academic disciplines to provide a coherent picture of the theoretical perspectives underpinning research by the authors into the development and use of an ICT system for people with learning difficulties.
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Keywords
Alalwany Hamid and Alshawi Sarmad
The purpose of this paper is to explore the user's perspective in evaluating e‐health services and to present evaluation criteria that influence users' utilization and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the user's perspective in evaluating e‐health services and to present evaluation criteria that influence users' utilization and satisfaction of e‐health services.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on two lines of studies relating to the behaviour of users of new products or services and on broad examining and critical analysis of the existing evaluations initiatives in e‐governments services generally but also particularly in an e‐health context.
Findings
The paper argues that e‐health services evaluation frameworks should be criteria‐based, while the criteria can be grounded in, and derived from, one or more specific perspectives or theories, and cannot be entirely framed within the bounds of a single theory or perspective. The paper suggests an evaluation framework for e‐health services and provides a set of clear and useful e‐health evaluation criteria that can be accommodated by such a framework.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of this paper lies in the absence of empirical validation and examination of the proposed evaluation criteria that have not yet been applied in the fieldwork. Hence, the proposed criteria require an empirical validation which will be performed by the authors in the next stage of this research using a multiple case study strategy and will form the basis for further research.
Practical implications
The proposed evaluation criteria can be used to help achieve better user services utilization, to serve as part of an e‐health evaluation framework, and to address areas that require further attention in the development of future e‐health initiatives.
Originality/value
The paper presents a well‐argued and balanced hierarchy of evaluation criteria that can contribute to an area of research which is still in its infancy in terms of development and management.