John W. Saye, Jada Kohlmeier, James B. Howell, Theresa M. McCormick, Robert C. Jones and Thomas A. Brush
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of scaffolded lesson study on the content knowledge, conceptions of curriculum, and classroom practice of 22 elementary and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of scaffolded lesson study on the content knowledge, conceptions of curriculum, and classroom practice of 22 elementary and secondary history teachers in four school districts.
Design/methodology/approach
Teachers, teacher educators, and historians collaborated to design and test research lessons grounded in a theory-based framework for problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) practice. The authors sought to support consonance between the reform ideas of the formal, professional development, curriculum, and the curriculum as enacted in participants’ classrooms.
Findings
Project participation was associated with significant gains in content knowledge and the conceptualization and implementation of more challenging instruction consistent with the PBHI model and the standards of authentic intellectual work (AIW). Mean AIW instruction scores for research lessons were more than double the scores for participants’ non-lesson study lessons and indicated noteworthy progress in integrating the formal and enacted curricula. Evidence suggested that many teachers developed more nuanced understandings of historical phenomena, gained greater appreciation for the importance of authentic purpose in motivating student engagement in challenging learning, and began to reconsider what is required to facilitate complex learning and to refine their repertoire of learning strategies.
Originality/value
Evidence from the first year of this project offers hope for the potential of collaborative communities of practice to facilitate a shared professional knowledge base of wise practice that brings the formal, intended, and enacted curriculum into greater alignment. These results also emphasize the evolutionary process of conceptual change.
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In this paper, I demonstrate an alternative explanation to the development of the American electricity industry. I propose a social embeddedness approach (Granovetter, 1985, 1992…
Abstract
In this paper, I demonstrate an alternative explanation to the development of the American electricity industry. I propose a social embeddedness approach (Granovetter, 1985, 1992) to interpret why the American electricity industry appears the way it does today, and start by addressing the following questions: Why is the generating dynamo located in well‐connected central stations rather than in isolated stations? Why does not every manufacturing firm, hospital, school, or even household operate its own generating equipment? Why do we use incandescent lamps rather than arc lamps or gas lamps for lighting? At the end of the nineteenth century, the first era of the electricity industry, all these technical as well as organizational forms were indeed possible alternatives. The centralized systems we see today comprise integrated, urban, central station firms which produce and sell electricity to users within a monopolized territory. Yet there were visions of a more decentralized electricity industry. For instance, a geographically decentralized system might have dispersed small systems based around an isolated or neighborhood generating dynamo; or a functionally decentralized system which included firms solely generating and transmitting the power, and selling the power to locally‐owned distribution firms (McGuire, Granovetter, and Schwartz, forthcoming). Similarly, the incandescent lamp was not the only illuminating device available at that time. The arc lamp was more suitable for large‐space lighting than incandescent lamps; and the second‐generation gas lamp ‐ Welsbach mantle lamp ‐ was much cheaper than the incandescent electric light and nearly as good in quality (Passer, 1953:196–197).
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to classify project management resources as sources of competitive advantage.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to classify project management resources as sources of competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on the resource‐based view of the firm and project management literature to explore the level of competitive advantage from 17 project management resources based on their degree of complexity and level of leverage in the project management process. This exploratory study drew on a small sample of practitioners in the classification.
Findings
The paper proposes a conceptual model to show the relationship between four categories of resources and their contribution to competitive advantage by being valuable, rare, inimitable, and organizationally supported.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is exploratory in nature and uses a small sample of practitioners.
Practical implications
The authors believe that the classification of project management resources based on complexity and leverage provides a useful framework for managers considering the impact of investment in these resources for competitive advantage.
Originality/value
This paper provides a classification of project management resources based on the complexity of the resource and its leverage in the project management process. It is posited that resources that are complex and can be highly leveraged to develop further resources warrant attention as sources of competitive advantage.
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Candida G. Brush, Patricia G. Greene and Friederike Welter
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief history of the evolution of the Diana Project and the Diana International Research Conference. The authors examine the impact of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief history of the evolution of the Diana Project and the Diana International Research Conference. The authors examine the impact of the publications, conferences and research contributions and consider key factors in the success of this collaborative research organization. They discuss the ongoing legacy, suggesting ways to extend this into the future.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses an historical narrative and a citation analysis.
Findings
The Diana Project was founded by five women professors in 1999 with the purpose of investigating women’s access to growth capital. Following a series of academic articles, and numerous presentations, the first Diana International Conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden. At this convening, 20 scholars from 13 countries shared their knowledge of women’s entrepreneurship, venture creation and growth, culminating in the first volume of the Diana Book Series. Since then, 14 international conferences have been held, resulting in 10 special issues of top academic journals and 11 books. More than 600 scholars have attended or participated in Diana conferences or publications.
Research limitations/implications
Contributions from the Diana International Conferences’ special issues of journals and books have advanced theory across topics, levels, geographies and methods. Articles emerging from Diana scholars are some of the top contributions about women’s entrepreneurship and gender to the field of entrepreneurship. Future research directions are included.
Practical implications
This analysis demonstrates the success of a unique woman-focused collaborative research initiative and identifies key success factors, suggesting how these might be expanded in the future.
Social implications
To date, more than 600 scholars have participated in the Diana International Conferences or publications. Diana is the only community dedicated to rigorous and relevant research about gender and women’s entrepreneurship. Going forward, efforts to expand work on education for women’s entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurship faculty and careers, and women entrepreneurs, gender and policy will take place to extend this legacy.
Originality/value
The paper is unique in that it is the first to show the substantial legacy and impact of the Diana project since its inception in 1999. Further, it demonstrates how a feminist approach to entrepreneurial principles can yield insights about this unique research initiative and collaborative organization.
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Edicleia Oliveira, Serge Basini and Thomas M. Cooney
This article explores women entrepreneurs' lived experiences in their interactions with government enterprise support agencies. It investigates the relationship between gendering…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores women entrepreneurs' lived experiences in their interactions with government enterprise support agencies. It investigates the relationship between gendering and Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), as a normative orientation adopted at the institutional level and justified by an economic rationale. It also explores how women entrepreneurs articulate their experiences through embodied metaphors and image schemas, shedding light on how they navigate the institutional entrepreneurial space.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is framed within the concept of Phenomenological Orientation as conceptualised in feminist phenomenology. It applies Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, a qualitative methodology focused on interpreting accounts of first-person lived experiences of a phenomenon. It combines IPA with Conceptual Metaphor Theory to understand women's articulation of their embodied relationship within the entrepreneurial space.
Findings
Findings reveal that the entrepreneurial orientation functions as a gendering process within entrepreneurial institutions, reinforcing masculine hegemonic ideals and marginalising women entrepreneurs. Women's phenomenological orientations often diverge from the normative entrepreneurial orientation, highlighting the need for a more inclusive framework in institutional entrepreneurial spaces.
Research limitations/implications
This article contributes to women's entrepreneurship literature by underlining the temporal dimension of entrepreneurship and the tension that underpins their interactions with government support bodies. It calls for inclusive policies and procedures to match the heterogeneity of orientations. While highlighting its limitations, it also suggests future research directions to deepen the understanding of entrepreneurship and inform more suitable support structures for all entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the nuanced interplay between gendering, entrepreneurial orientation, and women entrepreneurs' lived experiences. It extends previous research by framing “orientation” within a temporality framework, offering a novel perspective on the gendering of entrepreneurial spaces.
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The Center for Women’s Business Research estimates women are now the majority owners in 6.7 million privately held businesses in the United States and equal owners in another 4.0…
Abstract
The Center for Women’s Business Research estimates women are now the majority owners in 6.7 million privately held businesses in the United States and equal owners in another 4.0 million firms. When part owners in multiple businesses are included the female ownership total climbs to an estimated 15.6 million businesses. Women majority owners account for nearly half (48 per cent) of the privately‐held firms in the United States. Their businesses generate $2.46 trillion in sales. They employ 19.1 million people and spend an estimated $492 billion on salaries and $54 billion on employee benefits. The number of women‐owned firms increases at twice the rate of all new firms (14 per cent versus 7 per cent) and the number of employees nearly as fast (30 per cent versus 18 per cent). Women owners are rapidly moving into all industries, with the fastest growth percentages in the fields of construction (30 per cent), transportation, communications and public utilities (28 per cent) and agricultural services (24 per cent). Worldwide, with women entrepreneurs in under developed countries leading the way, women‐owned firms now comprise between one‐fourth and one‐third of all businesses. Given the numbers, it would be almost impossible to overestimate the impact of women owned businesses in today’s global economy.
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U. Ramya, A. Pushpa and Nitu Ghosh
Purpose: Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways towards self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation for women in a country without guaranteed employment. The research contributes…
Abstract
Purpose: Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways towards self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation for women in a country without guaranteed employment. The research contributes and provides reasons for supporting women’s entrepreneurship, as although it is well-documented that women’s entrepreneurship increases economic growth, other approaches need attention, especially those related to sustainability.
Need for the study: Women have superior emotional intelligence, resilience, and capacity to maintain a healthy work–life balance; women make better business and entrepreneurial leaders. Many businesses see encouraging women to join the workforce as a key to achieving sustainability goals. This study will provide valuable insights into the role of female entrepreneurs in driving sustainable business practices in the USA and India – rural India and urban India.
Methodology: The chapter adopts a descriptive research design methodology in conducting a thorough literature review on the evolution of women entrepreneurship in India. The case-based approach has been adopted to depict women entrepreneurs and their growth stories. The analysis is based on qualitative analysis of secondary data and primary data. This research proposes exciting revelations regarding the trend of women entrepreneurship in India and, from a global perspective, challenges women entrepreneurs face in organised and unorganised sectors in India and policies in different countries that promote women entrepreneurship towards sustainability.
Findings: Women business owners in India help the economy thrive, reduce poverty, and have a greater chance of shaping India’s destiny. This chapter looks at how entrepreneurial actions affect cultural morals and values. Women’s business growth rates vary from country to country, and this variation is influenced by the fact that countries can be broadly categorised as either developed or developing.
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Following devaluation industrialists are urged to take advantage of the great opportunities facing them, but it is not always clear what these opportunities are in financial…
Abstract
Following devaluation industrialists are urged to take advantage of the great opportunities facing them, but it is not always clear what these opportunities are in financial terms. Such difficulties apply particularly to a company which imports as well as exports and has based its price policy on anticipated volume of sales on a home market and its costs on a smaller annual rate of increase than now seems likely. Do two and two equal four in the complex arithmetic of devaluation? Not necessarily, as the following case of Barsok Brushes Ltd. (BBL) demonstrates. Although its scale of activities has been reduced to simplify discussion the question for consideration remains the same.
Maram Saeed Sabri and Keith Thomas
This paper aims to investigate psycho-attitudinal features in female entrepreneurs participating in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia, using the Big Five…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate psycho-attitudinal features in female entrepreneurs participating in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia, using the Big Five model of personality traits and risk propensity. These attitudes, further grouped into three broad categories, namely, fixed, moderate and growth-oriented mindsets, are used to illustrate the collective impact of attitude over the entrepreneurial process.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a quantitative study, using a survey to registered business owners and entrepreneurs operating in micro, small and medium businesses in Riyadh, Makkah and Eastern Province, three major administration areas of Saudi Arabia. Survey distribution was through the Chamber of Commerce located in each city. In total, 701 questionnaires were collected with 232 completed responses suitable for use in the study’s empirical findings. The overall response rate was 33 per cent.
Findings
The paper provides practical insights into gender-specific attitudes, including reported variance over the entrepreneurial process. It shows that attitude is an equally predominant feature for both genders through all business stages, with female entrepreneurs reporting a slightly higher growth-oriented attitude relative to their male counterparts. Overall, significant differences were noted between gender and business stages for five of the six-attitudinal growth subscales. From a policy perspective, noting the country’s plan for economic reform and desire for greater participation by women, there are important questions that arise concerning the impact of incentive devices and policy measures.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study is in the number of women participants, which was small. As participation rates for women rise, there is a good opportunity for future analysis to extend this current study’s findings.
Practical implications
The research uses the Big Five model and risk propensity to explore the important role of attitude in female entrepreneurs. Noting the moderating influence of factors in the macro-environment and the pervasive impact of social norms on women, this study flags some implications for government and policymakers in formulating supportive policies to enable greater uptake by women entrepreneurs with growth-oriented mindsets.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on the role of gender-specific attitudes through the business stages. This paper presents original research on the attitudes of women in the context of Arabic society.
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Astrid Ancely, Sara Laurencin-Dalicieux, Catherine Baussois, Anthony Blanc, Cathy Nabet, Charlotte Thomas and Géromine Fournier
The purpose of this study is to describe the oral health status of inmates. The secondary aims were to compare recidivists with first-time offenders and also study the impact of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to describe the oral health status of inmates. The secondary aims were to compare recidivists with first-time offenders and also study the impact of psychoactive drugs on the oral health status.
Design/methodology/approach
This retrospective study included 120 male inmates from a French prison. Data from the medical and the dental questionnaires and examinations were collected and analyzed.
Findings
The results showed that overall, the inmates had a poor oral health despite their young age. This population was at high risk regarding caries and periodontal diseases due to sedentary behaviors, improper diet, drug, alcohol and tobacco consumption. In total, 93% of inmates had at least one decayed untreated tooth and 95% had periodontal disease. The use of psychoactive drugs seemed strongly related to oral health status degradation. However, the comparison between recidivists and first-time offenders showed few differences.
Practical implications
The need for periodontal and dental care is considerable in this population and increased in this environment where risk factors such as addictive behaviors and poor eating habits are common. The impact of psychoactive drugs on oral health should also be taken into consideration.
Social implications
Unfortunately, even though strategies for the prevention and management of oral health in prisons have been put in place for some years, the results still seem insufficient.
Originality/value
There are still few studies that analyze the impact of this medication on oral health in prisons.