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The purpose of this study is to explore the use of policy debate as a frame for developing critical participatory literacy skills focused on student engagement with current events.

Using dialogism as a frame for a discussion-based course (Bakhtin, 1982; Reznitskya, 2012) and self-study as a methodological structure (Samaras, 2011), they explore the iterative process of shaping a policy debate curriculum across three separate cohorts. In the process, they share reflections and insights about what they learned about their assumptions as teachers.

Instructors offer recommendations for structuring literacy practices that are dialogic and focused on student voice and policy activism. Specifically, authors suggest focusing attention to discussion activities, an emphasis on critical dialogue, where students engage with the ideas of others, and the practice of constant facilitator reflection to determine whether they have continued to center student voices and ideas in the classroom.

This study is key for beginning to understand how to put students in conversation with complex political decisions and for helping youth develop confidence in their ability to critique and evaluate those decisions as members of the larger society.

Gender equality plans (GEPs) are currently the preferred approach to initiate structural change towards gender equality in research organisations. In order to achieve structural change, GEPs have to be more than just a formally adopted institutional policy. Effective GEPs lead to a transformation of gendered practices and thus to structural change. This chapter presents the innovative approach developed for an H2020 structural change project and its theoretical background. We argue that due to the dual logic, which characterises academic organisations, the organisational logic and the academic logic, change is a complex endeavour. To deal with this complexity, one of the main functions of a GEP is to provide space and initiate reflexivity at an individual as well as at an institutional level. A theory of change approach supports reflexivity in all stages of a GEP as it ensures that basic assumptions of the institutional change process are questioned and reflected on by the different stakeholder groups involved in the implementation.

The purpose of this study is to use implied volatilities from exchange traded options to examine the interaction between analysts’ forecast revisions and the market’s perception of uncertainty about firm value.

The authors examine how characteristics of individual forecast revisions, e.g. news and changes in dispersion of forecasts, affect changes in implied volatilities, whether analysts use the observable changes in implied volatilities to inform their forecast revisions and whether changes in dispersion of forecasts are correlated with changes in implied volatilities.

The authors find that good (bad) news forecast revisions reduce (increase) investors’ perception of uncertainty about firm value, analysts do not appear to use changes in implied volatilities to shade their forecast revisions to good/bad news and dispersion of forecasts are a reasonable proxy for uncertainty about firm value as indicated by their correlation with implied volatilities.

Recent research on analysts’ forecast revisions and management forecasts has focused on risk perception rather than value. This paper extends this work with a risk metric based on market transactions in both a short and long window analysis, as well as univariate and multivariate analysis.

The TARGET approach aims at establishing a reflexive gender equality policy in research performing and research funding organisations. Monitoring has enormous potential to support reflexivity at both the institutional and the individual levels in the gender equality plan (GEP) development and implementation context. To exploit this potential, the monitoring system has to consist of meaningful indicators, which adequately represent the complex construct of gender equality and refer to the concrete objectives and policies of the GEP. To achieve this, we propose an approach to indicator development that refers to a theory of change for the GEP and its policies. Indicator development thus becomes a reflexive endeavour and monitoring a living tool. This requires constant reflection on data gaps, validity of indicators and the further development of indicators. Furthermore, we recommend the creation of space for reflexivity to discuss monitoring results with the community of practice.

To provide an investigation of e‐commerce development via an examination of the forces shaping web site development among intermediaries in an extended supply chain.

A two‐stage research design combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Unstructured interviews conducted in the spirit of phenomenology elicited a range of critical incidents of web site development which were further examined via a quantitative survey of intermediaries to test for relationships between critical incidents and web site adoption.

Adopter groups were identified which showed statistically significant differences in terms of the critical incidents driving web site development as well as differences in terms of key company characteristics. The timing of web site adoption was also found to affect the subsequent use of the technology, with early adopters making more advanced use.

Limitations associated with the use of retrospective data and respondents’ abilities to recall events, although attempts were made to minimise these through external validation.

Provides useful insights for providers of financial services in understanding how to progress the adoption of web site technology by intermediaries, suggesting the development of networks of relationships involving IT suppliers rather than simply focusing on relationships with preferred intermediaries.

Addresses a research gap in terms of business‐to‐business e‐commerce and offers practical guidance on how to widen participation in the financial services supply chain.

The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of cooperation among members of network firms.

An extensive literature review of industrial cooperation/adaptation was conducted, especially research pertaining to industrial adoption of communication technology across partner firms. This review was combined with elements of population ecology, as it has been applied to business networks, and other sociological aspects of inter‐firm relationships to develop a set of propositions related to cooperative adoption.

This is a conceptual paper, so there were no quantifiable results. Instead, the paper contains a number of propositions related to the relational, structural, and influential aspects that affect adoption and sustained use of innovative products in a network context.

The lack of empirical support for hypothesized relationships is the major limitation. However, the study provides guidance toward empirical testing and suggests a number of managerial implications resulting from the understandings provided by the proposed relationship.

This study helps extend earlier models developed to understand intra‐organizational adoption to reflect the more common situation where adoption occurs within and affects a network of related firms.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.

This concurrent mixed methods study aims to collect quantitative data indicating current levels of podcast usage, demographics of those using podcasts, technologies used and perceptions of the podcasts. It also aims to collect qualitative data providing an expanded understanding on perceptions of the podcasts and suggestions for future enhancements.

Six sample podcasts were recorded and made available via New Zealand's UCOL – Universal College of Learning – web site in MP3 format. The target population was staff and students of UCOL. A web‐based survey instrument was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data with 86 complete responses received.

Results showed that there were differences found between the groups surveyed in perceptions and use of the library instructional podcasts. The majority of respondents thought the podcasts were “very good” with 71.1 per cent in favour of them. The most helpful podcast topics were identified, suggestions for future podcast topics were made, device ownership and required technologies were investigated, preferred times and places for listening to podcasts was ascertained and advantages and disadvantages were determined. The conclusion reached was that podcasting for library instruction does provide benefits and should be pursued.

Participants were self‐selected on a non‐random basis. For these reasons and also due to the low response rate it was not possible to stratify the sample set or generalise results. This method of selection may also have caused a bias in answers towards those already interested in podcasting technology.

As podcasting is a new phenomenon for libraries, little is known about its usage and perceived benefits especially in New Zealand. This research offered an opportunity to fill a small gap in the knowledge of the usage and perceptions of podcasting and future potential as a medium for library instruction. This study was intended as an intermediary step and further research is therefore needed to gain a full picture.

Amid the expanding demand on the autism service delivery system, little knowledge is accumulated regarding access and availability of support and services in the region of Southern and South-Eastern Europe – critical for improvement of individual outcomes, as well as family quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to explore how service delivery systems are responding to the specific needs of autistic individuals with autism, as perceived by parents.

A qualitative exploratory descriptive method was used. Thematic analysis was used as a pragmatic method to report on the experiences of parents (92% mothers, n = 55) of children, youth and young autistic adults (76% male) across six South and South-Eastern European counties that participated in a survey involving a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection.

Thematic analysis revealed three broad themes: challenging pathways to service utilization, insufficient service options and providers’ competences and lack of continuous and meaningful support across life span.

The findings from this study add to the small body of literature specific to South and South-Eastern Europe, by exposing problems related to meeting the needs of autistic children and youth and potential ways to strengthen services, as perceived by parents. The findings have potential policy ramifications for the region in which the research was conducted.