Search results

21 – 30 of 614
Book part
Publication date: 21 December 2017

Sue Robson

This chapter considers the opportunities and challenges for HE to develop, support and celebrate excellent teaching. Drawing on conceptualisations of teaching excellence in…

Abstract

This chapter considers the opportunities and challenges for HE to develop, support and celebrate excellent teaching. Drawing on conceptualisations of teaching excellence in quality frameworks and in the literature, it considers how teaching quality has traditionally been interpreted, suggesting (as in Chapter 2) that there is a need for more nuanced and comprehensive understandings of teaching excellence to be developed, demonstrated, recognised and rewarded, to reflect the complex nature of teaching excellence across the academic career profile. It considers how institutions might build and communicate shared understandings of excellence in teaching and promote a culture in which excellence at all levels of teaching is valued in the same way as research. It discusses the ways in which the professional learning and support needs of academics can be met at various stages of the academic career, to develop in teaching faculty and education leaders a sense of being appreciated, connected and competent in their contribution and commitment to teaching excellence.

Details

Teaching Excellence in Higher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-761-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1993

David J. Caine and Andrew J. Robson

Provides guidelines to facilitate the development of usable,efficient and maintainable spreadsheet models. Whilst primarily writtenfor those who may be building models for a third…

Abstract

Provides guidelines to facilitate the development of usable, efficient and maintainable spreadsheet models. Whilst primarily written for those who may be building models for a third party, the article should also prove of value to the casual modeller.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Reijo Savolainen

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of the nature of integrated models for information behaviour from the perspective of conceptual growth in this field of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of the nature of integrated models for information behaviour from the perspective of conceptual growth in this field of study.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptual analysis focusing on the ways in which the researchers have developed integrated models. The study concentrates on seven key models proposed by Bates, Choo and associates, Godbold, Robson and Robinson, and Wilson.

Findings

Researchers have employed four main approaches to develop integrated models. First, such frameworks are based on the juxtaposition of individual models. Second, integrated models are built by cross-tabulating the components of diverse models. Third, such models are constructed by relating similar components of individual models. Finally, integrated models are built by incorporating components taken from diverse frameworks. The integrated models have contributed to conceptual growth in three major ways: first, by integrating formerly separate parts of knowledge; second, by generalizing and explaining lower abstraction-level knowledge through higher level constructs; and third, by expanding knowledge by identifying new characteristics of the object of study.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on the comparison of seven models only. The integrated frameworks of information retrieval were excluded from the study.

Originality/value

The study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis the nature of integrated models for information behaviour. The findings contribute to the identification of the key factors of information behaviour.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 72 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2009

Dawn Onishenko and Lea Caragata

Following the landmark 2003 Ontario Court of Appeal decision legalizing same‐sex marriage, some same‐sex couples sought to formalize their unions through legal marriage. The…

1480

Abstract

Purpose

Following the landmark 2003 Ontario Court of Appeal decision legalizing same‐sex marriage, some same‐sex couples sought to formalize their unions through legal marriage. The purpose of this paper is to explore the personal and political reflections of recently married same‐sex couples on the meaning of their marriages for themselves, their partners, their community as well as the implications for progressive social change in the broader social world.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographic approach was employed to semi‐structured in‐depth qualitative interviews with six lesbian and gay couples.

Findings

An emerging thesis is that, while seeking access to a most conventional and conformist institution, same‐sex couples inadvertently become “cutting edge” couples as they make public their declarations of love and commitment and model new and challenging notions of marriage.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a snapshot of a small number of interviews that took place approximately 11 months after the Ontario Court of Appeal decision.

Practical implications

Law should take into account the importance of social and legal recognition of marriage for all. The heteronormativity of marriage is thus challenged from within, to make these types of marriages truly cutting edge.

Originality/value

The paper provides evidence of the personal and political reflections of people who had the choice to get married and did, at a time when this was seen as really cutting edge. Few personal accounts exist which provide a picture of the continued importance of marriage to human beings.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2011

David Pickernell, Gary Packham, Paul Jones, Christopher Miller and Brychan Thomas

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether, and in what areas, graduate entrepreneurs are significantly different from non‐graduate entrepreneurs, both generally and in…

4965

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether, and in what areas, graduate entrepreneurs are significantly different from non‐graduate entrepreneurs, both generally and in terms of external resources (advice, finance and public procurement contracts).

Design/methodology/approach

The available literature was evaluated to identify issues affecting enterprise generally, and external resource access and use and educational attainment specifically. The data used were generated from the 2008 UK Federation of Small Businesses Survey, providing over 8,000 usable responses for this analysis. Quantitative analysis identified significant general characteristics of graduate entrepreneurs compared with non‐graduate entrepreneurs. Factor analysis was then used to identify the sets of advice, finance and public procurement customers of greatest interest, with independent samples t‐tests used to compare graduate and non‐graduate use thereof.

Findings

Graduate entrepreneur‐owned firms were statistically significantly more likely (than non‐graduate‐owned firms) to have younger owners, be younger and more export‐oriented businesses, in high knowledge services, to have intellectual property, make more use of web sites and be of high growth potential. In terms of external resources, graduate‐owned businesses were more likely to have received beneficial business advice from informal networks/trade associations, government business services, friends and family, customers and suppliers, and to have public procurement customers at the national/international level.

Originality/value

The study provides important empirical baseline data for future quantitative and qualitative studies focused on the impact of enterprise education specifically.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1983

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…

16282

Abstract

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 21 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 June 2018

Douglas NeJaime

This chapter uncovers the destabilizing and transformative dimensions of a legal process commonly described as assimilation. Lawyers working on behalf of a marginalized group…

Abstract

This chapter uncovers the destabilizing and transformative dimensions of a legal process commonly described as assimilation. Lawyers working on behalf of a marginalized group often argue that the group merits inclusion in dominant institutions, and they do so by casting the group as like the majority. Scholars have criticized claims of this kind for affirming the status quo and muting significant differences of the excluded group. Yet, this chapter shows how these claims may also disrupt the status quo, transform dominant institutions, and convert distinctive features of the excluded group into more widely shared legal norms. This dynamic is observed in the context of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, and specifically through attention to three phases of LGBT advocacy: (1) claims to parental recognition of unmarried same-sex parents, (2) claims to marriage, and (3) claims regarding the consequences of marriage for same-sex parents. The analysis shows how claims that appeared assimilationist – demanding inclusion in marriage and parenthood by arguing that same-sex couples are similarly situated to their different-sex counterparts – subtly challenged and reshaped legal norms governing parenthood, including marital parenthood. While this chapter focuses on LGBT claims, it uncovers a dynamic that may exist in other settings.

Details

Special Issue: Law and the Imagining of Difference
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-030-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Andrew Robson, David Yarrow and Jane Owen

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to assess the nature and extent of the link between employee satisfaction and organisational performance.

2589

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to assess the nature and extent of the link between employee satisfaction and organisational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines the link between staff satisfaction and organisational performance, presenting findings from 21 colleges of Further Education that have participated in both a survey of staff satisfaction (covering over 2,600 staff from these colleges) and in a diagnostic benchmarking exercise using the “Learning PROBE” methodology.

Findings

The results suggest that whilst each of the measured aspects of work are regarded as being important by a majority of survey respondents, the level of “satisfaction” displayed in each of these attributes is indicated by only a minority of those surveyed. The findings support the existence of a link between staff satisfaction and organisational excellence. Staff satisfaction levels are most strongly associated with the leadership and service processes indices, and even more so with the overall organisational diagnosis. This suggests that colleges that are implementing “good practices” covering a range of managerial aspects, and who are achieving corresponding organisational results, are likely to be closer to satisfying their staff. Practices relating to people, performance management and organizational results also show association with staff's satisfaction gap, although not as significantly as above. The results suggest an holistic approach to implementing business practices appears to be more effective than concentrating only on deploying good practices in only a single area of the managerial process.

Originality/value

The value of the paper is to the UK Further Education Sector in that it identifies those organisational practices, which improved, can in combination address to some extent the work satisfaction levels of their employees.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 February 2022

Thomas Carrington and Gunilla Eklöv Alander

This paper aims to analyze the process of producing a reported profit number to understand how different actors overcome the tensions arising from the often conflicting value…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the process of producing a reported profit number to understand how different actors overcome the tensions arising from the often conflicting value frames that apply in different situations during this process and how the actors can benefit from the ensuing friction.

Design/methodology/approach

The tensions found in the profit production process are theorized in terms of dissonance (Stark, 2009), emphasizing how multiple voices, drawing on different value frames, contribute to the search for a profit number. The authors study this by means of a case study of a large listed company in the construction industry, where, because of how judgment pervades the profit production process, the search for profit is particularly exposed.

Findings

The authors find three important value frames – caution, control and compliance – which managers, accountants and auditors draw on in the profit production process, depending on the situation they find themselves in. With this finding, the authors contribute to the previous research on financial reporting and management work and the production of profits by demonstrating how the relationships between the involved actors – primarily the auditor–client relationship – can be characterized by principled and constructive rivalry in which competing value frames can coexist alongside each other and how the dissonance created in these situations can produce generative and productive friction.

Originality/value

Previous research has mostly focused on profit measurement, taking the existence of a “true” profit number for granted. The auditor–client negotiation literature typically suggests that actors endeavor to solve situations in a zero-sum game where different value frames are present. This paper, drawing on an incipient theoretical approach to accounting research which emphasizes multivocality and perspective, contributes to the nascent research on financial accounting and management work in general and the profit production process in particular. With empirical illustrations of the dissonance found in this process, this paper suggests that tensions resulting from dissonance (Stark, 2009) may be a resource in situations like the profit production process.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2022

David Earl Adams

Medical errors have become the third leading cause of death in the USA. Two million deaths from preventable medical errors will occur annually worldwide each year. The purpose of…

1246

Abstract

Purpose

Medical errors have become the third leading cause of death in the USA. Two million deaths from preventable medical errors will occur annually worldwide each year. The purpose of this paper is to find themes from the literature relating leadership styles – leadership approaches in practice – with success in reducing medical errors and patient safety.

Design/methodology/approach

This review analyzed primary and secondary sources based on a search for the terms leadership OR leadership style AND medical errors OR patient safety using five high-quality health-care-specific databases: Healthcare Administration Database from Proquest, LLC, Emerald Insight from Emerald Publishing Limited, ScienceDirect from Elsevier, Ovid from Ovid Technologies and MEDLINE with Full-Text from Elton B. Stevens Company. After narrowing, the review considered 21 sources that met the criteria.

Findings

The review found three leadership approaches and four leadership actions connected to successfully reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. Transformational, authentic and shared leadership produced successful outcomes. The review also found four leadership actions – regular checks on the front line and promoting teamwork, psychological safety and open communication – associated with successful outcomes. The review concluded that leadership appeared to be the preeminent factor in reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. It also found that positive leadership approaches, regardless of the safety intervention, led to improving results and outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This review was limited in three ways. First, the review only included sources from the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia. While those countries have similar public-private health-care systems and similar socioeconomics, the problem of medical errors is global (Rodziewicz and Hipskind, 2019). Other leadership approaches or actions may have correlated to reducing medical errors by broadening the geographic selection parameters. Future research could remove geographic restrictions for selection. Second, the author has a bias toward leadership as distinctive from management. There may be additional insights gleaned from expanding the search terms to include management concepts. Third, the author is a management consultant to organizations seeking to improve health-care safety. The author’s bias against limited action as opposed to strategic leadership interventions is profound and significant. This bias may generalize the problem more than necessary.

Practical implications

There are three direct practical implications from this review. The limitations of this review bound these implications. First, organizations might assess strategic and operational leaders to determine their competencies for positive leadership. Second, organizations just beginning to frame or reframe a safety strategy can perhaps combine safety and leadership interventions for better outcomes. Third, organizations could screen applicants to assess team membership and team leadership orientation and competencies.

Originality/value

This review is valuable to practitioners who are interested in conceptual relationships between leadership approaches, safety culture and reducing medical errors. The originality of this research is limited to that of any literature review. It summarizes the main themes in the selected literature. The review provides a basis for future considerations centered on dual organizational interventions for leadership and safety.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

21 – 30 of 614