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– The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the use of information technology in schools can influence students’ democratic comprehension.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the use of information technology in schools can influence students’ democratic comprehension.
Design/methodology/approach
First, two different ideas of democracy are introduced and how these ideas are linked to cognitivistic and social constructivistic learning theories, respectively, is illustrated. Next, a case study is described, where Engeström’s mediational triangle is used for analysing how the use of interactive whiteboards (IWB) influences the teaching of democracy in a fifth-grade school class.
Findings
The paper lists a set of preconditions and recommendations for a use of IWB as support for students’ experience of democracy as a way of living.
Research limitations/implications
As the paper focuses on research design and development of didactical designs, future research and articles can further study the effects of the didactical designs and the democratic comprehension supported hereby. The paper is set in a Danish school context.
Practical implications
It is argued that the IWB can be used as support for developing the students’ democratic comprehension by focusing on and, if necessary, changing the elements of the activity system, e.g. the rules and the roles concerning the use of the IWB.
Originality/value
The paper’s linkage of democratic ideas, learning theory and information technology is relevant for researchers. Teachers can use the paper, as it offers didactical principles for using information technology as support for students’ democratic comprehension.
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Reviews the highlights of a two‐day European colloquium on information technology for climbing and walking robots held at the University of Portsmouth, UK, with progress reports…
Abstract
Reviews the highlights of a two‐day European colloquium on information technology for climbing and walking robots held at the University of Portsmouth, UK, with progress reports on a Brite Euram project.
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John F. Sacco and Odd J. Stalebrink
This paper examines the interaction between changes in governmental accounting, ideology and global capital markets. Based on a historical analysis from the late 1800s to the turn…
Abstract
This paper examines the interaction between changes in governmental accounting, ideology and global capital markets. Based on a historical analysis from the late 1800s to the turn of the 21st century it provides support for the general hypothesis that the strength and support of global capital markets and pro-market ideologies is positively related to the likelihood of the adoption by governments of accounting methods geared toward exposing full costs and total debt. The analysis also illustrates that governments are more likely to use accounting methods that allow for greater flexibility for spending, borrowing and off balance sheet financing during times when global capital markets and pro-market ideologies are in decline.
The article sets out to search for an appropriate questionnaire querying corporate governance attitudes in Indonesia. Many surveys query governance issues, as strengths and…
Abstract
Purpose
The article sets out to search for an appropriate questionnaire querying corporate governance attitudes in Indonesia. Many surveys query governance issues, as strengths and weaknesses, but do not identify attitudes to governance. A new approach is required.
Design/methodology/approach
The article focuses first on the governance environment of post‐crisis Indonesia and questions the extent to which vulnerability has decreased.
Findings
Vulnerability is related to issues of prevention and preparedness, which relate to normative and behavioural governance. It appears that recent governance instruments introduced in Indonesia may not so much bring along change – in response to earlier failure – as encourage a benign approach through increased layers of requirements of internal and external information provision and disclosure. The crisis may, however, have initiated or caused changes in terms of ownership and control of the corporations in Indonesia.
Originality/value
A taxonomy is proposed identifying how business leaders think about these issues. Governance policies can then track the changes in attitudes and ensure adequate societal checks and balances.
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The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the most recent literature concerning document supply and related matters.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the most recent literature concerning document supply and related matters.
Design/methodology/approach
Includes the reading of over 140 published works, including journals, monographs, reports and web sites.
Findings
Finds that usage statistics are still not giving a clear indication of the importance of document supply but it is confirmed that the large proportion of demand comes from a small number of titles. Institutional Repositories are here to stay and expanding. Experience of e‐journals is appearing in the published literature with greater frequency with some interesting conclusions. Evaluation of Open Access journals are starting to appear with mixed results.
Originality/value
Provides a useful source of information for librarians and others interested in document supply and related matters.
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This paper aims to apply the system evaluation theory (SET) to analyze the institutional quality standards of Oman Academic Accreditation Authority using the results chain and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to apply the system evaluation theory (SET) to analyze the institutional quality standards of Oman Academic Accreditation Authority using the results chain and value chain tools.
Design/methodology/approach
In systems thinking, the institutional standards are connected as input, process, output and feedback and leads to the achievement of the final result. This allows the analysis of the value-creating chain of activities and the chain of results. Quality assurance can be achieved by higher education institutions when these standards and criteria are viewed as a chain of achievable results and value creating activities.
Findings
The output of the analysis is a results chain and value chain map of institutional quality standards that will be useful in strategic management and quality standards compliance.
Research limitations/implications
The research used secondary data and focused on the higher education experience in the Sultanate of Oman.
Practical implications
A proposed framework for preparing for accreditation is presented; this is significant for higher education institutions undergoing or about to undergo institutional accreditation for the first time.
Social implications
Higher education institutions in Oman which are preparing for their first institutional accreditation should benefit from this article.
Originality/value
The Sultanate of Oman is implementing the institutional standards approved for all higher education institutions only in March 2016. This is the first research article written from the perspective of the first higher education institution in Oman to undergo institutional accreditation.
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Matteo Balliauw, Evy Onghena and Simon Mulkens
Advertisers frequently use social media for interactive and customer-oriented relationship marketing (RM) purposes. Moreover, sports clubs and players have been using their social…
Abstract
Purpose
Advertisers frequently use social media for interactive and customer-oriented relationship marketing (RM) purposes. Moreover, sports clubs and players have been using their social media accounts to post content of their sponsors and other advertising companies. Such posts create visibility and have value for these advertising companies, something which has not been empirically quantified in the existing literature. Hence, this paper's purpose is to identify the factors or attributes that influence the value of such advertisement posts.
Design/methodology/approach
A discrete choice approach is used to empirically estimate the utility that sponsorship managers derive from a post advertising their company or product on football clubs' and players' social media.
Findings
The results indicate that more followers, better on-field performance and a lower price significantly increase the advertising company's utility. Moreover, the used social media channel has a significant influence too, since Facebook and Instagram are preferred over Twitter, due to the latter's limited degrees of freedom for advertisers.
Research limitations/implications
Considering additional factors such as the image fit between sponsor and sponsee and presence on the Chinese social media market offers an interesting avenue for future research.
Practical implications
The empirical estimates allow commercial managers of clubs and players to derive companies' relative willingness to pay (WTP) for changes in characteristics of advertisements on their social media from the calculated utilities. This information can be used in the pricing decision when social media posts are sold or included in sponsorship packages.
Originality/value
This is the first study applying discrete choice modelling to link social media marketing (SMM) and sports marketing.
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Jeanette Wassar Kirk, Nina Thorny Stefansdottir, Ove Andersen, Mette Bendtz Lindstroem, Byron Powell, Per Nilsen, Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen and Marie Broholm-Jørgensen
To explore the mechanisms of the implementation strategy, “oilcloth sessions” and understand and explain the ripple effects of oilcloth sessions as a strategy to implement a new…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the mechanisms of the implementation strategy, “oilcloth sessions” and understand and explain the ripple effects of oilcloth sessions as a strategy to implement a new emergency department.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design was used whereby data were collected using field notes from an ethnographic study of the oilcloth sessions and follow-up semi-structured interviews with staff, managers and key employees who participated in the oilcloth sessions. The data analysis was inspired by the realist evaluation approach of generative causality proposed by Pawson and Tilley.
Findings
The primary ripple effect was that the oilcloth sessions were used for different purposes than the proposed program theory, including being used as: (1) a stage, (2) a battlefield, (3) a space for imagination and (4) a strategic management tool influencing the implementation outcomes. The results bring essential knowledge that may help to explain why and how a well-defined implementation strategy has unplanned outcomes.
Originality/value
Unintended outcomes of implementation strategies are an underexplored issue. This study may help implementation researchers rethink the activities required to reduce unintended negative outcomes or explore potential unplanned outcomes and, in this way, hinder or enhance outcomes, effectiveness and sustainability. Future studies within implementation research should incorporate attention to unintended outcomes to fully understand the impact of implementation strategies.
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Aminu Sanda and Nana Ama Dodua Arthur
The purpose of this paper is to explore how authentic leadership and transactional leadership styles in Ghanaian telecom firms influence employees’ creativity, and the effect that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how authentic leadership and transactional leadership styles in Ghanaian telecom firms influence employees’ creativity, and the effect that climate for innovation and work-related flow have on such influencing relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Guided by the implicit theory of leadership, and using questionnaires, data were collected from 335 employees in five mining firms and analyzed descriptively and inferentially.
Findings
It was found that managers in the telecom firms use transactional leadership styles and authentic leadership styles to enhance employees’ creativity. The work climate fostered employees’ creativity and encouraged their innovation. The prevalence of work-related flow enhanced employees’ job performances. The innovative climate mediated the effect of authentic leadership on employees’ creativity, but moderated the effect of transactional leadership on the employees’ creativity. Work-related flow also moderated the effects of both authentic and transactional leadership styles on employee creativity. It is concluded that managers in telecom firms influence their followers’ creativity by altering their leadership styles in accordance with the given situation to achieve organizational goals.
Research limitations/implications
The study sample was drawn from a single sub-sector of the Ghanaian economy. This represents a limitation, for which the findings cannot be generalized. Replications and extensions of the study in different industrial sectors will help test the robustness and generalizability of the findings.
Originality/value
This study has shown that managers of telecom firms in Ghana can cultivate and nurture the creativities of their employees toward increased performances by creating conducive psychosocial work climate that supports innovativeness, and use the requisite authentic and transactional leadership skills in the conduct of their managerial functions.
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Vincenzo Cavaliere, Sara Lombardi and Luca Giustiniano
This paper aims to investigate, following previous studies on knowledge-sharing (KS) processes that consist of knowledge donating (KD) and knowledge collecting (KC), the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate, following previous studies on knowledge-sharing (KS) processes that consist of knowledge donating (KD) and knowledge collecting (KC), the relationship between KS processes and KS enablers to understand the effect of organizational, individual and technological factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a Web survey. Data were collected from a sample of 759 knowledge workers selected from 23 knowledge-intensive manufacturing companies exposed to international markets and located in Tuscany (Italy). The analysis is based on multivariate regression models considering KD and KC as dependent variables.
Findings
The results show that individual, organizational and technological factors matter to KS. Specifically, the paper reports that individual-level enablers and supportive leadership have a positive effect on both sub-processes of knowledge sharing. Further, the organic management system has a strong and positive impact on KD, while the efficacy of information and communication technology solutions is positively related to KC.
Research limitations/implications
Although based on a geographically bounded perimeter, the analysis allows some generalizations. In fact, the paper proposes a set of enablers that empirically link micro- and macro-organizational mechanisms to KS.
Practical implications
The evidence described can help improve the organizational management of KS and, consequently, support managers dealing with organizational design aimed at successful KS.
Originality/value
The paper presents original results by combining individual, organizational and technological variables in the explanation of KS. It could be a basis for further studies.
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