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1 – 10 of 475Jessica A. Harris, Julia Carins, Sharyn Rundle-Thiele and Patricia David
The purpose of this study is to respond to calls to increase levels of theory application and extend understanding beyond individuals ensuring social and structural environmental…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to respond to calls to increase levels of theory application and extend understanding beyond individuals ensuring social and structural environmental considerations are taken into account. Social cognitive theory (SCT) was applied across two settings to examine its potential to explain breakfast eating frequency.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two institutional feeding populations [military (n = 314) and mining (n = 235)]. Participants reported key SCT constructs including breakfast eating behaviour (self-efficacy, skills, practice), cognitive aspects (knowledge, attitude, expectations) and their perceptions regarding environmental constructs (access, social norms, influence). These were measured and analysed through SPSS and structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
Results indicated that 71% males and 90% females in the military do not eat breakfast at work, and in the mining, 23% males and 24% of females do not eat breakfast at work. Furthermore, SEM modelling found only a satisfactory fit for SCT as operationalised in this study. Within the models, behavioural aspects of self-efficacy, skills and practice were significant influences on breakfast eating. Cognitive influences and perceptions of environmental influences exerted little to no effect on breakfast eating. Study results indicate that SCT, as measured in this study using a selection of environment, cognitive and behavioural constructs, does not offer sufficient explanatory potential to explain breakfast eating behaviour.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is to deliver a complete application of Social Cognitive Theory, ensuring multiple constructs are measured to examine the explanatory behaviour of breakfast eating frequency in workplace institutional settings.
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Lisa C. Ehrich, Jessica Harris, Val Klenowski, Judy Smeed and Nerida Spina
The central argument in this paper is that ethical school leadership is imperative in a context of increasing performance-driven accountability. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The central argument in this paper is that ethical school leadership is imperative in a context of increasing performance-driven accountability. The purpose of this paper is to focus on school principals’ perceptions of how they understand ethical leadership and how they lead the ethical use of data.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilises semi-structured interviews with six state school principals (one primary and six secondary) to explore their perceptions of ethical leadership practices; and how they balance current competing accountabilities in a context of performance-driven accountability.
Findings
There were four key findings. First, principals used data to inform and direct their practices and their conversations with teachers. Second, while ethics was a central consideration in how principals’ led, practising in an ethical manner was identified as complex and challenging in the current context. Third, Starratt’s (1996) ethical framework proved to be relevant for interpreting principals’ practices. Finally, all of the principals referred to dilemmas they faced as a result of competing priorities and all used a variety of strategies to deal with these dilemmas.
Originality/value
While there is a small body of research that explores school leaders’ understandings of ethical tensions and dilemmas, there is little research that has focused on school leaders’ understandings of the ethical use of data. This study, then, contributes to this area as it provides a discussion on school principals’ leadership practices in the current climate driven by data use.
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Carolyn Crippen and Jessica Willows
This paper explores the literature on teacher leadership and servant leadership; identifying connections and similarities between the two. Using the ten characteristics of servant…
Abstract
This paper explores the literature on teacher leadership and servant leadership; identifying connections and similarities between the two. Using the ten characteristics of servant leaders developed by Spears (2010), the characteristics and behaviours of teacher leaders and servant leaders are compared. Through this exploration a number of implications are reviewed, which in turn lead to recommendations going forward. These include how servant leadership can strengthen and inform teacher leadership by its inclusion in teacher leadership educational programs thus pointing to the possibility of a synergistic partnership.
Ben Kerrane and Margaret K. Hogg
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer socialisation of children.
Design/methodology/approach
Key consumer socialisation literature is reviewed and family communication patterns and parental socialisation style studies are introduced. Such studies argue for the homogenous and shared nature of the family environment for children. A three‐stage qualitative study of six families is reported, incorporating existential phenomenological interviews. The voices of children and their parents are captured, and the transcribed interview texts are analyzed on two levels (within and across family cases) using a hermeneutical process.
Findings
The findings of the study point towards the differential treatment of children within the family environment by both parents and siblings. It is proposed that children inhabit a unique position, or micro‐environment, within their family setting. Consumer micro‐environments are introduced; these have important implications in terms of children's consumption behaviour and, more importantly, their consumer socialisation process within the family setting.
Research limitations/implications
Consumer micro‐environments have potentially important implications in any re‐evaluation of the literature on consumer socialisation, and it is suggested that children may not have equal access to socialisation advice and support offered by family members. A limited number of families and family types are recruited in this exploratory study, and scope exists to explore family micro‐environments across a greater variety of family forms.
Originality/value
A series of micro‐environments, which have implications for the consumer socialisation of children, will be developed on a theoretical level. Existing consumer research views the family environment in homogenous terms, with suggestions that children are socialised by their parents in a similar manner (inhabiting a shared family environment). These findings problematise such a view and also offer insights into the role played by siblings in the consumer socialisation process.
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John E. Sorkin, Abigail Pickering Bomba, Steven Epstein, Jessica Forbes, Peter S. Golden, Philip Richter, Robert C. Schwenkel, David Shine, Arthur Fleischer and Gail Weinstein
To provide an overview of the guidance for proxy firms and investment advisers included in the Staff Legal Bulletin released this year by the Securities and Exchange Commission…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an overview of the guidance for proxy firms and investment advisers included in the Staff Legal Bulletin released this year by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after its four-year comprehensive review of the proxy system.
Design/methodology/approach
Discusses briefly the context in which the SEC’s review was conducted; the general themes of the guidance provided; the most notable aspects of the guidance; and the matters that were expected to be, but were not, addressed by the SEC.
Findings
The guidance does not go as far in regulating proxy advisory firms as many had anticipated it would. The key obligations specified in the guidance are imposed on the investment advisers who engage the proxy firms. The responsibilities, policies and procedures mandated do not change the fundamental paradigm that has supported the influence of proxy firms – that is, investment advisers continue to be permitted to fulfill their duty to vote client shares in a “conflict-free manner” by voting based on the recommendations of independent third parties, and continue to be exempted from the rules that generally apply to persons who solicit votes or make proxy recommendations.
Practical implications
The SEC staff states in the Bulletin that it expects that proxy firms and investment advisers will conform to the obligations imposed in the Bulletin “promptly, but in any event in advance of [the 2015] proxy season.”
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced M&A lawyers.
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Monica Renee Whitehead, Paige Ryan, Melissa A. Young, Jillian E. Austin, Kathleen Kramer, Emily Harris and Jessica M. McClure
The prevalence of pediatric anxiety disorders is on the rise but youth have challenges in accessing specialty evidence-based mental health care. As a result, families turn to…
Abstract
Purpose
The prevalence of pediatric anxiety disorders is on the rise but youth have challenges in accessing specialty evidence-based mental health care. As a result, families turn to their pediatric primary care provider (PCP) for assessment and management of anxiety. To increase PCPs’ abilities to manage anxiety, the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (“Project ECHO”) was used. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of Project ECHO on participating PCPs’ knowledge, self-efficacy and interventions surrounding the assessment and management of anxiety.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected pre- and post-course across five cohorts. Participants completed a clinical knowledge test, ratings of self-efficacy and self-reported frequencies of in-office interventions. Satisfaction was also measured.
Findings
Attendance remained strong, and participants rated high satisfaction. From pre- to post-course, participants demonstrated increased knowledge on almost all objective questions. Participants reported increased self-efficacy across all domains. Finally, participants endorsed increased use of several in-office interventions.
Practical implications
This study highlights the importance of Project ECHO as a continuing education model to enhance PCPs’ abilities and confidence in the assessment and management of anxiety. Future continuing education endeavors should consider Project ECHO as a means of increasing PCPs’ capacity to manage mental health conditions.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that applied the Project ECHO model to pediatric anxiety as a mechanism of increasing knowledge, self-efficacy and in-office interventions with PCPs.
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The aim is to test the influence of leader-member exchange relational separation (LMXRS) on individual creativity by building up a cross-level moderated mediation model. Besides…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim is to test the influence of leader-member exchange relational separation (LMXRS) on individual creativity by building up a cross-level moderated mediation model. Besides exploring the mediating role of emotional support in linking LMXRS with individual creativity, this study also examines the moderating role of group-level team-leader exchange (TMX) in affecting the mediation.
Design/methodology/approach
Longitudinal data for 321 employees on 68 groups in over ten enterprises from China was employed to examine this model.
Findings
Results showed that LMXRS affected individual creativity negatively. Further, LMXRS had an indirect effect on individual creativity via emotional support. Finally, moderated path analysis revealed TMX median attenuated LMXRS direct influence on emotional support and indirect effect on individual creativity.
Originality/value
The empirical research investigates the mediating influence of emotional support on the association between LMXRS and individual creativity. The multilevel moderated mediation model also expands the current findings by examining that group-level TMX quality can moderate the indirect influence of LMXRS on individual creativity through emotional support.
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Erica S. Lembke, Kristen L. McMaster, Nicole McKevett, Jessica Simpson and Seyma Birinci
Many students in the United States struggle to achieve proficiency in writing. Writing is an important skill to develop, as it is a way for students to communicate what they know…
Abstract
Many students in the United States struggle to achieve proficiency in writing. Writing is an important skill to develop, as it is a way for students to communicate what they know and integrate knowledge and critical thinking skills. A lack of writing proficiency can have a significant impact on academic performance in secondary school and on postsecondary outcomes. Improving writing instruction requires theoretically sound, scientifically validated teaching practices, including assessments and instructional methods. It also requires that teachers are well prepared to implement such practices, including using assessment data to tailor instructional methods to meet the needs of students who experience significant writing difficulties. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of advances in research and practice related to validated teaching practices designed to improve the writing outcomes of students with intensive needs, and to describe an innovative way to prepare and support teachers to implement such practices.
Jessica Borg and Christina M. Scott-Young
The aim of this paper is to explore the support that project managers receive from construction project-based organisations (PBOs) in their early careers.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore the support that project managers receive from construction project-based organisations (PBOs) in their early careers.
Design/methodology/approach
Fifty-seven semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with four key stakeholder groups including early career project managers (ECPMs) and employers from Australian construction PBOs, project management professional bodies, and university educators to ascertain (1) what organizations are currently doing and (2) what organizations can do better to support project managers in their early careers.
Findings
Thematic analysis revealed that construction PBOs' responsibilities to ECPMs entailed: (1) providing mentoring, (2) offering training, (3) collaborating with universities, (4) giving time and feedback and (5) assigning manageable workloads. However, the findings revealed inconsistencies in companies enacting these responsibilities.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to the context of the Australian construction industry, yet the findings shed valuable insights into the current practices of construction PBOs in supporting ECPMs. From a strategic resource-based view perspective, ECPMs have the potential to serve as long-term valuable organizational resources. Failure to invest in new professional entrants constitutes an area of untapped competitive advantage.
Practical implications
Construction PBOs looking to better support their ECPMs may use the results of this research as a guide to tailor their early career professional development initiatives.
Originality/value
The study adopts a holistic, multi-vocal approach by interviewing four key stakeholder groups. The findings contribute new insights into the role of construction PBOs in supporting ECPMs and the implications this has on the sustainability of their project management talent pool.
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Jennie Haw, Jessica Polzer and Dana V. Devine
This paper aims to examine emotional labour in the work of frontline staff (FLS) of the Canadian Blood Services' Cord Blood Bank (CBB), contributes to understandings of emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine emotional labour in the work of frontline staff (FLS) of the Canadian Blood Services' Cord Blood Bank (CBB), contributes to understandings of emotional labour by allied healthcare workers and suggests implications for healthcare managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews with 15 FLS were conducted and analyzed as part of a process evaluation of donor recruitment and cord blood collection in Canada.
Findings
Emotional labour with donors and hospital staff emerged as a vital component of FLS' donor recruitment and cord blood collection work. Emotional labour was performed with donors to contribute to a positive birthing experience, facilitate communication and provide support. Emotional labour was performed with hospital staff to gain acceptance and build relationships, enlist support and navigate hierarchies of authority.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate that FLS perform emotional labour with women to provide donor care and with hospital staff to facilitate organizational conditions. The findings are based on FLS' accounts of their work and would be enhanced by research that examines the perspectives of donors and hospital staff.
Practical implications
Attention should be paid to organizational conditions that induce the performance of emotional labour and may add to FLS workload. Formal reciprocal arrangements between FLS and hospital staff may reduce the responsibility on FLS and enable them to focus on recruitment and collections.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in the healthcare management literature by identifying the emotional labour of allied healthcare workers. It also contributes to the cord blood banking literature by providing empirically grounded analysis of frontline collection staff.
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