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1 – 10 of 10Amber Gorrell and John De Nobile
As part of a broader qualitative study on well-being and social support, the study reported here explored the issue of principal well-being to provide further insight into the…
Abstract
Purpose
As part of a broader qualitative study on well-being and social support, the study reported here explored the issue of principal well-being to provide further insight into the concerns of principals. Its aim was to identify aspects of the principal role that impact on well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A phenomenological approach was used to study the experiences of the principals. Eight primary school principals in New South Wales, Australia participated in semi-structured interviews that examined this area and identified aspects of their leadership role that influence their well-being. Purposive sampling was used to ensure representation in terms of gender and school size.
Findings
Five themes emerged as the key concerns of the principals: the responsibility of the role; managing people; feelings of isolation; the stress caused by the role; and prioritising the well-being of staff. Comments from the principals highlight how each of these areas is experienced.
Originality/value
Identifying and exploring these concerns added to the extant research on principal well-being by providing detail on the specific experiences of principals. The study also offers a basis to consider how the current situation may be improved by addressing the well-being concerns that are common, as well as highlighting areas that warrant further research attention.
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Steven Kolber and Stephanie Salazar
Teachers are an adaptive group of professionals and in this chapter, we explore the ways that teachers can develop themselves as leaders, even in the absence of strong support or…
Abstract
Teachers are an adaptive group of professionals and in this chapter, we explore the ways that teachers can develop themselves as leaders, even in the absence of strong support or leadership. We explore the manner that these skill sets and strengths can be cultivated, providing lived examples of how the authors have developed themselves. The ways that teachers can follow in the footsteps of the authors is outlined in clearly defined steps. By drawing on previous literature, we provide seven strong claims of developing middle leadership knowledge and skill sets beyond your school. Much of this development and community development work that develops and sharpens leadership skills can be explored through online fora and social media tools. These tools allow skill development, professional learning, and exposure to a broad range of education stakeholders and groups; for future pathways in school leadership roles and leading beyond school gate.
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Ilse Valenzuela Matus, Jorge Lino Alves, Joaquim Góis, Paulo Vaz-Pires and Augusto Barata da Rocha
The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process, materials, structural design features and implementation location to determine predominant parameters, environmental impacts, advantages, and limitations.
Design/methodology/approach
The review analysed 16 cases of artificial reefs from both temperate and tropical regions. These were categorised based on the AM process used, the mortar material used (crucial for biological applications), the structural design features and the location of implementation. These parameters are assessed to determine how effectively the designs meet the stipulated ecological goals, how AM technologies demonstrate their potential in comparison to conventional methods and the preference locations of these implementations.
Findings
The overview revealed that the dominant artificial reef implementation occurs in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas, both accounting for 24%. The remaining cases were in the Australian Sea (20%), the South Asia Sea (12%), the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean, both with 8%, and the Indian Sea with 4% of all the cases studied. It was concluded that fused filament fabrication, binder jetting and material extrusion represent the main AM processes used to build artificial reefs. Cementitious materials, ceramics, polymers and geopolymer formulations were used, incorporating aggregates from mineral residues, biological wastes and pozzolan materials, to reduce environmental impacts, promote the circular economy and be more beneficial for marine ecosystems. The evaluation ranking assessed how well their design and materials align with their ecological goals, demonstrating that five cases were ranked with high effectiveness, ten projects with moderate effectiveness and one case with low effectiveness.
Originality/value
AM represents an innovative method for marine restoration and management. It offers a rapid prototyping technique for design validation and enables the creation of highly complex shapes for habitat diversification while incorporating a diverse range of materials to benefit environmental and marine species’ habitats.
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The current study investigated the impact of organisational trust on emotional well-being and performance of middle leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study investigated the impact of organisational trust on emotional well-being and performance of middle leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample of 265 middle leaders in kindergartens in China responded involving trust in schools (e.g. trust in principal and trust in colleagues), emotional well-being and job performance. Both confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used in the investigation.
Findings
Three hypotheses on the relationships between the three constructs were verified. Trust in schools significantly influenced emotional well-being and job performance of middle leaders which correlated with each other. The interactive effects of trust in principal and trust in colleagues were discussed for improving the well-being and job performance of middle leaders. Relationships between the two kinds of trust and pride were also identified in the research.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies may put efforts towards improving these three outcomes synchronously.
Practical implications
Based on the evidence of the current study, future research may focus on how middle leaders act as a bridging role between different stakeholders such as principal and teachers, principal and parents, teachers and children, meanwhile how to boost the leaders' own well-being and performance in the early childhood education (ECE).
Originality/value
This study established the empirical linkages between school trusts, emotional well-being and job performance.
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Ahmad Hakimi Tajuddin, Shabiha Akter, Rasidah Mohd-Rashid and Waqas Mehmood
The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between board size, board independence and triple bottom line (TBL) reporting. The TBL report consists of three…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between board size, board independence and triple bottom line (TBL) reporting. The TBL report consists of three components, namely, environmental, social and economic indices.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s sample consists of top 50 listed companies from the year 2017 to 2019 on Tadawul Stock Exchange. Ordinary least squares, quantile least squares and robust least squares are used to investigate the associations between board characteristics and TBL reporting, including its separate components.
Findings
The authors find a significant negative association between TBL reporting and board independence. Social bottom line is significantly and negatively related to board size and board independence. Results indicate that board independence negatively influences the TBL disclosure of companies. Therefore, companies are encouraged to embrace TBL reporting. This suggests that businesses should improve the quality of their reporting while ensuring that voluntary disclosures reflect an accurate and fair view in order to preserve a positive relationship with stakeholders.
Originality/value
The present study explains the evidence for the determinants of the TBL in Saudi Arabia.
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Instructional leadership is a school leadership approach that places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. This study explored the enabling factors of…
Abstract
Purpose
Instructional leadership is a school leadership approach that places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. This study explored the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants in this qualitative study were 24 subject coordinators in elementary schools in Israel. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, and data analysis included three stages: sorting, coding and categorizing.
Findings
The findings identified three significant enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators: pedagogical knowledge, relationship capability and support from the principal.
Originality/value
This study suggests that the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators differ from those of instructional leadership in principals because of their different places in the school structure and explains the enablers of instructional leadership in subject coordinators as middle leaders.
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Simone Pizzi, Salvatore Principale, Roberta Fasiello and Francesca Imperiale
In the last few years, the European context has been characterised by a high degree of attention paid by policymakers, practitioners and academics to the effects related to the…
Abstract
Purpose
In the last few years, the European context has been characterised by a high degree of attention paid by policymakers, practitioners and academics to the effects related to the transposition of Directive 2014/95/EU by the member states. In particular, one the main issues of the intervention made by the European Commission is represented by the theoretical misalignment between corporate communications and actions. According to this evidence, this paper aims to shed light on this debate through a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of Directive 2014/95/EU.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis was built using panel data analysis on a sample of 813 European listed companies. Furthermore, the authors performed additional analysis and robustness checks to assess the reliability of the analysis.
Findings
The analysis underlined the enabling role of the reporting scope, external assurance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees on sustainability reporting. Furthermore, the research highlighted the need to pay specific attention to the real contribution provided by companies to the sustainable development goals.
Research limitations/implications
The research provided theoretical insights into the effects related to mandatory sustainability reporting, which represents an emerging field in accounting research.
Practical implications
The analysis revealed the limited effects of Directive 2014/95/EU. In this regard, the paper contributes to the debate about accounting regulation in Europe.
Originality/value
This paper will shed light on the role of Directive 2014/95/EU in sustainable development. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to analyse CSR decoupling in Europe after the transposition of Directive 2014/95/EU by the member states.
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Kumar Srinivasan, Parikshit Sarulkar and Vineet Kumar Yadav
This article aims to focus on implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in steel manufacturing to enhance productivity and quality in the galvanizing process line. In recent trends…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to focus on implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in steel manufacturing to enhance productivity and quality in the galvanizing process line. In recent trends, manufacturing organizations have expressed strong interest in the LSS since they attempt to enhance its overall operations without imposing significant financial burdens.
Design/methodology/approach
This article used lean tools and Six Sigma's DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) with Yin's case study approach. This study tried to implement the LSS for the steel galvanizing process in order to reduce the number of defects using various LSS tools, including 5S, Value stream map (VSM), Pareto chart, cause and effect diagram, Design of experiments (DoE).
Findings
Results revealed a significant reduction in nonvalue-added time in the process, which led to improved productivity and Process cycle efficiency (PCE) attributed to applying lean-Kaizen techniques. By deploying the LSS, the overall PCE improved from 22% to 62%, and lead time was reduced from 1,347 min to 501 min. DoE results showed that the optimum process parameter levels decreased defects per unit steel sheet.
Practical implications
This research demonstrated how successful LSS implementation eliminates waste, improves process performance and accomplishes operational distinction in steel manufacturing.
Originality/value
Since low-cost/high-effect improvement initiatives have not been adequately presented, further research studies on adopting LSS in manufacturing sectors are needed. The cost-effective method of process improvement can be considered as an innovation.
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