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1 – 10 of 22Rongjin Huang, Joanna C. Weaver, Gabriel Matney, Xingfeng Huang, Joshua Wilson and Christine Painter
This study aimed to explore teachers' learning processes through a hybrid cross-cultural lesson study (LS) because little is known about the learning process through this novel…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to explore teachers' learning processes through a hybrid cross-cultural lesson study (LS) because little is known about the learning process through this novel and promising LS approach.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-cultural LS lasted over six months focusing on developing a research lesson (RL) related to linear functions/equations by addressing a commonly concerned student learning difficulty. The data collected were lesson plans, videos of RLs, cross-culture sharing meetings and post-lesson study teacher interviews. A cultural-history activity theory (CHAT) perspective (Engeström, 2001) was used as a theoretical and analytical framework, and contradictions were viewed as driving forces of teachers' learning. The data were analyzed to identify contradictions and consequent teachers' learning by resolving these contradictions.
Findings
The results revealed four contradictions occurring during the hybrid cross-cultural LS that are related to the preferred teaching approach, culturally relevant tasks, making sense of the specific topic and enactment of the RL. By addressing these contradictions, the participating teachers perceived their learning in cultural beliefs, pedagogical practice and organization of the lesson.
Research limitations/implications
This study details teachers' collaborative learning processes through hybrid cross-cultural LS and provides implications for effectively conducting cross-cultural LS. However, how the potential learning opportunity revealed from this case could be actualized at a larger scale in different cultures and the actual impact on local practices by adapting effective practices from another culture are important questions to be investigated further.
Originality/value
This study expands teacher learning through cross-cultural LS by focusing on contradictions cross-culturally as driving forces.
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Jeffrey Muldoon, Joshua S. Bendickson, Eric W. Liguori and Shelby Solomon
Using social relations theory, we argue that entrepreneurship ecosystems must also include relationships such as market pricing, equality matching, authority ranking and communal…
Abstract
Purpose
Using social relations theory, we argue that entrepreneurship ecosystems must also include relationships such as market pricing, equality matching, authority ranking and communal sharing to be successful and thrive.
Design/methodology/approach
We theorize using Fiske’s typology that a successful entrepreneurial system must have certain characteristics to be successful.
Findings
In doing so, we suggest an alternative perspective of the role of exchange relationships in ecosystems which considers both the geographic context and social relationships as equally important ecosystem components. Our contributions include (1) exposing social processes as the explanatory mechanism for exchanges instead of solely market forces, (2) illustrating the role of regional cultural differences in exchanges and (3) emphasizing how entrepreneurs can better realize ecosystem benefits through understanding the methods of exchange in these ecosystems.
Originality/value
Social relationships include a wide variety of different types of resources and exchange mechanisms, so by their inclusion into the entrepreneurship ecosystem literature, a more complete view of ecosystems is possible.
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Joshua J. Davis and Michael L. Birzer
The study examined rural police culture in one Kansas police agency.
Abstract
Purpose
The study examined rural police culture in one Kansas police agency.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative ethnographic approach using in-depth interviews and non-participant observations to construct and interpret the culture of rural police through the lens of officers working in one rural police agency.
Findings
Five themes were found that described the complexities rural police officers face at this research site, including the law being at the center of officers’ actions, the nature of crime, officers serving as jack of all trades, community relationships and enforcement of crimes by teenagers, and how outside pressures from the community and increased concern for citizens' safety affect officers' daily lived experiences.
Originality/value
There is a dearth of scholarly literature addressing rural and small-town policing. This study is the first known qualitative study to be conducted on rural Kansas police, allowing a snapshot of the workings of rural Kansas police.
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Caroline Wolski, Kathryn Freeman Anderson and Simone Rambotti
Since the development of the COVID-19 vaccinations, questions surrounding race have been prominent in the literature on vaccine uptake. Early in the vaccine rollout, public health…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the development of the COVID-19 vaccinations, questions surrounding race have been prominent in the literature on vaccine uptake. Early in the vaccine rollout, public health officials were concerned with the relatively lower rates of uptake among certain racial/ethnic minority groups. We suggest that this may also be patterned by racial/ethnic residential segregation, which previous work has demonstrated to be an important factor for both health and access to health care.
Methodology/Approach
In this study, we examine county-level vaccination rates, racial/ethnic composition, and residential segregation across the U.S. We compile data from several sources, including the American Community Survey (ACS) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) measured at the county level.
Findings
We find that just looking at the associations between racial/ethnic composition and vaccination rates, both percent Black and percent White are significant and negative, meaning that higher percentages of these groups in a county are associated with lower vaccination rates, whereas the opposite is the case for percent Latino. When we factor in segregation, as measured by the index of dissimilarity, the patterns change somewhat. Dissimilarity itself was not significant in the models across all groups, but when interacted with race/ethnic composition, it moderates the association. For both percent Black and percent White, the interaction with the Black-White dissimilarity index is significant and negative, meaning that it deepens the negative association between composition and the vaccination rate.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is only limited to county-level measures of racial/ethnic composition and vaccination rates, so we are unable to see at the individual-level who is getting vaccinated.
Originality/Value of Paper
We find that segregation moderates the association between racial/ethnic composition and vaccination rates, suggesting that local race relations in a county helps contextualize the compositional effects of race/ethnicity.
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Louis Kusi Frimpong, Stephen Leonard Mensah, Seth Asare Okyere, Matthew Abunyewah, Stephen Kofi Diko, Seth Barnie Enning and Joshua Mawutor Attigah
There is an emerging digital turn in urban management in Africa, undergirded by efforts to address the challenges of rapid urbanisation. To ensure that this digitalisation agenda…
Abstract
Purpose
There is an emerging digital turn in urban management in Africa, undergirded by efforts to address the challenges of rapid urbanisation. To ensure that this digitalisation agenda contributes to smart and sustainable communities, there is a need to trace residents' use of emerging digital technologies and address any impediments to broader utilisation. To this end, this paper aims to examine the determinants of residents' use of Ghana's digital property address system (DPAS) in suburban communities in Accra.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a detailed literature review of digital technologies and the factors that affect their use, this paper uses data from a cross-sectional survey of three suburban communities in Accra. A binary logistic regression model was then utilised to identify the significant factors that affect residents' use of the DPAS.
Findings
The findings showed that socioeconomic, housing, and psychosocial factors were the main determinants of residents' use of the DPAS. Specifically, house ownership, education and expected benefits had a positive relationship with residents' use of the DPAS. Findings highlight the need for urban policymakers to pay attention to systemic issues in Ghana's digital culture to ensure that digitalisation initiatives do not widen the digital divide and thus impede progress towards smart and sustainable urban development goals.
Originality/value
The growing scholarship on digitalisation in Africa has emphasised conditions, potentials and challenges in deploying digital technologies with little attention to the determinants of residents' use of these technologies. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap by bringing foundational issues critical to engendering equitable digitalisation agenda in Ghanaian cities and beyond.
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David Osworth, Kathleen Mary Winn Cunningham, Suzy Hardie, Peter Moyi, Mary Gaskins and Natalie Osborne Smith
This study aims to analyze the experiences of a closed cohort of aspiring leaders and connects the university and school district partnership relationship to building the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the experiences of a closed cohort of aspiring leaders and connects the university and school district partnership relationship to building the leadership capacity of the cohort. This study builds on previous literature in district-university partnerships and leadership preparation. Powerful learning experiences (PLEs) and interpersonal-intrapersonal leadership development models serve as frames to examine how aspects of successful leadership preparation programs were present.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study was conducted with a team of researchers from the university and school district and relies on data from semi-structured interviews with students from the closed cohort.
Findings
Researchers identified three major themes of aspiring leaders' preparation experience: confidence building, reflection and mindset change.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the emerging literature on PLEs by illustrating how this type of partnership creates opportunities for powerful learning experiences for aspiring school leaders.
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Bernadette Ekua Bedua Afful, Michael Addaney, David Anaafo, Jonas Ayaribilla Akudugu, Felix Kwaku Borkor, Elvis Oppong Yeboah and Joshua Sampana
Poor municipal solid waste management is a major characteristic of urban development in Africa. In Ghana, local governments are mandated to ensure the collection, treatment and…
Abstract
Purpose
Poor municipal solid waste management is a major characteristic of urban development in Africa. In Ghana, local governments are mandated to ensure the collection, treatment and disposal of solid waste. However, this has been a herculean task for local governments in Ghana, owing to inadequate resources and weak technical capacities. This has prompted calls for, and actual involvement of the private sector through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in municipal solid waste management, particularly in the urban areas. This study aims to assess the roles, effectiveness and challenges of PPPs in urban waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a case study design, the study used a qualitative research approach to provide in-depth insights into PPPs in municipal solid waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana. Therefore, key informant interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted.
Findings
The study revealed that some policies and actions of the local government (Assembly) do not positively facilitate the effective functioning of PPPs in municipal solid waste management. There is also lack of effective stakeholder consultation, collaboration and grassroot inclusion in the PPPs which affect the effective management of the increasing volumes of solid waste being generated within the municipality.
Practical implications
To achieve the objectives of the PPP arrangements, local authorities should initiate steps to effectively coordinate all the involved private companies. There must also be ways of involving the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of PPPs on waste management to allow for effective grassroots and participatory monitoring and evaluation.
Originality/value
The uniqueness of the case study being a mid-sized and secondary city in a developing country enhances the value of the findings and the application of recommendations in cities with similar characteristics and initiatives in improving PPPs in municipal waste management.
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Paul A. Phillips, Stephen Page and Joshua Sebu
This paper examines the theoretical issues and research themes of business and management impact. Our empirical setting is the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF 2014) and…
Abstract
This paper examines the theoretical issues and research themes of business and management impact. Our empirical setting is the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF 2014) and the focus is on the nature of research impact. Stakeholders, including Governments, now expect academic outputs to translate to real world benefits beyond the narrow bibliometric type metrics.
Despite decades of academic literature devoted to business and management research impact, current theories cannot explain the apparent disconnect between academic, economic and societal practice. Adopting a UK Business and Management perspective to frame our investigation, we consider the highly contested rhetorical question – What are the current themes and impacts of Business and Management research?
We propose a definition for research impact and consider its measurement. Then, using the 410 Impact Case Studies submitted to REF 2014 #x2013; Unit of Assessment 19, business and management, we examine how high impact unfolds. The implications for business and management research impact from the perspectives of economic, knowledge and responsibility impacts are considered.
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Thalia Anthony, Juanita Sherwood, Harry Blagg and Kieran Tranter
The theory of third order inference is a theory of how cultural beliefs influence individuals' decisions under conditions of interdependence and uncertainty. In this study, I…
Abstract
Purpose
The theory of third order inference is a theory of how cultural beliefs influence individuals' decisions under conditions of interdependence and uncertainty. In this study, I build on prior work extending the theory to the role of third order information on social trust in public goods dilemmas. Namely, I argue that when second order information on the beliefs of those relevant to the group task are present, this information should influence decision-making over first and third order.
Methodology
I test this argument in an experimental public goods game. After measuring first order social trust, participants are randomly sorted into one of four conditions – two that pair third and second order information on social trust as parallel and two that pair them as in conflict.
Findings
The results suggest that in the presence of second order information on social trust, third order information doesn't have an effect on cooperation.
Originality
The study extends the theory of third order inference to understanding the role of social trust at the first, second, and third levels in public goods dilemmas. It puts second order information in competition with third order in predicting cooperation. It suggests that resolving the uncertainty over the second order beliefs of a collective is key to preventing inefficient equilibriums when second and third order beliefs conflict.
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