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1 – 10 of 523There is abundant scholarship on the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in promoting community and social development in the low-income countries in general, and…
Abstract
There is abundant scholarship on the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in promoting community and social development in the low-income countries in general, and Zambia in particular. However, there is limited scholarship on the role of CSOs in higher education institutions (HEIs), and vice versa, and how the two have become key partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Historically, CSOs were preoccupied with community work partly because of their mandate to help vulnerable people access resources for meeting basic needs, and at times actual provision of these resources. Lately however, these organizations have taken keen interest in generating learning materials and assistance in designing curricula for some HEIs. This has been partly because of their practical experiences in policy and intervention implementation among other issues which position them well to inform curriculum development.
HEIs too, have over time, changed their approach to pedagogical issues from perceiving themselves as the sole generators of knowledge to appreciating partnerships and reflecting on their relationship and contribution to society. The focus of this chapter is on analyzing the relationship between CSOs and HEIs and how these complement each other in CSR.
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Peder Hyllengren, Gerry Larsson, Maria Fors, Misa Sjöberg, Jarle Eid and Olav Kjellevold Olsen
The study seeks to illuminate factors that benefit, or do not benefit, the development of swift trust towards leaders in temporary military groups.
Abstract
Purpose
The study seeks to illuminate factors that benefit, or do not benefit, the development of swift trust towards leaders in temporary military groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The study group comprised 50 Norwegian cadets, 34 Norwegian military officers, 317 Swedish cadets, and 190 Swedish military officers. Data were gathered using a questionnaire which included two open‐ended questions on aspects which contribute to swift trust (and lack thereof) towards leaders, as well as Likert‐scale questions on temporary group characteristics, and a personality inventory.
Findings
A qualitative clustering analysis of the open‐ended responses yielded a hierarchical model of aspects which contribute to swift trust (or the lack thereof) with the following two superior categories: individual‐related characteristics such as emotional stability and relationship‐related characteristics such as encourage involvement and creativity. The latter superior category covaried most strongly with ratings of the groups' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The results need to be substantiated by further research in other professional groups and cultures.
Practical implications
The findings can help leaders of temporary groups become more conscious of how they may affect the group members' development of swift trust.
Originality/value
The hierarchical and detailed model of aspects which contribute to swift trust in leaders of temporary groups is new.
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A knowledge‐based system is under development to provide component designers at CAD workstations with estimated costs and proposed design modifications for automated manufacture.
A new aid to design for assembly, just launched by Lucas Engineering & Systems, aims to set the design on the right path before too much has been invested.
Jeffrey Hoyle and Mark Edward Deschaine
Collegiate internships play an important role in the development of professionals. They provide students the opportunity to experience real world expectations embedded…
Abstract
Purpose
Collegiate internships play an important role in the development of professionals. They provide students the opportunity to experience real world expectations embedded within actual vocational environments under the support of their collegiate faculty. Although there are a number of common reasons why internships are utilized in each academic area, the requirements for the experiences are substantially different across disciplines and level of coursework. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the commonalities and differences that exist for internships across collegiate academic disciplines at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and identify their salience for programs from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
For this conceptual piece, the authors took an introspective qualitative look at both programs and compared and contrasted them based on internally available documentation and information. Although this was theoretical in nature, the authors utilized materials available for certification and accreditation purposes for each of their programs. Multiple data sources were stakeholder interviews and conversations, site visits/observations, and site artifacts/documents.
Findings
The authors found a great deal of both similarity and dissimilarity across programs, and these findings were utilized as grounds for programmatic introspection, evaluation, accreditation, and certification to better understand how stakeholder voice is involved in the processes. Table I provides an overview of items identified, and will serve as a guide for the remainder of this paper.
Originality/value
An inclusive awareness will consider the voices of the student, university, employer, and other stakeholders, including co-workers and employers that currently do not offer internships. Given the rising cost of tuition and the wealth of competition in the market, the pressure is on for institutions of higher education to up the ante when it comes to providing quality experiential learning opportunities. The next step should focus on defining expectations and tailoring each internship program, and for that to be accomplished, all stakeholders must be “all in.”
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Carl P. Maertz Jr, Philipp A. Stoeberl and Jill Marks
“What kinds of internships are possible?” “How should we decide whether to utilize internships, and if so, how can we ensure they will pay off?” The purpose of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
“What kinds of internships are possible?” “How should we decide whether to utilize internships, and if so, how can we ensure they will pay off?” The purpose of this paper is to help answer these key questions facing talent management professionals, educators, and interns.
Design/methodology/approach
This is achieved by reviewing the scattered literature to distill the lessons regarding internships for each of these stakeholders. First, the paper better defines internships through enumerating 11 key dimensions, helping give all internship stakeholders a common language to clarify communication. Second, the paper synthesizes and lists the potential benefits and costs/pitfalls of internships for interns, schools, and employers to provide a fuller view of internships from all stakeholder perspectives. Third, the paper summarizes recommendations to help stakeholders maximize the actual benefits obtained from internships while minimizing the costs and avoiding common pitfalls.
Findings
Many benefits for interns have been identified in the literature. These can be categorized as job-related benefits, career-related benefits, and networking/job market benefits. For most interns, the costs of the internship are minimal. Nevertheless, potential pitfalls stem from the fact that employers and interns often do not have consistent or shared expectations regarding the internship. The benefits of internships for schools can be significant. These include filling an important modern need for experiential and vocational learning. For employers, hiring an intern for a full-time position after the assignment can lead to savings in the areas of recruitment and selection.
Originality/value
The paper provides stakeholders with “one-stop shopping” for the best general advice about creating and growing successful internships.
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Hongor Miller, Byron Ronald Miller Jr and Jeffrey Spoelstra
The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategies and an effective model for creating and implementing a sustainability internship program at a university campus.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategies and an effective model for creating and implementing a sustainability internship program at a university campus.
Design/methodology/approach
This study assessed Western Michigan University’s sustainability program’s interns’ gain of environmental knowledge on sustainability topics via pre- and post-test assessments. A sample of 50 interns between fall 2016 and spring 2019 comprising six cohorts participated in this study. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences to calculate descriptive statistics and sign tests.
Findings
The sign tests of the accumulative internship pre- and post-test assessment scores significantly increased for all 14 sustainability knowledge dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
The pre- and post-test assessments of the internship program are unable to track and predict the long-term behavior changes of the interns after the completion of the program. Therefore, a future longitudinal study is needed.
Practical implications
This sustainability internship program’s content and experiential learning model has been proven to be effective in increasing interns’ knowledge of sustainability issues and creating sustainability stewards. Institutions and universities should consider creating their own sustainability internship program based on Western Michigan University's program using pre- and post-test assessments as a method of evaluation.
Social implications
The internship programs’ main strength is that it offers students from all academic backgrounds an opportunity to dig deep into sustainability issues, build new social networks, gain knowledge, develop leadership skills, become sustainability stewards and immediately apply what they have learned on campus and in their local community. On-campus internships are unique learning opportunities worthy of study and refinement.
Originality/value
This research paper is unique because it analyzes the combined pre- and post-test scores of six cohorts of interns’ across multiple knowledge dimensions of sustainability. This study empirically shows that the combined interns’ sustainability knowledge across all dimensions significantly increased from the pre- to post-test over the semester-long program.
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Suk Chong Tong and Fanny Fong Yee Chan
With the prevailing use of online communication platforms, this study revisits the definitions of trust in an online context. By exploring organizational online…
Abstract
Purpose
With the prevailing use of online communication platforms, this study revisits the definitions of trust in an online context. By exploring organizational online communications from a practitioners' perspective, a conceptual framework that illustrates the nature of trust and its relationship with dialogic communication between organizations and organizations' stakeholders in the digital era is proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 27 in-depth interviews were conducted with public relations and marketing practitioners involved in coordinating organizational online communications in Hong Kong.
Findings
From the practitioners' perspective, stakeholders' online trust toward an organization, which is a hybridity of initial and rapidly evolving trust, begins with stakeholders swift and initial judgment of the organization according to category-based cues (including knowledge-based attributes of the organization, institutional cues, and particular attributes of online dialogic communication) available on online platforms and further develops over time. Practitioners regard the integration of online and offline communication platforms to be the most effective way to build trust in organization–stakeholder relationships in the digital era, while dialectical tensions can hinder trust formed in online communication.
Originality/value
Along with the proposed conceptual framework, this study advances the discussion of online trust in public relations practices from the practitioners' perspective. A qualitative approach provides rich descriptions that may help to enrich theories in public relations and communication management regarding the interplay of trust and dialogic communication in organizational practices in the digital era.
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