Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine how test‐based accountability has influenced school and district practices and explore how states and districts might consider creating expanded systems of measures to address the shortcomings of traditional accountability. It provides research‐based guidance for entities that are developing or adopting new measures of school performance.

The study relies on literature review, consultation with expert advisers, review of state and district documentation, and semi‐structured interviews with staff at state and local education agencies and research institutions.

The research shows mixed effects of test‐based accountability on student achievement and demonstrates that teachers and administrators change their practices in ways that respond to the incentives provided by the system. The review of state and district measurement systems shows widespread use of additional measures of constructs, such as school climate and college readiness.

There is a clear need for additional research on the short‐ and long‐term effects of expanded systems of measures. In particular, currently little is known about how the inclusion of input and process measures influences educators’ practices or student outcomes.

The research suggests several practical steps that can be taken to promote effective systems of measurement, including providing supports for high‐quality teaching to accompany new measures, offering flexibility to respond to local needs, and conducting validity studies that address the various purposes of the measures.

The paper provides new information about how states and districts are expanding their systems of measures for various purposes, and informs accountability policy by highlighting the benefits and limitations of current outcomes‐based approaches to accountability and by clarifying the trade‐offs and decisions that should be considered.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by leadership in divestment decision making and indeed during the corporate restructuring phase for retail organisations. In doing so, the paper aims to contribute to a growing body of research that seeks to develop understanding of the factors leading to retail divestment and the nature of corporate response to divestment.

A multiple case approach is utilised. The cases are selected from a database of international retail divestment activity over a longitudinal period.

The paper demonstrates that divestment can be a response to “failure”, however, support is also provided for the assertion that divestment can be a strategic decision to devote resources more efficiently elsewhere, either at home or abroad. A key finding is the role of leadership and managerial stability in relation to divestment and restructuring at home and abroad.

The themes presented in this paper are developed from observational data. The validity of the themes should be examined further through in‐depth, qualitative case studies of divestment activity. Future research could examine the role of new CEOs both in relation to the divestment itself and during the process of restructuring following divestment.

The role of leadership and managerial stability in divestment and corporate restructuring processes are highlighted. Insights are provided into the organisational response to divestment actions and the implications for further international strategies.

Academic debate on divestment has highlighted a wide range of reasons that lead to retailers divesting international operations and the strategic value of divestment. This paper adds to existing knowledge by examining the role of leadership within the divestment process.

This paper describes the unintended and unanticipated ways an iPhone as a data collection tool created distractions during observations of five-year-old twins' digital literacy practices while in their home.

Situated in sociocultural theories of learning and development and new literacy studies, the 12-month-long case study examined young children's digital literacy practices in their homes before and during their transition into kindergarten. The article focuses on the data collection of five-year-old twins in their home with their parents, a family the author called the Skywalkers. Data sources included semistructured interviews, participant observations and informal conversations.

The mother was a low-technology user and preferred her children to engage in nondigital activities. The children were permitted 10 min every other day of “digital time.” The iPhone as a data collection tool provided them with digital access they would otherwise not have. The mother knew the focus of the study was digital engagement and that the iPhone was used for data collection (i.e. photographs and videos). Although the iPhone was intended to be used in establishing rapport and taking photographs, the children frequently asked to video record their play and therefore the iPhone became a distraction.

Given the prevalence of smartphones in Western society, the recruitment of a family with such low-technology use was unforeseen. As digital data collection increases in qualitative research, researchers should not assume that a smartphone is always appropriate for gathering photographic data. This is particularly important when investigating digital literacy practices of families in their homes.

The purpose of this paper is to present an engineering inviscid‐boundary layer method for the calculation of convective heating rates on three‐dimensional non‐axisymmetric geometries at angle of attack.

Based on the axisymmetric analog, convective heating rates are calculated along the surface streamlines which are determined using the inviscid properties calculated on an unstructured grid.

Since the method is capable of using inviscid properties calculated on an unstructured grid, it is applicable to a variety of configurations and it requires much less computational effort than a Navier‐Stokes code. The results of the present method are evaluated on different wing body configurations in laminar and turbulent hypersonic equilibrium flows. In comparison to experimental data, the present results are found to be fairly accurate in the windward and leeward regions.

With this approach, heating rates can be predicted on general three‐dimensional configurations at hypersonic speeds in an accurate and fast scheme.

In order to calculate the heating rates at any specific point on the surface, a technique is developed to calculate the inviscid surface streamlines in a backward manner using the inviscid velocity components. The metric coefficients are also calculated using a new simple technique.

Migration to Sweden dramatically increased in 2015 and challenged the reception system at all levels and societal institutions, one of which was the school. As a response to the lack of a comprehensive educational strategy for newly arrived students, new regulations were passed in January 2016, the purpose of which was to guarantee equity and equality in education for all students, irrespective of their background. The regulations make demands on local politicians and the school leaders to adjust the reception, organization and teaching to support the newly arrived students’ learning. The purpose of this paper is to explore school leadership practices in turbulent times.

The study is situated in the field of post-migration ecology, as newly arrived students move from pre-migration to transmigration to post-migration contexts, the latter for this paper’s interest, when they arrive to their new schools. Seven principals in a transit municipality for migrants were interviewed to obtain a picture of how they are prepared for diversity in leadership and how policy and practice coincide.

The study reveals how policy and practice coincide due to a lack of intercultural and bilingual competences among the staff. The principal’s responsibility for a school structure and culture that support newly arrived students’ learning raises new demands on how principals are trained for diversity.

The study is a contribution to the little-researched field concerning school leadership and newly arrived students which raises new demands regarding how principals are trained for diversity.

The recent financial crisis has brought business ethics issues to the forefront. While most colleges have formal training in business ethics, a person’s ethical standards have often developed before college age. This application brief proposes using digital popular media to teach servant-leadership principles to public school adolescents. The purpose is to illustrate the advantage of using secular content from the television series Merlin (Wilkie, 2008) to demonstrate an ethics-based leadership perspective through a medium that is accessible to the virtual/video generation.

This paper aims to examine how ambivalence and intergenerational support intersect with consumption in experiences of sharing within the family.

Consumer research studies usually use one of two family paradigms (i.e. solidarity and conflict), but the role of ambivalence in family ties is often neglected. This paper examines how ambivalence relates to adult intergenerational support, specifically within the context of sharing, consumption and family identity. In contrast to consumer research studies, sociological studies identify the intersection between intergenerational ambivalence and intergenerational support within family life. This study draws on sociology literature to interpret data from phenomenological interviews with downwardly mobile Greek consumers involved in familial intergenerational support and sharing. The voices of adult recipients and providers of resources are captured, and the transcribed interview texts are analysed using a phenomenological-hermeneutical process.

Three types of consumer ambivalence were identified that reflected different types of conflicts between consumption choices and different levels of family identity (collective, relational and individual).

Future research should explore ambivalence and family sharing in different family structures and during different transitions. Future research should also investigate how this study’s findings resonate in societies less affected by austerity measures with stronger welfare states that nevertheless experience a rise in intergenerational support.

The study problematises previously somewhat polarised (i.e. positive vs bleak) views of the family in consumer research. Family sharing is highlighted as a major antecedent to consumer ambivalence, and different types of consumer ambivalence within intergenerational relationships within families are conceptualised. This paper proposes an extended typology of coping strategies aligned along a practical–emotional continuum.

The purpose of this paper is to examine sexual offending hierarchies constructed by the general public and forensic staff based on personal attitudes and perceived severity of offence. In addition, six sexual offence perpetrators are differentiated using the Five Factor Model of personality.

Vignettes represented six sexual offence perpetrators. Participants built a hierarchy based on perceived severity of offence, before attributing personality characteristics to each offender using a Likert-type scale.

Contact offenders were perceived as more dangerous than non-contact offenders. Rapists were perceived as the most dangerous, and voyeurs the least dangerous. Offenders were attributed significantly different personality traits. Generally, men who sexually offend are perceived to be low in agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness and high in impulsivity, manipulativeness and neuroticism.

The research highlights the importance of individual risk assessment in determining best practice treatment for men who have sexually offended (MSO). The Five Factor Model has been proven to be a useful tool to explore the impact staff attitudes have on risk assessment and treatment. Low-risk and high-risk MSO would benefit from divergent treatment. Consideration should be given to personality characteristics in addition to level of risk.

The research determines a hierarchy of men who sexually offend, and goes beyond the “label” of sexual offenders to explore how personality impacts on formation of attitudes.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Generation Z's physical expectations of being pregnant and their outlook for maternity wear shopping.

Females in this cohort (n = 207) participated in an online survey that included questions about perceptions of pregnancy, physical self-concept and forecasted shopping behaviors.

Results indicated that this group is concerned with physical changes of pregnancy and expect to treat each area of the body in a different way. Women's expected physical concerns of pregnancy predict how much they anticipate accentuating their pregnant body. Gen Z anticipates wearing loose maternity garments and they envision a thoughtful, in-store shopping experience for styles that are equally fashionable and comfortable, such as dresses.

This study should be extended to future generational cohorts like Generation Alpha, along with Gen Z outside of the United States and women in the United States who are non-white. Further studies should take a longitudinal approach to gauge changes in this cohort's expectations as they progress through pregnancy.

This paper provides maternity wear retail brands and designers a foundation for product development and marketing geared toward this large cohort.

The study is the first to inquire about Gen Z's outlook on pregnancy, specifically their envisioned changes to each body area and the role of maternity garments to fulfill needs and concerns.