Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Leanne Lester, Donna Cross, Debbie Terrelinck, Sarah Falconer and Laura Thomas

The purpose of this paper is to describe a seven stage community engagement process to develop and disseminate community uptake strategies which encouraged cybersafety as part of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a seven stage community engagement process to develop and disseminate community uptake strategies which encouraged cybersafety as part of a positive transition from primary to secondary school among Australian young people.

Design/methodology/approach

The combined principles from socio-ecological models, community development models and student participation models formed the foundation for the strategies. Resources were developed for all members of the community – students, parents, teachers and the broader community. The methods included: the formation of a steering committee and a Youth Advisory Board; review of the current literature; development of online resources; a youth resource development activity; development of youth resources; translation of resources into health promotion initiatives; and the dissemination of resources at community events and facilities such as schools, libraries and recreation centres and through print and social media.

Findings

Community engagement strategies – in particular a partnership between a Western Australian university and local government body, the steering committee consisting of local organisations, and the student advisory board – were used to successfully design and promote resources developed by young people for young people.

Originality/value

This study utilises a community-level approach to develop resources to encourage cybersafety and a positive transition from primary to secondary school.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2020

Conor Gilligan, Therese Shaw, Shelley Beatty, Laura Thomas, Karen Louise Lombardi and Robyn Susanne Johnston

Alcohol use by adults at school events and alcohol promotion through school fundraising activities is common, but little is known about secondary school parents' attitudes towards…

Abstract

Purpose

Alcohol use by adults at school events and alcohol promotion through school fundraising activities is common, but little is known about secondary school parents' attitudes towards these practices. Parental attitudes may influence principals' decision-making on this topic, particularly in jurisdictions where education department guidance is limited. This study explored parents' attitudes towards the consumption or promotion of alcohol in schools or at school events.

Design/methodology/approach

Parents (n = 298) from five non-government secondary schools in Western Australia completed an online survey and provided responses relating to the promotion and availability of alcohol through their child's school.

Findings

This sample of parents were evenly divided in support of alcohol consumption or support of schools as alcohol-free zones. Parents reporting higher alcohol consumption were more supportive of alcohol promotion and use through schools, and those with higher education supported use of alcohol for school fundraising. Almost 20% of parents were neutral on several measures indicating they could be swayed by social pressure. Engaging parents is an ongoing challenge for school principals and alcohol may play a part in engagement activities. The results from this small, exploratory study suggest even engaged parents may have very differing views on alcohol use in schools.

Practical implications

Education departments are encouraged to explore these issues carefully and introduce changes incrementally to assist decision-making and minimise potential parent disengagement.

Originality/value

This paper addresses a knowledge gap about parents' attitudes towards alcohol in secondary schools. These findings can support those involved in the development of school alcohol policies.

Details

Health Education, vol. 120 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

Erwin Loh, Jennifer Morris, Laura Thomas, Marie Magdaleen Bismark, Grant Phelps and Helen Dickinson

The paper aims to explore the beliefs of doctors in leadership roles of the concept of “the dark side”, using data collected from interviews carried out with 45 doctors in medical…

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to explore the beliefs of doctors in leadership roles of the concept of “the dark side”, using data collected from interviews carried out with 45 doctors in medical leadership roles across Australia. The paper looks at the beliefs from the perspectives of doctors who are already in leadership roles themselves; to identify potential barriers they might have encountered and to arrive at better-informed strategies to engage more doctors in the leadership of the Australian health system. The research question is: “What are the beliefs of medical leaders that form the key themes or dimensions of the negative perception of the ‘dark side’?”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analysed data from two similar qualitative studies examining medical leadership and engagement in Australia by the same author, in collaboration with other researchers, which used in-depth semi-structured interviews with 45 purposively sampled senior medical leaders in leadership roles across Australia in health services, private and public hospitals, professional associations and health departments. The data were analysed using deductive and inductive approaches through a coding framework based on the interview data and literature review, with all sections of coded data grouped into themes.

Findings

Medical leaders had four key beliefs about the “dark side” as perceived through the eyes of their own past clinical experience and/or their clinical colleagues. These four beliefs or dimensions of the negative perception colloquially known as “the dark side” are the belief that they lack both managerial and clinical credibility, they have confused identities, they may be in conflict with clinicians, their clinical colleagues lack insight into the complexities of medical leadership and, as a result, doctors are actively discouraged from making the transition from clinical practice to medical leadership roles in the first place.

Research limitations/implications

This research was conducted within the Western developed-nation setting of Australia and only involved interviews with doctors in medical leadership roles. The findings are therefore limited to the doctors’ own perceptions of themselves based on their past experiences and beliefs. Future research involving doctors who have not chosen to transition to leadership roles, or other health practitioners in other settings, may provide a broader perspective. Also, this research was exploratory and descriptive in nature using qualitative methods, and quantitative research can be carried out in the future to extend this research for statistical generalisation.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for health organisations, training providers, medical employers and health departments and describes a multi-prong strategy to address this important issue.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study the concept of “moving to the dark side” as a negative perception of medical leadership and contributes to the evidence in this under-researched area. This paper has used data from two similar studies, combined together for the first time, with new analysis and coding, looking at the concept of the “dark side” to discover new emergent findings.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2011

Patricia Harrison

This paper aims to focus on the role of line management and learning culture in the development of professional practice for the human resource (HR) practitioner.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the role of line management and learning culture in the development of professional practice for the human resource (HR) practitioner.

Design/methodology/approach

Three‐year longitudinal, matched‐pair study involving five participants and their line managers.

Findings

Two of the five participants experienced greater career growth and professional development, due to various factors; the roles of line management and learning culture.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations are the nature of the research and small numbers in the study. This paper considers only two of the five categories that emerged and does not include the quantitative data findings.

Practical implications

Greater attention needs to be given to informal learning processes and knowledge‐sharing activities in organisations.

Originality/value

Due to a number of constraints, the longitudinal method used in this research is rare. There are significant benefits to gathering data over a period of time to capture different perspectives of practice and provide deeper understanding.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 35 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1996

Amy Segal

The author uses a novel narrative style to detail the stories of two women coming to feminism and the impact organizational experiences have had on their gender awareness. Frames…

1168

Abstract

The author uses a novel narrative style to detail the stories of two women coming to feminism and the impact organizational experiences have had on their gender awareness. Frames these two stories by detailing her own journey in becoming a feminist. Together the stories bear witness to the importance of organizational experiences in shaping their identities, specifically in relationship to their awareness of gender, and conversely how their identities in turn affect the way we approach and make sense of their lives inside and beyond organizations.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 9 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2017

Thomas G. Pittz, Laura T. Madden and David Mayo

We implement an inductive, case study approach to explore the motivations and methods of five successful social entrepreneurs. Our findings show that founders noticed, felt, and…

Abstract

We implement an inductive, case study approach to explore the motivations and methods of five successful social entrepreneurs. Our findings show that founders noticed, felt, and responded to someone else's pain, demonstrating compassion as the genesis of the business venture. Successful social innovation, however, was the result of the creation of an organization structured to include diverse stakeholder input and participation in the decision-making process. Thus, compassion motivates entrepreneurs to pursue broad gains as opposed to singular interests and enhances a willingness to incorporate others' ideas through an open-strategy process. Our study suggests that interaction with stakeholders can impact the structure of the firm, the business model it employs, and intended and unintended business consequences.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Robyn Johnston, Lydia Hearn, Donna Cross, Laura T. Thomas and Sharon Bell

While parents’ influence on their children’s smoking behaviour is widely recognised, little is known about parents of four to eight year olds’ attitudes and beliefs around smoking…

Abstract

Purpose

While parents’ influence on their children’s smoking behaviour is widely recognised, little is known about parents of four to eight year olds’ attitudes and beliefs around smoking cessation and how they communicate with their children about smoking. The purpose of this paper is to explore parents’ perceptions of quitting smoking and their beliefs and actions related to the use of parenting practices to discourage smoking by their children.

Design/methodology/approach

Four focus groups and 17 interviews were conducted with parents (n=46) of four to eight year old children in Perth, Western Australia.

Findings

Many parents indicated their children strongly influenced their quitting behaviours, however, some resented being made to feel guilty about their smoking because of their children. Parents were divided in their beliefs about the amount of influence they had on their children’s future smoking. Feelings of hypocrisy appear to influence the extent to which parents who smoked talked with their child about smoking. Parents recommended a variety of resource options to support quitting and talking with their child about smoking.

Practical implications

Interventions aimed at parents who smoke and have young children should: reinforce parents’ importance as role models; highlight the importance of talking to children about smoking when they are young and provide strategies for maintaining ongoing communication; be supportive and avoid making parents feel guilty; and emphasise that quitting smoking is the best option for their child’s health (and their own), while also providing effective harm minimisation options for parents who have not yet quit.

Originality/value

Parents of children of lower primary school age can be highly influential on their children’s later smoking behaviours, thus, effective interventions that address the current beliefs and practices of these parents may be particularly advantageous.

Details

Health Education, vol. 115 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 13 March 2017

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Abstract

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Book part
Publication date: 25 March 2010

Frank Dobbin and Claudia Bird Schoonhoven

In 1981, W. Richard (Dick) Scott of Stanford's sociology department described a paradigmatic revolution in organizational sociology that had occurred in the preceding decade. In…

Abstract

In 1981, W. Richard (Dick) Scott of Stanford's sociology department described a paradigmatic revolution in organizational sociology that had occurred in the preceding decade. In Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems (Scott, 1981), he depicted the first wave of organizational theory as based in rational models of human action that focused on the internal dynamics of the organization. He described the second wave, found in human relations theory and early institutional theory, as based in natural social system models of human action but still focused on the internal “closed system.” A sea change occurred in organizational theory in the 1970s as several camps began to explore environmental causes of organizational behavior. The open-systems approaches that Scott sketched in 1981 were still seedlings, but all would mature. What they shared was an emphasis on relations between the organization and the world outside of it. The roots of these new paradigms can be traced to innovations of the 1960s. Contingency theorists Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch (1967) had argued that firms add new practices and programs largely in response to external social demands and not simply to internal functional needs. James Thompson (1967) argued that organizations come to reflect the wider environment and particularly the regulatory environment.

Details

Stanford's Organization Theory Renaissance, 1970–2000
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-930-5

Book part
Publication date: 23 June 2020

George Richard Lueddeke

Environmental degradation, economic and political threats along with ideological extremism necessitate a global redirection toward sustainability and well-being. Since the…

Abstract

Environmental degradation, economic and political threats along with ideological extremism necessitate a global redirection toward sustainability and well-being. Since the survival of all species (humans, animals, and plants) is wholly dependent on a healthy planet, urgent action at the highest levels to address large-scale interconnected problems is needed to counter the thinking that perpetuates the “folly of a limitless world.” Paralleling critical societal roles played by universities – ancient, medieval, and modern – throughout the millennia, this chapter calls for all universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) generally – estimated at over 28,000 – to take a lead together in tackling the pressing complex and intractable challenges that face us. There are about 250 million students in tertiary education worldwide rising to about 600 million by 2040. Time is not on our side. While much of the groundwork has been done by the United Nations (UN) and civil society, concerns remain over the variable support given to the UN-2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in light of the negative impact of global biodiversity loss on achieving the UN-2030 SDGs. Ten propositions for global sustainability, ranging from adopting the SDGs at national and local levels to ensuring peaceful uses of technology and UN reforms in line with global socioeconomic shifts, are provided for consideration by decisionmakers. Proposition #7 calls for the unifying One Health & Well-Being (OHWB) concept to become the cornerstone of our educational systems as well as societal institutions and to underpin the UN-2030 SDGs. Recognizing the need to change our worldview (belief systems) from human-centrism to eco-centrism, and re-building of trust in our institutions, the chapter argues for the re-conceptualization of the university/higher education purpose and scope focusing on the development of an interconnected ecological knowledge system with a concern for the whole Earth – and beyond. The 2019 novel coronavirus has made clear that the challenges facing our world cannot be solved by individual nations alone and that there is an urgency to committing to shared global values that reflect the OHWB concept and approach. By drawing on our collective experience and expertise informed by the UN-2030 SDGs, we will be in a much stronger position to shape and strengthen multilateral strategies to achieve the UN-2030 Transformative Vision – “ending poverty, hunger, inequality and protecting the Earth’s natural resources,” and thereby helping “to save the world from itself.”

Details

Civil Society and Social Responsibility in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Curriculum and Teaching Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-464-4

Keywords

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