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1 – 10 of over 11000This paper aims to provide a critical analysis of the European Commission's and the member states' attempts to introduce a European Qualifications Framework and national…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a critical analysis of the European Commission's and the member states' attempts to introduce a European Qualifications Framework and national frameworks respectively.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a review of policies and substantive desk research in countries that have applied a qualification framework approach.
Findings
The analysis shows that qualifications frameworks (QFs) are resisted partly from inertia and conservatism and partly because important educational purposes are being defended. NQF experiences suggest that hopes associated with QFs are unrealistic (e.g. accreditation of prior learning).
Research limitations/implications
The paper draws mainly on conceptual and secondary analysis. In future primary empirical analysis would be desirable.
Practical implications
The findings are extremely relevant to policy makers on the European and national levels. The lessons from NQFs suggest incrementalism, building blocks, supporting policies, consensus and staying as close as possible to practice are important.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few attempts to evaluate current initiatives based on prior experiences.
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Donald B. Summers and Bruno Dyck
This chapter develops a model and provides an exemplary case study of social intrapreneurship within a for-profit organization. The model has two components. The first looks at…
Abstract
This chapter develops a model and provides an exemplary case study of social intrapreneurship within a for-profit organization. The model has two components. The first looks at the antecedent conditions enabling social intrapreneurship, identifying three deinstitutionalizing mechanisms that ready a traditional for-profit organization to embrace a social enterprise: (1) changes in extra-organizational environment that disconnect sanctions and rewards; (2) disassociating existing institutional norms and practices from their mooring in a moral foundation; and (3) undermining core assumptions and beliefs. The second component of the model suggests that the social intrapreneurship process unfolds in four phases associated: (1) socialization (conception of social enterprise idea), (2) externalization (development), (3) integration (implementation), and (4) the internalization (institutionalization). We use the model as a lens to examine the history and development of the First Community Bank in Boston and end with a discussion of the implications of our research for theory and practice.
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The aim of this article is an analysis of the links between race and psychotic illness, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, as well as psychiatric, police and prison violence…
Abstract
The aim of this article is an analysis of the links between race and psychotic illness, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, as well as psychiatric, police and prison violence against people with mental health problems. The analysis focuses on Black men who are more frequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders and who face more brutal treatment than other people with such diagnoses. We have adopted a multidisciplinary approach which draws insights from psychiatry, psychology, and sociology and challenges the biologistic interpretation of “mental illness.” We take into account the United States and Britain – two countries with large Black minorities and an established tradition of research on these groups. Among the crucial findings of this study are the facts that racial bias and stereotypes heavily influence the way Black men with a diagnosis of psychotic illness are treated by the psychiatric system, police and prison staff, and that the dominant approach to psychosis masks the connections between racism and mental health.
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Paul Michael Young, Alan St Clair Gibson, Elizabeth Partington, Sarah Partington and Mark Wetherell
Incidents requiring command and control require all personnel from firefighters (FFs) to the incident commander (IC) to make continuous decisions often with limited information…
Abstract
Purpose
Incidents requiring command and control require all personnel from firefighters (FFs) to the incident commander (IC) to make continuous decisions often with limited information and under acute time-pressure. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the stress reactivity of specific roles during the command and control of an immersive, computer-based incident.
Design/methodology/approach
Experienced firefighting personnel undergoing incident command training participated in this study. Participants completed measures of state anxiety and stress immediately before and after taking part in a computer-based simulation of a large-scale incident run in real time. During the simulation personnel assumed one of four roles: IC, sector commander, entry control officer (ECO), and command support officer. Following the simulation personnel then completed measures of perceived workload.
Findings
No significant changes in state anxiety were observed, but levels of stress and perceived workload were related to task roles. Specifically, ICs reported the greatest levels of mental and temporal demands and stress when compared with ECOs.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the lack of environmental factors (such as rain, darkness, and noise), a relatively small sample size, and the use of self-reported questionnaires.
Practical implications
The application of immersive training environments as a method of developing FFs experience of incident command roles and skills pertinent to high-acuity, low-frequency events.
Originality/value
The paper represents one of the first attempts to identify the self-reported anxiety, stress, and perceived workload of specific role demands during the command and control of simulated incidents.
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David Birch and Michael A. Young
Financial services is undergoing a period of unprecedented change ‐ new products, new entrants, mergers and acquisitions, downsizing … and now another new delivery channel: the…
Abstract
Financial services is undergoing a period of unprecedented change ‐ new products, new entrants, mergers and acquisitions, downsizing … and now another new delivery channel: the Internet. The performance attributes of the Internet are related to both the needs of consumers and the nature of financial services products. Suggests loans, cross‐border services, payments and “knowledge/advice” as areas of opportunity in the early development of this new marketplace. Explores scenarios for the future development of “bancassurer” offerings and for electronic commerce as a whole. Draws on some of Hyperion’s recent experience in helping to launch electronic commerce services on the Internet, reengineering of financial institutions and electronic cash, to suggest approaches for organizations wishing to participate in this new “marketspace.” While businesses can now begin to develop strategies for exploiting cyberspace, argues that existing organizational structures may be inappropriate.
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Much of our daily time in social, home, and work situations is spent influencing and modifying the behaviour of others. We all have certain abilities for getting along with…
Abstract
Much of our daily time in social, home, and work situations is spent influencing and modifying the behaviour of others. We all have certain abilities for getting along with people, and generally these abilities are exercised in natural unconscious ways. Without really thinking about it, we constantly act to adjust our own or another's behaviour to create a desirable interaction.
Michael Young, Jill Owen and James Connor
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is not just a single project portfolio operating within an organisation, but instead there are multiple portfolios.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is not just a single project portfolio operating within an organisation, but instead there are multiple portfolios.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper follows a case study methodology, utilising secondary sources in the form of publically available reports.
Findings
The authors offer a definition of whole of enterprise portfolio management and suggest that this conceptual tool will allow an organisation to control programs and portfolios, particularly, where organizations adapt to emergent situations.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is supported through a single case study using secondary data only. Whilst this provides an illustrated example to support a theoretical model, further empirical research is required to determine its applicability in other sectors and organisational contexts.
Practical implications
This paper provides a whole of enterprise portfolio model in the utilities sector and can be applied to many organisations. It also provides a basis for further research.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new perspective on portfolio management, suggesting that the organisation consists of many portfolios that need to be managed in an integrative manner, rather than just the project portfolio be examined and managed in isolation.
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