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1 – 10 of 36Jenny Fleming and Neil J. Haigh
When learning in the workplace is conceptualised as a social process, different social or cultural features of workplaces may enable or constrain students’ learning. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
When learning in the workplace is conceptualised as a social process, different social or cultural features of workplaces may enable or constrain students’ learning. The purpose of this paper is to understand the views of students, workplace supervisors and university academics concerning sociocultural features that influenced work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive case-study methodology, incorporating questionnaires and semi-structured interviews was used to determine the views of stakeholders involved in WIL experiences in a sport undergraduate degree.
Findings
Students’ learning was enhanced when they participated in authentic activities, worked alongside colleagues and could assume increasing responsibility for roles they were given. Social experiences, interactions and activities provided them with opportunities to access individual, shared and tacit knowledge, to learn about language, processes and protocols for interacting and communicating with others, and to become aware of the culture of the workplace. When students successfully acquired this knowledge they were able to “take-on” the accepted characteristics and practices of the workplace community – an outcome that further enhanced their learning.
Practical implications
Students need to understand the social and cultural dimensions of how the work community practices before they begin WIL experiences. Practical ways of addressing this are suggested.
Originality/value
This paper conceptualises WIL as learning through the “practice of work communities” whereby through the activities of the community students can access knowledge in a way that may differ from what they are familiar with from their experiences within the university environment.
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Jenny Fleming and Neil J. Haigh
While the intended outcomes of work-integrated learning (WIL) are well documented, significant challenges arise when the stakeholders have different understandings and…
Abstract
Purpose
While the intended outcomes of work-integrated learning (WIL) are well documented, significant challenges arise when the stakeholders have different understandings and expectations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the alignment of stakeholder views on the defining features of cooperative education as a model of WIL.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive case-study methodology, incorporating questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, was used to determine the views of students, workplace supervisors and university academic supervisors involved in a sport cooperative education program.
Findings
Students, workplace supervisors and academic supervisors shared a perception that the students’ development of employability skills and their acquisition of experience in industry were the primary intended outcomes. As an associated benefit, students would be work-ready. Ideally, cooperative education experiences should also provide opportunities for students to learn to integrate theory and practice, further develop their personal and professional identities, and learn to navigate the important ethical aspects of being a professional.
Practical implications
While the employability emphasis in the findings aligns well with government agendas, graduates need to be prepared for complex and dynamic workplaces, and to be future ready for careers that are yet to exist. WIL curricula need to explicitly address this expanded agenda, which in turn needs to be communicated clearly to all stakeholders.
Originality/value
This paper challenges stakeholders in WIL to move beyond a focus on preparing students for the “now” and to reconsider the learning outcomes that should be imperative for university education in the twenty-first century.
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MARTIN KELLY, HOWARD DAVEY and NEIL HAIGH
There is evidence of discontent with contemporary university education generally, and accounting education in particular. This paper examines some reasons for the discontent and…
Abstract
There is evidence of discontent with contemporary university education generally, and accounting education in particular. This paper examines some reasons for the discontent and suggests one way to address it, namely dialectic enquiry. The process of contradiction and reconciliation is at the heart of dialectic enquiry. From two opposing positions, dialectic enquiry requires a third position, or synthesis, to emerge which allows the participants to progress their exploration of an issue. The authors describe the introduction of dialectical enquiry in a university accounting course and discuss the potential learning improvements it can offer. The authors hope this paper will encourage others to introduce dialectical enquiry into their classrooms and report their findings.
Edwina Pio and Neil Haigh
This paper seeks to present a rationale for a learning and assessment activity involving students in the construction of inspirational parables for diversity management within a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to present a rationale for a learning and assessment activity involving students in the construction of inspirational parables for diversity management within a university business studies programme. The paper reviews processes from teacher and student perspectives, describes initial outcomes and foreshadows further exploration and research.
Design/methodology/approach
In small groups, students prepared a booklet that included their inspirational parables on ethnic minority migrant women in the workplace, justifications for the parables and a bibliography of related diversity management literature. A group presentation on the booklet was also required. Assessment criteria related to parable content, references, booklet and oral presentation and represented 30 percent of the overall course assessment.
Findings
Students' informal feedback and the teacher's observations indicate an overall positive response, with students highlighting surprise at their own creativity and the time they readily invested in the task, the enjoyment it gave them and their view that the task merited more weighting. Issues arising from the teacher's observations include group and self‐assessment options, time allocation and the possible influence on students of the teacher's ethnicity.
Originality/value
While there is increasing interest in the use of stories for teaching and learning purposes, most attention has focused on teacher rather than student story telling. Story writing by students to help them develop and demonstrate understandings, has received much less attention and there are few precedents for the parable story form being used for these two purposes in a university education context.
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The purpose of this paper is to build a new theoretical framework for inscribing the constituents of therapeutic community (TC) practice in prisons and other secure psychiatric…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to build a new theoretical framework for inscribing the constituents of therapeutic community (TC) practice in prisons and other secure psychiatric settings looking at three core element: homeliness, hope and humour.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on theory building, review of related literature, including research and policy, and synthesis from related funded research projects (Sociology of Health and Illness, Arts Humanities Research Council).
Findings
Home-as-method, and the concept of transitional home, highlights how a well-designed therapeutic environment looks and feels and can act as a base for effective rehabilitation. The TC aspires to offer a corrective new synthesis of home superseding the resident’s prior experience. A through-going definition of hope-as-method is outlined. It is argued that hope is co-constructed on the TC, and that there is a necessary challenge in gauging fluctuations in hope across time. Humour is a much overlooked idea but arguably an integral ingredient of healthy transactions between prisoners and staff. The particularities of humour present a challenge and an opportunity for harnessing the conditions when humour can flourish and conversely, the chain of events when mal humour damages community atmosphere.
Practical implications
H3 provides a new framework for reflecting on current TC practice, and also a model for developing novel ways of seeing, including the development of research and policy guidance. H3 also provides a philosophical base for developing a curriculum for education and training.
Originality/value
The 3Hs offers a rubric for positively narrating the aspirations of a prison milieu. The idea is purposively simple, and so far the authors have found that staff, prisoners and service directors are receptive to the concept, and there are plans for the 3Hs are set to be a narrative descriptor for developing practice in prisons.
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Claire Horner and Neil Davidson
This paper aims to explore the feasibility of implementing the natural inventory model (NIM) developed by Jones (1996, 2003) in biodiverse wildlife corridor plantations, from a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the feasibility of implementing the natural inventory model (NIM) developed by Jones (1996, 2003) in biodiverse wildlife corridor plantations, from a non-government organisations’ (NGO) perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Undertaking the first cycle of an action research approach, the project involves collaboration with Greening Australia Tasmania (GAT). GAT is endeavouring to establish native wildlife corridors throughout the Tasmanian midlands, using science-based biodiverse plantations. The majority of the areas identified by GAT as essential for the establishment of these wildlife corridors are on privately owned land, primarily used for agricultural purposes. This paper explores whether stewardship of the land “sacrificed” by landowners may be demonstrated via the quantification and communication of improvements in biodiversity using the NIM.
Findings
Results suggest that the existing NIM is impractical for use by an NGO with limited resources. However, with some adaptations incorporating science-based measurements, the NIM can be used to account for biodiverse wildlife corridor plantations.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for not-for-profit, corporate and government sectors in terms of how accounting may facilitate the quantification and communication of conservation and restoration efforts.
Social implications
Biodiversity loss is now considered to be a greater threat to the planet than climate change. Efforts to account for biodiversity are consistent with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Australian Government’s “Biodiversity Conservation Strategy” (2010).
Originality/value
While prior studies have successfully implemented the NIM using secondary data, this is the first known to test the feasibility of the model using primary data in collaboration with an NGO.
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Sue Ryan, Frances Gordon and Neil Gordon
The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth view into how participants perceived their experience of engaging in an enhanced Intensive Intervention and Risk Management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth view into how participants perceived their experience of engaging in an enhanced Intensive Intervention and Risk Management Service (IIRMS), which is a part of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway based within the community.
Design/methodology/approach
Five participants were interviewed. They were at different points of engagement with the service. Interviews were taped, transcribed and analysed using the grounded theory methodology.
Findings
Participants were able to provide in-depth reflections about their experiences at the service. The main issues centred upon “managing fragile relationships” and “an emerging self”. Subcategories linked to managing fragile relationships were: “letting people in and keeping them away”; “surviving the ruptures”; and “treating me like a person”. Subcategories linked to an emerging self were: “readiness to change” and “making new connections”.
Research limitations/implications
This study focused upon one enhanced IIRMS and findings are not necessarily generalisable to other services within the OPD pathway, although themes are likely to resonate for those leaving custody with complex interpersonal difficulties.
Practical implications
This study has provided access to participants’ perspectives on engaging with an IIRMS. Many factors impact upon the individual’s journey, which is central to the relational approach underpinning the pathway.
Originality/value
The findings have important messages for service providers and commissioners and crucially service user perspectives have been obtained that are integral to future development of the OPD pathway. The findings are also relevant for released prisoners attempting to reintegrate within the community.
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Andrea Romi, Kirsten A. Cook and Heather R. Dixon-Fowler
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether B corps’ (for-profit entities whose owners voluntarily commit to conduct business in a socially responsible manner, beyond…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether B corps’ (for-profit entities whose owners voluntarily commit to conduct business in a socially responsible manner, beyond traditional CSR, that generates profits, but not at the expense of stakeholders) commitment to social issues influences two aspects of financial performance: employee productivity and sales growth.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an exploratory analysis of B corps. This paper examines B corps with B Lab’s B Impact Assessment reports and PrivCo financial data, for descriptive information. This paper also analyzes the financial impact of obtaining and reporting on excellence in both employee and consumer focus, as well as the differences in financial growth between B corps and non-hybrid peers.
Findings
Overall, results suggest that, among B corps whose treatment of employees (consumers) is recognized as an “area of excellence,” employee productivity (sales growth) is significantly higher. Additionally, sales growth is significantly higher for B corps relative to their peer, non-hybrid, matched firms.
Practical implications
Results from this study inform states considering the adoption of the B corp legal status – this legal status does not hinder firm profitability, but instead enhances long-term firm value while allowing firms to beneficially affect their communities, consumers, employees and the environment.
Social implications
Results from this study provide important insights regarding the current paradigm shift from the traditional business focus on profit maximization to a fruitful coexistence of profits with social interests and initiatives, within a structure of dissolving national boundaries and increasingly divergent logics.
Originality/value
This paper provides an initial empirical examination of B corp performance.
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