Search results

A bureaucratically structured education system employs formal communication to a high degree, since incumbents of the various hierarchical authority levels authorize actions to be undertaken by their subordinates. The process of authorization is here subjected to an analysis in terms of message structure and communication flow. A comparison of the ways in which authorizations are communicated at the various levels of the bureaucratic system leads to a number of hypotheses. It was hypothesized (1) that the mode of communication used by the superordinate Department of Education to authorize the actions of intermediate headteachers will be used in turn by these intermediates to authorize the actions of their subordinate teachers, (2) the prevailing mode of communication employed by the superordinate Education Department to authorize the actions of intermediate headtcachers will be used by intermediates to authorize the actions of their subordinates teachers even in specific cases where exceptions to the prevailing superordinate communication mode are present, and (3) inconsistency or asymmetry between Phase I and Phase II communication modes is a function of the personality of the intermediate role‐incumbent. These hypotheses were tested in a recent study of the communication of authority by headteachers of Queensland State primary schools. The first two hypotheses were supported; because of lack of data the last hypothesis could not be tested.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether community banks have gained market share at the expense of larger, regional banks in small metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The authors also seek to examine market share gains of community banks relative to each other.

The empirical research is conducted using deposit and market share data for community and regional banks between 2001 and 2008. The authors employ regression analysis.

It is found that community banks have gained market share. When regional banks are excluded and the market share gains of community banks relative to each other examined it is found that community banks with lower market shares gain relative to banks with a larger initial share of the deposit market.

Research is conducted using eight metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Thus, conclusions drawn are based on analysis conducted in one region of the United States.

The paper's findings are in contrast to traditional thinking about size and market share and suggest that community bank managers should focus on each other as well as regional and mega‐bank competitors.

The paper uses market share as a proxy for bank size as a means of explaining the competitive landscape that exists within community banking.

In this paper the sometimes confusing concepts of structural centralization and decentralization and administrative centralization and decentralization are classified. Brief contrast Is made between the Latin American and North American models. It is hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between administrative decentralization and (I) leadership development at lower hierarchical levels, (II) greater participation in the decision‐making process by people at lower hierarchical levels, (III) an increased sense of responsibility, for the final output, by those at lower hierarchical levels, (IV) implementation of innovative changes which are proposed by individuals at lower hierarchical levels, (V) the development of different approaches to solving problems in the various subsystems at lower hier‐archical levels, (VI) the rapidity at which decisions can be made concerning local issues.

In the production and overhaul of aero engines chemical and electrolytic surface treatment processes such as electrolytic degreasing, chemical and electrochemical etching, chemical descaling and chemical stripping of thermally sprayed coatings are used. In the course of some of these processes the heat resistant nickel and cobalt base alloys found in the “hot end” of the newer gas turbines are attacked. These superalloys have a common characteristic, namely, they are precipitation hardened. The alloying elements added for this purpose give rise to intermetallic compounds (carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides) which appear as inclusions of various shapes and sizes within the grain or at the grain boundaries. The conclusion from this work is that these intermetallics present as separate phases can be dissolved out by oxidative attack leaving pits. The separate processes and their objectives are detailed. It is shown in which process stages and in which solutions attack occurs. The inclusions have been analysed and the nature of the attack is illustrated. We conclude from this work, which has embraced seven nickel and cobalt base materials, that certain processes or process steps cannot be permitted on these alloys. For cleaning and etching alternative processes are given. For descaling a new compatible process was evaluated and will be discussed in a second report.

Current challenges in the educational sector along with age-related changes during early adolescence contribute to an increased sense of school alienation (SAL) among students. Some of the central concerns of SAL are failure to participate in classroom and socially deviant behaviors. This study examined the change in and cross-lagged relationships among alienation from learning, teachers, and classmates, and different self-reported learning and social behaviors across 508 secondary school students spanning a one-year interval from Grade 7 to Grade 8. The results revealed a slight increase in SAL and a decline in classroom participation. Earlier SAL predicted students’ later in-class participation and delinquent behavior, but not vice versa. The three alienation domains were shown to have different relationships with targeted learning and social behaviors: Alienation from learning and from teachers negatively predicted student classroom participation. Alienation from teachers and from classmates contributed to subsequent delinquent behavior. The study results emphasized the importance of SAL for students’ participation in classroom activities as well as in disruptive behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings for educational research and practice are discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide research-based information to foster positive discussions about the need for phonics and phonemic awareness instruction in the primary grades. In order to read, students must possess secure knowledge of the alphabetic principle (i.e., that speech sounds are represented by combinations of letters in the alphabet) as well as the ability to aurally separate the distinct sounds (phonemes) that make up words.

Design: In this chapter, the authors provide essential definitions of phonics and phonemic awareness terms, highlight peer-reviewed research and best instructional practices, and clarify findings in relation to the recently renewed controversy over how to effectively teach reading to young children. The authors draw from respected research journals and years of classroom experience to provide recommendations to literacy teachers.

Findings: Explicit, systematic phonics instruction is crucial for beginning readers because most children will not intuit phonics concepts. To set the stage for phonics instruction (connecting speech sounds with their written representations), students must understand how to separate sounds in words. Therefore, instruction in phonemic awareness must be given independently of alphabetic representations; that is, students need to be able to hear the distinct sounds before mapping them onto written words. Once a student has mastered this understanding, however, instructional time need not be devoted to its development.

Practical Implications: This chapter contributes to the literature on phonics and phonemic awareness by clearly explaining the differences between the two concepts and their necessary inclusion in any beginning reading program. It includes practical activities teachers can use to develop these understandings in the classroom and provides research evidence to support their use.

HIS holidays over, before the individual and strenuous winter work of his library begins, the wise librarian concentrates for a few weeks on the Annual Meeting of the Library Association. This year the event is of unusual character and of great interest. Fifty years of public service on the part of devoted workers are to be commemorated, and there could be no more fitting place for the commemoration than Edinburgh. It is a special meeting, too, in that for the first time for many years the Library Association gathering will take a really international complexion. If some too exacting critics are forward to say that we have invited a very large number of foreign guests to come to hear themselves talk, we may reply that we want to hear them. There is a higher significance in the occasion than may appear on the surface—for an effort is to be made in the direction of international co‐operation. In spite of the excellent work of the various international schools, we are still insular. Now that the seas are open and a trip to America costs little more than one to (say) Italy, we hope that the way grows clearer to an almost universal co‐working amongst libraries. It is overdue. May our overseas guests find a real atmosphere of welcome, hospitality and friendship amongst us this memorable September!

This chapter reviews and integrates recent research on curiosity. We discuss potential costs and benefits of curiosity, both hedonic and motivational. In particular, we examine the Pandora effect, the teasing effect, and the motivating-uncertainty effect.

Takes the view that managerial decisions are made in a diversity of organizational settings which can best be explained and evaluated in the context of conceptual interdisciplinary decision‐making models, and that such models constitute an appropriate vehicle for explaining the eclectic aspects of managerial decision making in all types of formal organization. Presents a typology of conceptual decision‐making models and evaluates their similarities and differences along with their respective efficacies in various managerial decision‐making contexts. Advances the process model of managerial decision making as the ideal choice for decisions which have significant long‐term consequences for the whole organization.