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1 – 10 of over 137000Shelly McCallum and David O'Connell
As organizations face volatile and virtual environments there is a growing need to equip emerging leaders with skills to generate, utilize and maintain social capital. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
As organizations face volatile and virtual environments there is a growing need to equip emerging leaders with skills to generate, utilize and maintain social capital. This paper aims to examine five recent, large leadership studies to clarify the role that human capital or social capital capabilities play in present day and future leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers review five recent large leadership studies, assessing the human capital and/or social capital orientation of identified leadership capabilities.
Findings
The analysis indicates that, although there is a primary focus on human capital capabilities, social capital skills have begun to receive more attention as components of a leader's skill set.
Research limitations/implications
The review focused on five published studies and does not reflect the comprehensiveness of a meta‐analysis. Hence conclusions may not apply to all situations. Further exploration and longitudinal study of the efficacy of various developmental approaches and the differential impacts of human and social capital approaches on leaders' effectiveness is suggested.
Practical implications
The growing value placed on leadership social capital capabilities is further addressed here through the presentation of specific social capital skill development initiatives that may be implemented within an organization.
Originality/value
The paper suggests that social capital skills have received more attention recently, yet remain undervalued compared with human capital as important leadership components and offers suggestions for enhancing leadership development initiatives through specific foci on social capital skill development including adopting an open‐systems organic mindset, leveraging relational aspects of leadership development, and building networking and story‐telling skills.
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Adopting a personal knowledge management (PKM) scope, this paper aims to report the resulting experience of a four‐year qualitative research project on the dynamics of social…
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting a personal knowledge management (PKM) scope, this paper aims to report the resulting experience of a four‐year qualitative research project on the dynamics of social skills development strategies in knowledge‐intensive, e‐learning workplace environments.
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting a grounded encased study approach, the research explored how practitioners develop strategies for adapting to emerging e‐learning spaces while developing networking skills. The encased study stemmed from research completed at the University of Manchester. The study aimed to gain perspectives and make sense of social skills development (communication, networking and collaboration skills) in the particular setting of knowledge facilitation within virtual environments in three universities of the Manchester city region.
Findings
The personal lifelong learning journey that educational and academic staff undertake in order to become skilled knowledge facilitators online is perceived and represented as a full learning cycle of multiple dimensions. Also, by identifying specific roles of knowledge facilitators according to context, the existing institutional social systems and city networks of learning were made evident in the practitioners' learning scope within their own institutions and beyond.
Originality/value
The paper uses a multiple‐layer, third‐generation knowledge management framework to explore the different emerging roles of knowledge workers in knowledge‐intensive communities online, and how they facilitate multiple tacit knowledge conversion into explicit scholarly knowledge.
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Phillip H. Kim, Cheol-Sung Lee and Paul D. Reynolds
Our research investigates how state-sponsored social protection is associated with undertaking the initial steps to start businesses in knowledge-intensive sectors. We define…
Abstract
Our research investigates how state-sponsored social protection is associated with undertaking the initial steps to start businesses in knowledge-intensive sectors. We define social protection as policies to protect individuals against economic risk. Although research generally shows a negative link between coordinated market economies and business creation, we highlight conditions when social protection may actually have positive consequences on entrepreneurial action. Specifically, these policies can encourage individuals to develop specific skills, which can be used by those who start businesses to pursue opportunities in knowledge-intensive sectors. Findings from a cross-national sample of individuals starting businesses in 16 advanced industrialized countries are consistent with this claim. We also find that educational attainment moderates this positive direct relationship. Our study is one of the first that provides new explanations for how welfare states can actually promote certain types of entrepreneurial action in highly coordinated economies by orienting their economic activity toward a system of highly skilled and productive labor.
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Ronald E. Riggio and Rebecca J. Reichard
The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework for conceptualizing the role of emotional and social skills in effective leadership and management and provides preliminary…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework for conceptualizing the role of emotional and social skills in effective leadership and management and provides preliminary suggestions for research and for the development of leader emotional and social skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper generalizes a dyadic communications framework in order to describe the process of emotional and social exchanges between leaders and their followers.
Findings
The paper shows how emotional skills and complementary social skills are essential for effective leadership through a literature review and discussion of ongoing research and a research agenda.
Practical implications
Suggestions for the measurement and development of emotional and social skills for leaders and managers are offered.
Originality/value
The work provides a framework for emotional and social skills in order to illustrate their role in leadership and their relationship to emotional and social intelligences. It outlines a research agenda and advances thinking of the role of developable emotional and social skills for managers.
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Brianne Redquest, Pamela Bryden and Paula Fletcher
This study aims to explore social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of their caregivers. Social and motor deficits among people with autism…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of their caregivers. Social and motor deficits among people with autism are well documented. There is support to suggest a reciprocal relationship between social and motor deficits among people with autism, in that social deficits can act as a barrier to motor skill development and motor deficits can act as a barrier to social skill development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explored social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of eight caregivers of children with autism.
Findings
Many salient findings emerged from the interviews conducted with caregivers, particularly concerning the social and motor development of their children. The relationships between their children’s social and motor deficits were also highlighted.
Research limitations/implications
It is important that health-care professionals educate parents about the consequences of motor impairments or delays and their associations with the development of social skills. As such, routine motor skill monitoring and assessments by caregivers and health-care professionals should be encouraged.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate motor and social deficits of children with autism from the caregivers’ perspectives.
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Rahim M. Sail and Khadijah Alavi
The main purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of acquisition of knowledge on social skills and social values by trainers of institutes and coaches of industries in…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of acquisition of knowledge on social skills and social values by trainers of institutes and coaches of industries in training of trainers (ToT) programmes. It has been ascertained that social skills and social values can and must be taught to apprentices to enhance their employability skills as well as to remove any barriers for upward mobility in their careers.
Design/methodology/approach
A four‐day ToT‐cum‐workshop was organized using “hands‐on” experiential outdoor learning activities with lots of interactions, discussions and reflections between participants and participants, and between participants and facilitators. A retrospective post‐ then‐pre‐evaluation design was employed to determine the amount of knowledge acquired by the participants using a four point Likert‐type statements. Using the Handbook of Social Skills and Social Values as a guide, eight core social skills and eight core social values that were relevant to NDTS were identified, emphasized and evaluated in the training programme.
Findings
The overall findings indicate that there was about +20 per cent increase in knowledge among the participants on social skills and social values after the training programme. These findings indicate that social skills and social values can be taught when participants show increases in knowledge on all the social skills and social values studied.
Practical implications
Trainers of institutes and coaches of industries can integrate social skills and social values in their technical curriculum to provide apprentices with the foundation of human and social competence required to be an effective workforce to face future challenges and global competition.
Originality/value
This paper provides evidence that social skills and social values can be taught through appropriate teaching/learning techniques as well as providing the right learning environment.
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Xanthippi Tsortanidou, Thanasis Daradoumis and Elena Barberá
This paper aims to present a novel pedagogical model that aims at bridging creativity with computational thinking (CT) and new media literacy skills at low-technology…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a novel pedagogical model that aims at bridging creativity with computational thinking (CT) and new media literacy skills at low-technology, information-rich learning environments. As creativity, problem solving and collaboration are among the targeted skills in twenty-first century, this model promotes the acquisition of these skills towards a holistic development of students in primary and secondary school settings. In this direction, teaching students to think like a computer scientist, an economist, a physicist or an artist can be achieved through CT practices, as well as media arts practices. The interface between these practices is imagination, a fundamental concept in the model. Imaginative teaching methods, computer science unplugged approach and low-technology prototyping method are used to develop creativity, CT, collaboration and new media literacy skills in students. Furthermore, cognitive, emotional, physical and social abilities are fostered. Principles and guidelines for the implementation of the model in classrooms are provided by following the design thinking process as a methodological tool, and a real example implemented in a primary school classroom is described. The added value of this paper is that it proposes a pedagogical model that can serve as a pool of pedagogical approaches implemented in various disciplines and grades, as CT curriculum frameworks for K-6 are still in their infancy. Further research is needed to define the point at which unplugged approach should be replaced or even combined with plugged-in approach and how this proposed model can be enriched.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a pedagogical model that aims at bridging creativity with CT, collaboration and new media literacy skills.
Findings
The proposed model follows a pedagogy-driven approach rather a technology-driven one as the authors suggest its implementation in low-tech, information-rich learning environments without computers. The added value of this paper is that it proposes a novel pedagogical model that can serve as a pool of pedagogical approaches and as a framework implemented in various disciplines and grades. A CT curriculum framework for K-6 is an area of research that is still in its infancy (Angeli et al., 2016), so this model is intended to provide a holistic perspective over this area by focusing how to approach the convergence among CT, collaboration and creativity skills in practice rather than what to teach. Based on literature, the authors explained how multiple moments impact on CT, creativity and collaboration development and presented the linkages among them. Successful implementation of CT requires not only computer science and mathematics but also imaginative capacities involving innovation and curiosity (The College Board, 2012). It is necessary to understand the CT implications for teaching and learning beyond the traditional applications on computer science and mathematics (Kotsopoulos et al., 2017) and start paying more attention to CT implications on social sciences and non-cognitive skills. Though the presented example (case study) seems to exploit the proposed multiple moments model at optimal level, empirical evidence is needed to show its practical applicability in a variety of contexts and not only in primary school settings. Future studies can extend, enrich or even alter some of its elements through experimental applications on how all these macro/micromoments work in practice in terms of easiness in implementation, flexibility, social orientation and skills improvement.
Originality/value
The added value of this paper is that it joins learning theories, pedagogical methods and necessary skills acquisition in an integrated manner by proposing a pedagogical model that can orient activities and educational scenarios by giving principles and guidelines for teaching practice.
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Roger Stuart and John Burgoyne
In our previous paper we developed a taxonomy of managerial skills and qualities; reported a modest research study giving some evidence for the validity of the taxonomy; and…
Abstract
In our previous paper we developed a taxonomy of managerial skills and qualities; reported a modest research study giving some evidence for the validity of the taxonomy; and presented some further empirical evidence about the sources from which the managers we have investigated acquired these skills and qualities.
Aliaa M. Kamal and Hisham S. Gabr
The purpose of this study is to explore the design of outdoor play spaces in Cairo that provide an enjoyable play experience, along with opportunities for enhancing child social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the design of outdoor play spaces in Cairo that provide an enjoyable play experience, along with opportunities for enhancing child social and cognitive developmental skills through play features incorporated in their play spaces to achieve this goal.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative methodology to examine the effectiveness of natural, customized and elevated features on social and cognitive play behaviors of 6–8 year-olds. Data were gathered in three different play settings; a play space inside a social club, a park and a schoolyard. Data gathering relied on observations, written descriptions of play patterns and recordings of children's conversations. Additionally, the researcher utilized sketching diagrams to illustrate children's preferences for play with each feature.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that incorporating natural, elevated and customized play features into children's play spaces can enhance their environment and provide opportunities for fostering their social and cognitive skills.
Research limitations/implications
This study reports the occurrence of indicative behaviors and not the exact measurement of skill development. Research involving children can have limitations in terms of reliability of results due to slight variations affected by unmeasurable circumstances.
Originality/value
The study makes a valuable contribution towards enhancing the quality of children's play spaces in Cairo by emphasizing the significance of providing opportunities for social and cognitive in addition to physical play.
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Grace I. Blum, Michael Gutierrez and Charles Peck
This chapter provides a conceptual framework for inclusive education for learners with low-incidence disabilities grounded in the argument that increased access and participation…
Abstract
This chapter provides a conceptual framework for inclusive education for learners with low-incidence disabilities grounded in the argument that increased access and participation in socially valued roles, activities, and settings are both the most fundamental goals of the inclusive education process and also the primary means in which these goals are achieved. By challenging traditional views of learning development as merely the acquisition of skills, the proposed framework largely considers the social contexts in which the development of new skills takes place. Through the presentation of three case illustrations, the authors describe ways in which the framework may be relevant to designing and evaluating programs of inclusive education that are responsive to the needs of diverse communities, including those in a variety of international contexts.
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