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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Glenda Myers, Suzanne Saunders and Geoff Rogers

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand is to implement an electronic curriculum for a new Graduate Entry Medical Program at the beginning of 2003…

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Abstract

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand is to implement an electronic curriculum for a new Graduate Entry Medical Program at the beginning of 2003. The literature relating to the provision of electronic problem‐based learning curricula indicates that most libraries involved in the provision of resources for such programs have simply provided a quickly outdated bibliographic list of databases and e‐resources for further consultation. As part of a multidisciplinary teaching and design team, the Witwatersrand Health Sciences Library (WHSL) has set up a proactive intranet of Web‐based links to e‐resources and multimedia that are integrated into the actual e‐case studies. It appears that WHSL has designed a truly integrated and interactive Web‐based resource intranet, with direct links from the actual curriculum material to the information resources themselves.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 June 2021

Johnson Adafin, Suzanne Wilkinson, James O.B. Rotimi, Casimir MacGregor, John Tookey and Regan Potangaroa

This study aims to examine how innovation can be accelerated within the New Zealand (NZ) building industry to improve the productivity and efficiency of the industry.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how innovation can be accelerated within the New Zealand (NZ) building industry to improve the productivity and efficiency of the industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed philosophical approach combining interpretivism and post-positivism. Data for the study were obtained through a focus group of 50 practitioners that were selected using a stratified sampling procedure. All focus group data were audio-recorded, notes of the discussions were taken and then transcribed, de-identified and managed using NVivo software. Data analysis was undertaken using thematic analysis and inductive reasoning consistent with interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Findings

The study findings revealed that the industry could benefit from the adoption of new and emerging technologies to improve its performance, especially its productivity and efficiency. Key drivers for the adoption of innovative practices included the adaptation of “local best practices” from case studies that would consist of stories of successful innovations that could foster confidence in future innovation. It was also identified that Government and industry should nurture innovation through collaborative contracts, policies and regulations. Further, it was highlighted that a culture of innovation needed to be developed to help nurture competencies and capability within the industry workforce.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides an in-depth examination of the need for innovation from the point of view of building industry practitioners. This study provides a useful starting-off point for further research and for the creation of policies that could help to support and accelerate innovation within the NZ building industry.

Practical implications

NZ’s building industry productivity and efficiency have been sub-optimal relative to other industries. But using evidence from the experiences and knowledge of industry practitioners, strategies can be developed to accelerate innovation within the NZ building industry that could help reverse industry performance. Further, the research findings can help inform government policies to develop support mechanisms that could encourage innovation in the industry in NZ. In addition, it is anticipated that the findings will provide a useful set of guidance for other countries that have similar market and physical constraints as those encountered by NZ.

Originality/value

There is a dearth of empirical studies on innovation in the NZ building industry which the current study contributes to. By sharing industry practitioners’ experiences and knowledge of innovation, the paper seeks to counteract more technocratic and technological optimist accounts of innovation within the building industry. Further, the paper provides insights into how the NZ building industry can transform its performance through innovation.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2021

Karen Renaud and Suzanne Prior

The purpose of this paper is to scope the field of child-related online harms and to produce a resource pack to communicate all the different dimensions of this domain to teachers…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to scope the field of child-related online harms and to produce a resource pack to communicate all the different dimensions of this domain to teachers and carers.

Design/methodology/approach

With children increasingly operating as independent agents online, their teachers and carers need to understand the risks of their new playground and the range of risk management strategies they can deploy. Carers and teachers play a prominent role in applying the three M’s: mentoring the child, mitigating harms using a variety of technologies (where possible) and monitoring the child’s online activities to ensure their cybersecurity and cybersafety. In this space, the core concepts of “cybersafety” and “cybersecurity” are substantively different and this should be acknowledged for the full range of counter-measures to be appreciated. Evidence of core concept conflation emerged, confirming the need for a resource pack to improve comprehension. A carefully crafted resource pack was developed to convey knowledge of risky behaviors for three age groups and mapped to the appropriate “three M’s” to be used as counter-measures.

Findings

The investigation revealed key concept conflation, and then identified a wide range of harms and countermeasures. The resource pack brings clarity to this domain for all stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

The number of people who were involved in the empirical investigation was limited to those living in Scotland and Nigeria, but it is unlikely that the situation is different elsewhere because the internet is global and children’s risky behaviors are likely to be similar across the globe.

Originality/value

Others have investigated this domain, but no one, to the authors’ knowledge, has come up with the “Three M’s” formulation and a visualization-based resource pack that can inform educators and carers in terms of actions they can take to address the harms.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2019

Leila Afshari, Suzanne Young, Paul Gibson and Leila Karimi

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of how identification process is associated with development of organizational commitment.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of how identification process is associated with development of organizational commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method approach incorporating surveys and interviews was employed. Data were obtained from a manufacturing organization in Australia. A clustering method was employed to identify commitment profiles. Respondents belonging to the clusters representing commitment profiles associated with desirable organizational outcomes were identified for the qualitative stage of the research.

Findings

The results showed that both organizational identity and professional/occupational identity are positively linked to the development of organizational commitment. An in-depth analysis of the qualitative data demonstrated that engagement of personal/individual level of self in identification process enhances the development of organizational commitment.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that human resource managers can build an effective identification process by strengthening feelings of organizational identity and creating a positive organizational image.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to employ a mixed-method approach to explore the relationship between organizational commitment and identification process. A mixed-method approach, on the one hand, enabled us to build on the existing objectivist commitment literature and explore commitment profiles, and on the other hand, it allowed us to provide a more complete and contextual portrayal of organizational commitment and identification process through qualitative interpretive strategies.

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2010

Suzanne Young, Timothy Bartram, Pauline Stanton and Sandra G. Leggat

This paper aims to explore the attitudes of managers and employees to high performance work practices (HPWS) in a medium sized rural Australian hospital.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the attitudes of managers and employees to high performance work practices (HPWS) in a medium sized rural Australian hospital.

Design/methodology/approach

The study consists of two stages. Stage one involved a qualitative investigation consisting of interviews and focus group sessions with senior, middle and line management at the hospital. Bowen and Ostroff's framework was used to examine how strategic HRM was understood, interpreted and operationalised across the management hierarchy. Stage one investigates the views of managers concerning the implementation of strategic HRM/ HPWS. Stage two consisted of a questionnaire administered to all hospital employees. The mediation effects of social identification on the relationship between high performance work systems and affective commitment and job satisfaction are examined. The purpose of stage two was to investigate the views and effects of SHRM/HPWS on employees. It should be noted that HPWS and strategic HRM are used inter‐changeably in this paper.

Findings

At the management level the importance of distinctiveness, consistency and consensus in the interpretation of strategic HRM/HPWS practices across the organization was discovered. Findings indicate that social identification mediates the relationship between HPWS and affective commitment and also mediates the relationship between HPWS and job satisfaction.

Practical implications

High performance work systems may play a crucial role facilitating social identification at the unit level. Such practices and management support is likely to provide benefits in terms of high performing committed employees.

Originality/value

The paper argues that team leaders and managers play a key role in building social identification within the team and that organizations need to understand this role and provide recognition, reward, education and support to their middle and lower managers.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2021

Sarah Eyaa, Ramaswami Sridharan and Suzanne Ryan

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model investigating the impact of three constructs, environmental uncertainty, power asymmetry and information sharing on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model investigating the impact of three constructs, environmental uncertainty, power asymmetry and information sharing on opportunism engagement in exchange relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from procurement or sales managers of 99 manufacturing firms in Kampala, Uganda’s capital using a cross-sectional survey. Hypotheses were tested in both the agricultural and non-agricultural manufacturing sectors using multiple regression runs in the SPSS software.

Findings

Environmental uncertainty increases opportunism in the agricultural sector whilst power asymmetry increases opportunism in the non-agricultural sector. Across both sectors, information sharing does not have a significant impact on opportunism.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of opportunism in a developing country context by highlighting the contextual factors within the agricultural and non-agricultural manufacturing sectors that influence opportunism engagement under conditions of environmental uncertainty, power asymmetry and information sharing. This paper presents implications for practice and policy to minimise opportunism with the goal of enhancing the participation of Ugandan manufacturing firms in global supply chains.

Details

Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5364

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2011

Axel Klein and Suzanne Martin

This paper aims to highlight how workplace bullies manipulate services by presenting themselves as victims. In the absence of robust screening and assessment tools to distinguish…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight how workplace bullies manipulate services by presenting themselves as victims. In the absence of robust screening and assessment tools to distinguish between bully and victim, personnel staff are at risk of being coerced into perpetuating the abuse of victims. The paper also aims to argue for an in‐depth investigation of the psychological motivations of perpetrators to inform the development of a specialised assessment tool.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper contains two short case studies drawn from staff attending a workshop on responding to domestic violence in the workplace. Similarities between the coercive behaviour patterns of the domestic violence perpetrator and the workplace bully were striking. The approach taken to discussing the case studies closely follows the approach used in the assessment of domestic violence perpetrators where controlling behaviours and coercive control are captured.

Findings

The case studies used in the paper illustrate the dangers of taking a neutral stance in situations where bullying is ongoing. A lack of clarity about who is doing what to whom allows the bully to use any intervention to further abuse. The important issues of victim safety and abuser accountability are absent from the processes employed by personnel staff in the management of these two cases.

Research limitations/implications

There are limitations in the process and the scale of the project, but the case studies are indicative of wider issues, and point towards the central dilemma faced by personnel departments generally.

Practical implications

The domestic violence field offers many insights into the motivations for abusiveness. This paper draws on those insights and shows how they can be used to think more systematically about accusations of bullying in the workplace. The paper argues for increased caution around accepting the self‐reports of bullies who may be presenting as victims.

Originality/value

This paper focuses attention on the ways in which bullying individuals attempt to coerce services into perpetuating their abusiveness.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 February 2012

Yan Chang, Suzanne Wilkinson, Regan Potangaroa and Erica Seville

There is a need to understand resourcing issues when reconstructing the built environment in a post‐disaster situation. The purpose of this paper is to determine the resourcing…

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Abstract

Purpose

There is a need to understand resourcing issues when reconstructing the built environment in a post‐disaster situation. The purpose of this paper is to determine the resourcing difficulties that are likely to face the international practitioners in post‐disaster reconstruction by identifying and comparing the factors that affected resource availability following natural disasters in Indonesia and China respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology included field‐based questionnaire surveys, semi‐structured interviews and observations. A comparative analysis was used to extract similarities and differences with regard to resourcing approaches in Indonesia and China.

Findings

Despite the different resourcing approaches adopted in Indonesia and China in their recovery from large‐scale disasters, there are common issues facing post‐disaster reconstruction stakeholders, including competence of the implementing agencies, capacity of transportation, governance and legislation, and market conditions. Specifically, community‐related housing features played a dominant role in donor‐driven resourcing practice in post‐Indian Ocean tsunami reconstruction in Indonesia, whereas factors related to project control and management primarily contributed to resourcing performance of Chinese reconstruction specialists following the Wenchuan earthquake.

Research limitations/implications

To solve resourcing problems, countries need to create an enabling environment and build institutional capacity. The cross‐cultural comparative analysis encourages policy makers and practitioners to exchange experiences from recent recovery operations.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates the infrastructural and institutional weaknesses that hindered effective resource procurement during post‐disaster reconstruction in Indonesia and China. The research findings show common areas in need of improvement in other disaster prone countries, along with the issues to be addressed in the donor‐led or contractor‐led resourcing practice in the two studied countries.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1981

Miriam Pollet

Concerns of nursing literature today reflect the aspirations and changing character of the profession as it seeks to:

Abstract

Concerns of nursing literature today reflect the aspirations and changing character of the profession as it seeks to:

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 15 June 2020

Tara Brabazon, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight and Natalie Hills

Abstract

Details

The Creative PhD: Challenges, Opportunities, Reflection
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-790-7

1 – 10 of 31