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1 – 10 of 17This paper features a narrative case study of a leadership team engaged in an effort to transform both culture and instructional practice at an urban charter school. The paper…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper features a narrative case study of a leadership team engaged in an effort to transform both culture and instructional practice at an urban charter school. The paper describes the team's effort to align their decision-making with two frameworks selected to anchor the school's institutional change process: restorative justice and deeper learning. Interweaving rich case data with analysis, the paper explores the dilemmas that emerged as leaders struggled to “walk the talk” of these two frameworks, using this to theorize about the synergies between them and to explore the broader leadership challenges involved in transforming schools from authoritarian to humanizing institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The researcher employed an ethnographic approach with the goal of generating a thickly-textured single case study. Data-gathering activities included more than 400 h of participant-observation, in-depth interviewing and artifact collection, conducted over the course of a ten-month academic year. Data analysis was iterative and included frequent member checks with participants.
Findings
The paper finds that restorative justice and deeper learning have powerful epistemological connections that school leaders can harness in order to ensure a coherent approach to change processes. The paper also illuminates several of the core dilemmas that school leaders should anticipate facing when embracing these two frameworks: the dilemma of responding to feedback, the dilemma of power-sharing and the dilemma of balancing expectations with support.
Research limitations/implications
The case study approach employed in this paper allows for rich understandings of specific phenomena while also providing a platform for exploring the general qualities that these phenomena might illustrate. This approach does not allow for statistical generalizability.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that it is imperative for school leaders to explore what it means to lead in ways that are coherent with their vision for change, e.g. to cultivate symmetry. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that the value of such explorations lies in the process of grappling with the tensions that arise when humanizing frameworks are implemented within systems that uphold traditional power hierarchies. Additionally, the paper affirms the value of de-siloing the transformation of school culture from the transformation of instructional practice.
Originality/value
This paper offers an unusually textured account of the messy and uncertain processes that constitute the work of school change. This paper also draws together two educational paradigms which are rarely brought into conversation with each other despite their epistemological synergy.
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This paper aims to identify the values antecedents of women’s social entrepreneurship. It explores where and how these values emerge and how they underpin the perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the values antecedents of women’s social entrepreneurship. It explores where and how these values emerge and how they underpin the perceived desirability and feasibility of social venture creation.
Design/methodology/approach
Values development across the life-course is interrogated through retrospective sense-making by thirty UK-based women social entrepreneurs.
Findings
The findings express values related to empathy, social justice and action-taking, developed, consolidated and challenged in a variety of experiential domains over time. The cumulative effects of these processes result in the perceived desirability and feasibility of social entrepreneurial venture creation as a means of effecting social change and achieving coherence between personal values and paid work, prompting social entrepreneurial action-taking.
Originality/value
This paper offers novel, contextualised insights into the role that personal values play as antecedents to social entrepreneurship. It contributes to the sparse literature focussed on both women’s experiences of social entrepreneurship generally, and on their personal values specifically.
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Chongryol Park, Ronald McQuaid and Suzanne Mawson
This paper explores key factors influencing high-performing, sustained growth, high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores key factors influencing high-performing, sustained growth, high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study is adopted to explore seventeen founder owner-managers of high-tech SMEs who sustained consistent employment growth, greater than the industry average, for seven years. Within the sample, those with higher (10% or over) employment compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) over this period are also compared to those with lower rates.
Findings
The study suggests that proactive approaches, such as flexible organization, risk management, fast decision-making and international market entry, are seen as important contributing factors to sustained growth. These findings contribute to a better theoretical and empirical understanding of sustained high-tech SME growth, in a country with a strong entrepreneurial and internationally competitive information technology sector. Also, collaboration across the SME was perceived as making an important contribution to staff development and growth, consistent with stewardship theory.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is based on successful high-tech SMEs, so there are limitations in extrapolating results to other types of firms, sectors or countries.
Practical implications
Key factors identified in this study can be considered by entrepreneurs seeking to achieve sustainable business. These also provide improved understanding for policymakers into the complexity of factors related to sustained and high growth of technology-based SMEs, which many countries are keen to foster to aid national economic growth.
Originality/value
The research provides new evidence exploring the diverse perspectives of founder owner-managers, on the sustained growth and failure in South Korean high-tech SMEs, and how these have changed since the inception of their business.
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Cathy Street, Ellen Ni Chinseallaigh, Ingrid Holme, Rebecca Appleton, Priya Tah, Helena Tuomainen, Sophie Leijdesdorff, Larissa van Bodegom, Therese van Amelsvoort, Tomislav Franic, Helena Tomljenovic and Fiona McNicholas
This study aims to explore how young people in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands and Croatia, experienced leaving CAMHS and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how young people in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands and Croatia, experienced leaving CAMHS and identified a range of factors impeding optimal discharge or transition to adult mental health services (AMHS).
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews about discharge or transition planning, including what information was provided about their ongoing mental health needs, undertaken with 34 young people aged 17–24, all previous or current attendees of CAMHS. Some interviews included accounts by parents or carers. Data were thematically analysed.
Findings
A number of previously well-documented barriers to a well-delivered discharge or transition were noted. Two issues less frequently reported on were identified and further discussed; they are the provision of an adequately explained, timely and appropriately used diagnosis and post-CAMHS medication management. Overall, planning processes for discharging or transitioning young people from CAMHS are often sub-optimal. Practice with regard to how and when young people are given a diagnosis and arrangements for the continuation of prescribed medication appear to be areas requiring improvement.
Originality/value
Study participants came from a large cohort involving a wide range of different services and health systems in the first pan-European study exploring the CAMHS to adult service interface. Two novel and infrequently discussed issues in the literature about young people’s mental health transitions, diagnosis and medication management were identified in this cohort and worthy of further study.
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Summer Suzanne Shelton, Amanda S. Bradshaw, Matthew Cretul and Debbie Treise
Plus-size women represent a large consumer segment that has grown in popularity with the fashion industry, retailers and advertisers. Despite advancements in clothing availability…
Abstract
Purpose
Plus-size women represent a large consumer segment that has grown in popularity with the fashion industry, retailers and advertisers. Despite advancements in clothing availability for plus-sized women, the shopping experience for these women (compared with that of straight-size women) often still falls short. The current experience leaves plus-sized women feel like a second-class, minority group despite the fact that the majority of women in USA are considered plus-size. The purpose of this study was to assess how US-based, value- and mid-market online clothing retailers position their plus-size female clothing sections in their site navigation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study assessed the websites of N = 68 popular plus- and straight-sized US-based, value- and mid-market retailers to evaluate the placement of, and options available in, their plus-sized clothing sections.
Findings
Findings revealed that the majority of retailers completely separated out the plus-sized section from the straight-sized section and that the language used to describe plus-size clothing was body-focused (versus clothing-focused for straight-size clothing sections). Theoretical and practical implications for marketers, advertisers and retailers are discussed.
Originality/value
This is the first study to assess the separation of plus- and straight-sized clothing sections in online retail spaces. As brands begin to consider combining plus- and straight-sized clothing sections (see Old Navy), it is important to assess how wide-spread the separation of sections currently is in online retail environments.
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Celebrate Michael Buckland's impressive legacy to LIS by showing his humanity, generosity and versatility.
Abstract
Purpose
Celebrate Michael Buckland's impressive legacy to LIS by showing his humanity, generosity and versatility.
Design/methodology/approach
This article is walk through a scientific career in LIS. Through personal anecdotes and life history and building upon Michael Buckland's legacy, it summarises the author’s own work seen through the prism of her interactions with Buckland, leading to scholarly contributions articulating significant statements about the field of LIS as well as pointers to past relevant publications.
Findings
Michael Buckland has a unique way of putting an end to thorny LIS issues as well as being a documentator extraordinaire.
Originality/value
It is a personal account, as such cannot be evaluated through the classical norms of empirical research as there is no ground truth. This account shows how chance encounters with fellow scholars can have a lasting influence on one's academic career as well as wider impact in a field.
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Julianne A. Wenner, Megan Frary and Paul J. Simmonds
Historically, graduate education’s goal was to prepare academics; now most science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics (STEM) graduate students (GSs) go on to nonacademic…
Abstract
Purpose
Historically, graduate education’s goal was to prepare academics; now most science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics (STEM) graduate students (GSs) go on to nonacademic careers. STEM GSs must be equipped for success regardless of career aspirations, which can be done by strengthening GSs’ professional identities. This study aims to explore an interdisciplinary partnership designed to strengthen STEM GS professional identity.
Design/methodology/approach
The STEM Partnership Project (SPP), asked STEM GSs to serve as disciplinary experts and teach STEM content to elementary teacher candidates (TCs) so the TCs could design and teach an elementary science lesson. GSs also enrolled in a one-credit course to support SPP participation and activities. Over five semesters, the authors collected data from 28 STEM GSs across different disciplines and degree programs in the form of course assignments, surveys and interviews.
Findings
The SPP supported the development of a professional identity by having GSs serve as and feel like experts; increasing GSs’ sense of belonging in their field; increasing GSs’ self-confidence that they could (learn to) teach a wide variety of audiences; and raising GSs’ awareness of their ability to serve others via their field.
Originality/value
The SPP’s outcomes were consistent across STEM disciplines, did not require GSs to take on large amounts of coursework, nor did it cost much beyond materials for the various lessons. Furthermore, the key components that strengthened GSs’ professional identities could be adapted for different contexts and institutions.
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Deep Jyoti Gurung and Vanessa Gowreesunkar
This research addresses the pressing need for comprehensive studies in the rapidly evolving field of city tourism. This study aims to understand the overall performance of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This research addresses the pressing need for comprehensive studies in the rapidly evolving field of city tourism. This study aims to understand the overall performance of the International Journal of Tourism Cities (IJTC), the structure of knowledge in city tourism research and the prevalent themes and trends arising from IJTC.
Design/methodology/approach
A bibliometric analysis was conducted to scrutinize the publication patterns in IJTC. This involved examining parameters such as the annual count of published articles, the keywords used in them and their respective authors.
Findings
The findings reveal that IJTC has a growing and diverse publication output, establishing itself as a reputable and influential publication within urban tourism research. The results reflect various aspects and themes in city tourism research.
Research limitations/implications
The study has certain limitations. The data used for analysis was obtained exclusively from the Scopus database. The analysis was conducted using only one software package, Bibliometrix. Other software packages may offer different features for bibliometric analysis. The study relied exclusively on quantitative methods for data analysis. Qualitative methods could have provided more nuanced interpretations of the data.
Practical implications
Comparative analyses could be conducted between IJTC and other journals within urban tourism or related disciplines. Such research would yield valuable insights into the current state of the field and aid in identifying areas warranting further investigation.
Social implications
The findings from this study can inform the decisions and actions of various stakeholders involved in urban tourism. Practitioners and policymakers can draw from this research to make informed decisions. Existing and emerging authors can identify relevant topics for their research. Readers can access pertinent information for their needs.
Originality/value
This study offers a unique contribution by thoroughly comprehending the performance of IJTC between 2015 and 2023. It progresses the existing body of knowledge on city tourism research by examining its current status and future trends.
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