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1 – 10 of over 174000Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Kelly Benati, Sophie Lindsay and Juan Fischer
Universities have traditionally focused on imparting theoretical knowledge, which graduates then transfer to the workplace. However, the unpredictable modern workplace makes this…
Abstract
Purpose
Universities have traditionally focused on imparting theoretical knowledge, which graduates then transfer to the workplace. However, the unpredictable modern workplace makes this transfer less certain. Whilst the gap between theory and practice has often been considered from an employer and academic standpoint, less is known about the graduate perspective. The purpose of this study is to determine the ways in which theoretical knowledge and practical experience interact for graduating students.
Design/methodology/approach
The views of 86 undergraduate business approaching graduation were gathered on how they applied theory to practice during their recent internship.
Findings
Graduating students apply theory that they have learnt at university through the direct application of fundamental knowledge and through workplace experience, which built on and deepened the knowledge accumulated at university. The findings indicate that there is, indeed, a gap between theory and practice but that employability skills may assist in the transfer process.
Research limitations/implications
The research broadens the understanding of how theoretical knowledge is applied in practice and helps to determine if graduating students are prepared to meet the demands of an ever-changing workplace.
Practical implications
The results give us insight into how theory and practice interact for graduating students and give support to universities further exploring experiential learning opportunities for students and continuing to the development of employability skills.
Originality/value
The findings encourage a more nuanced debate regarding the role of universities and that both the provision of core theoretical concept and employability skills are necessary for graduates to effectively use their academic education in the modern workplace.
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Katie N. Smith, Annie M. Wofford, Rachel E. Friedensen, Timothy D. Stanfield and Yolanda Jackson
Scholars in the field of higher education take many approaches to apply theory in empirical research. However, this wide array of theoretical applications has prompted confusion…
Abstract
Scholars in the field of higher education take many approaches to apply theory in empirical research. However, this wide array of theoretical applications has prompted confusion among scholars who seek to integrate and understand how theory is situated in higher education research. This chapter explores the conceptualization, application, and visibility of theory in higher education research by presenting discourse from field leaders and discussing methodological definitions of theory, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks. Additionally, we conducted a summative content analysis of 239 empirical articles from the Review of Higher Education over a 10-year period, with the goal of understanding how theories were framed and applied in a subset of research. We conclude by reiterating the importance of theory in the study of higher education and providing strategies for effective theory application.
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Rachel Roegman and Sarah Woulfin
The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize the theory-practice gap in educational leadership, not as a deficit, but as a necessity for legitimacy within institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize the theory-practice gap in educational leadership, not as a deficit, but as a necessity for legitimacy within institutional contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on institutional theory to reframe the theory-practice gap, which is often seen as a deficit of leaders or preparation programs.
Findings
Three vignettes illustrate how aspiring and current educational leaders engage with theory and practice within specific contexts and in relation to specific aspects of leadership. Importantly, the vignettes show that when school leaders decouple theory from practice, they may be doing so to function as legitimate providers of K-12 educational leadership.
Research limitations/implications
The theory-practice gap, while often perceived as something negative, can have certain benefits within particular contexts. Scholars interested in the interconnections of theory and practice would benefit from considering why and how school leaders engage theory and practice.
Practical implications
Implications for leadership preparation programs highlight developing more complex views of the challenges that leaders face in tightly coupling theory and practice. To support future and current leaders, leadership preparation programs need to ensure that their students understand their institutional contexts and the reasons that leaders may decouple theory from action in various ways.
Originality/value
Instead of viewing the theory/practice gap as a deficit, this paper argues for a new way to consider why school leaders and leadership candidates may engage with theory and practice in different ways.
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Michael Breum Ramsgaard and Sara Juul Østergaard
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how using an entrepreneurial learning approach for assessment of internships could increase the reflected value of combining theory and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how using an entrepreneurial learning approach for assessment of internships could increase the reflected value of combining theory and practice articulated in students’ learning outcomes. Furthermore, the purpose was to investigate whether the applied approach led to enhanced perception of professional identity and new understandings of employability for students in the internship course.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research design was the basis for investigation of the topics in focus. The data consisted of five focus groups, observation notes, and documentation from the exam situations. Two consecutive groups of students (2015 and 2016) participated in the study at a university of applied science in Denmark.
Findings
Results from the study provided evidence that students in internships collectively develop a comprehensive understanding of how to apply theory to practical settings. By working with an entrepreneurial learning approach in the professional practice, students reported an enhanced reflective understanding of learning outcomes and the theory-practice gap, developed an ability for opportunity identification, and established a grounded feeling of professional identity and employability.
Practical implications
The current pilot project serves as a full and context-rich case study that can inform educators about formative and summative assessment practices when designing internships courses. Furthermore, internship supervisors can get valuable insight into learning processes during an internship.
Originality/value
The suggested model for an entrepreneurial learning approach to assessment of internships provides a basis for further research within entrepreneurial learning and the application to design of assessment practices in this context.
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Carolyn Caffrey, Hannah Lee, Tessa Withorn, Maggie Clarke, Amalia Castañeda, Kendra Macomber, Kimberly M. Jackson, Jillian Eslami, Aric Haas, Thomas Philo, Elizabeth Galoozis, Wendolyn Vermeer, Anthony Andora and Katie Paris Kohn
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for busy practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This article annotates 424 English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2021. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science, and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and WorldCat, published in 2021 that included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, abstract or keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations summarize the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was categorized into one of seven pre-determined categories: K-12 Education, Children and Adolescents; Academic and Professional Programs; Everyday Life, Community, and the Workplace; Libraries and Health Information Literacy; Multiple Library Types; and Other Information Literacy Research and Theory.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of 424 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy within 2021.
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Tessa Withorn, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Carolyn Caffrey, Anthony Andora, Cristina Springfield, Dana Ospina, Maggie Clarke, George Martinez, Amalia Castañeda, Aric Haas and Wendolyn Vermeer
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2019.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of all 370 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Kristin Brandl, Michael J. Mol and Bent Petersen
A service production system has a structure composed of task execution, agents performing tasks and a resulting service output. The purpose of this paper is to understand how such…
Abstract
Purpose
A service production system has a structure composed of task execution, agents performing tasks and a resulting service output. The purpose of this paper is to understand how such a service production system changes as a consequence of offshoring.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on practice theory, the paper investigates how offshoring leads to reconfiguration of the service production system. Through a multiple case methodology, the authors demonstrate how agents and structures interact during reconfiguration.
Findings
The paper analyses the reconfiguration of components of a service production system in response to change ignited by offshoring. The authors find recurring effects between structures that enable and constrain agents and agents who shape the structure of the production system.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offers a novel contribution to the service operations management literature by applying practice theory. Moreover, the authors propose a detailed, activity-driven view of service production systems and service offshoring. The authors contribute to practice theory by extending its domain to operations management.
Practical implications
Service production systems have the ability to self-correct any changes inflicted through offshoring of the systems, which helps firms that offshore.
Originality/value
The paper is aimed at service professionals and offshoring managers and proposes a novel presentation of the service production system with a description of how it responds to offshoring. The authors contribute to theory by applying practice theory to the fields of service operations management and offshoring.
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Niamh M. Brennan and Collette E. Kirwan
The purpose of this paper is to review and critique prior research on audit committees using a practice-theory lens. Research on audit committees has followed the same trajectory…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and critique prior research on audit committees using a practice-theory lens. Research on audit committees has followed the same trajectory as early research on boards of directors, which has been criticised for its singular theoretical perspectives and methodologies that do not capture the complexity of real-world experiences/behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors devise an analytical framework based on practice theory to conduct the review. The authors examine what audit committees should do (i.e. best practice) vs what audit committees actually do (i.e. actual activities in practice – praxis). Attributes of audit committee members, and the relationship dynamics relevant to their role execution (i.e. practitioners), are considered.
Findings
Research on boards has found that over-emphasis on agency theory’s monitoring role negatively impacts boards’ effectiveness. The authors invoke other theories in examining what audit committees do in practice. The authors characterise the role of audit committees as oversight not monitoring. The authors question whether, similar to auditing, audit committees are blamist tools or are genuinely orientated towards supporting improvements in organisational management systems. The authors unpack the ritualistic ceremonial behaviours and symbolic endeavours vs substantive engagement by audit committees. The analytical framework also considers the “guardianship circle” around audit committees in the form of the key practitioners and their relationships: audit committee members, auditors and managers.
Originality/value
Drawing on the analytical framework, the authors provide directions for further opportunities for research of audit committees.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the major trends and contributions published in the Advances in Project Management book series and place them in the context of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the major trends and contributions published in the Advances in Project Management book series and place them in the context of the findings and outputs from the Rethinking Project Management Network. A key aim is to address the concerns of project practitioners and explore the alternatives to the assumed linear rationality of project thinking. The paper further offers a guided catalogue to some of the key ideas, concepts and approaches offered to practitioners through the series.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual review paper that reflects on the main areas covered in a book series aimed at improving modern project practice and explores the implications on practice, knowledge and the relationship between research and practice. The topics are addressed through the prism of the Rethinking Project Management Network findings.
Findings
The paper explores new advances in project management practice aligning them with key trends and perspectives identified as part of the Rethinking Project Management initiative. It further delineates new areas of expertise augmenting those mentioned in the disciplinary canons of knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offers a new understanding of how knowledge is created in, for and by practice. Improving the relationship between theory and practice may demand a new appreciation of the role of practitioners and the value of their reflection in context.
Practical implications
The primary implication is to explore the new directions and perspectives covered by authors in the Advances in Project Management series, and identify main areas and topics that feature in the emerging discourse about project management practice. In addition, new conceptualisations of the role of practitioners in making sense of project realities are offered and considered.
Originality/value
New areas of interest and activity are identified and examined, offering a catalogue of new writing and perspectives in project practice. Reflection on the relationship between research and practice encourages fresh thinking about the crucial role of practitioner knowledge and reflection.
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