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1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 6 February 2013

Julie Schell, Brian Lukoff and Eric Mazur

In this chapter, we introduce a new technology for facilitating and measuring learner engagement. The system creates a learning experience for students based on frequent feedback…

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce a new technology for facilitating and measuring learner engagement. The system creates a learning experience for students based on frequent feedback, which is critical to learning. We open by problematizing traditional approaches to learner engagement that do not maximize the potential of feedback and offer a research-based solution in a new classroom response system (CRS) two of the authors developed at Harvard University – Learning Catalytics. The chapter includes an overview of cognitive science principles linked to student learning and how those principles are tied to Learning Catalytics. We then provide an overview of the limitations of existing CRSs and describe how Learning Catalytics addresses those limitations. Finally, we describe how we used Learning Catalytics to facilitate and measure learner engagement in novel ways, through a pilot implementation in an undergraduate physics classroom at Harvard University. This pilot was guided by two questions: How can we use Learning Catalytics to help students engage with subject matter in ways that will help them learn? And how can we measure student engagement in new ways using the analytics built into the system? The objective of this chapter is to introduce Learning Catalytics as a new instructional tool and respond to these questions.

Details

Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Classroom Technologies: Classroom Response Systems and Mediated Discourse Technologies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-512-8

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1995

Yuanjin Lei, Zhufeng Jiang, Yuemei Tao and Zhinhong Wu

Describes a new catalytic gas sensor which claims high stability andlow‐consumed power by using extra fine wires of precious metals and theaddition of a support stabilizer and…

615

Abstract

Describes a new catalytic gas sensor which claims high stability and low‐consumed power by using extra fine wires of precious metals and the addition of a support stabilizer and pore‐making agents. Outlines the experiment methods and materials used, the principles of detection and the performance of the catalytic elements. Concludes that with the addition of a support stabilizer which makes the specific surface of the support decrease slowly during use, and a pore‐making agent which can eliminate the effect of the internal diffusion on the sensor, the novel catalytic sensor can be widely applied to the detection of damp gas in coal mines and various combustible gases on the earth’s surfaces.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1995

Marlys Dickmeyer and Brenda Williams

Outlines the techniques for the Catalytic Empowerment process.Catalytic Empowerment evolved out of consulting practices that takeunprofitable companies in the crisis of going out…

1084

Abstract

Outlines the techniques for the Catalytic Empowerment process. Catalytic Empowerment evolved out of consulting practices that take unprofitable companies in the crisis of going out of business and make them healthy, profitable companies very quickly. The techniques are a source for transformational results. The consultant brings certain characteristics and training into an organization. The Catalytic Empowerment consultant is the model and vehicle by which empowerment is transferred into all areas of the organization. The example and training that the consultant provides causes a chain reaction of empowerment, transformation and dramatic results to take place. This is transferred into all levels and it transforms the very culture of the organization.

Details

Empowerment in Organizations, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4891

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1991

J. Hayes and R. Prakasam

It is considered whether consultation is a strategy that can beused to bring about change in those organisational settings whereattempts to provide senior managers with…

Abstract

It is considered whether consultation is a strategy that can be used to bring about change in those organisational settings where attempts to provide senior managers with off‐the‐job training has had little or no effect. Findings are reported which suggest that while consultation can be effective, the mode of intervention used can have an important impact on the degree of change achieved.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Christina Anna Elisabeth Claßen and Reinhard Schulte

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how conflicts, caused by the specifics of family businesses – the familiness – impact change in family businesses.

1272

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of how conflicts, caused by the specifics of family businesses – the familiness – impact change in family businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews of German family business members. The authors followed the grounded theory approach.

Findings

This study gives evidence for family business-specific conflicts and family business-specific change and outlines how conflict impacts change. Findings show that a family system works like a recursive catalytic converter in family businesses.

Research limitations/implications

This paper offers researchers a broader understanding and a comprehensive view of change in the family business. Although still limited by its exploratory approach, its insights can be valuable for researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The findings offer an operational base for future quantitative studies.

Originality/value

Using the new system theories approach the authors develop an understanding of how conflicts impact change in family businesses. The study explains how conflicts are managed in family business practice.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1987

David Coghlan

Many models and typologies exist in the fields of organisational behaviour and consultation. One model, developed by Rashford and Coghlan, focuses on organisational levels as a…

1993

Abstract

Many models and typologies exist in the fields of organisational behaviour and consultation. One model, developed by Rashford and Coghlan, focuses on organisational levels as a framework for managing human resources. Four organisational levels — individual, face‐to‐face team, group‐divisional and policy‐strategy — are distinguished and each level is defined in terms of tasks and interventions. In the field of consultation, the typology of Blake and Mouton is well established. This typology presents a classification system of five consultation interventions — acceptant, catalytic, confronting, prescriptive and theory. It has widely influenced thinking on, and training in, consultation skills. The Blake and Mouton typology is applied to the Rashford and Coghlan framework with a view to its further development.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 June 2011

Philip Mirvis

This chapter examines Unilever's transformation in sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) over the past decade. It tracks the author's involvement with an…

Abstract

This chapter examines Unilever's transformation in sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) over the past decade. It tracks the author's involvement with an internal team that studied Unilever's world “outside in” and “inside out” through the engagement of over 100 organizational leaders to awaken the company for change. The case reports how Unilever embraced a “vitality mission” to align its strategies and organization around sustainability and CSR and infuse social and environmental content into its corporate and product brands. Among the innovations described are certification of the sources of sustainable fish and tea, Dove's inner-beauty campaign, and several “bottom of the pyramid” efforts. Particular attention is given to the makeover of its high-growth Asian business. The transformation is examined as a “catalytic” approach to change and discussed with reference to theories of complex adaptive systems. This raises theoretical questions about the role of top-down versus more communal leadership, the importance of mission versus vision in guiding change, and the relevance of emotive and psycho-spiritual versus more programmatic interventions in the rearchitecture of an organization as it progresses on sustainability and CSR.

Details

Organizing for Sustainability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-557-1

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Article
Publication date: 13 April 2010

John C. Dumay

The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflective discourse about a particular interventionist research project utilising a critical framework.

1280

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflective discourse about a particular interventionist research project utilising a critical framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses Alvesson and Deetz's tasks of critical research to analyse the application of interventionist research methodology and address the issues of access, data collection and ethnographical concerns.

Findings

Access issues are expanded to consider the concerns of the researcher and the researched. Interventionist research needs to develop a methodological approach moving beyond the concept of triangulation and to develop the concept of “catalytical” processes, expanding the emic and etic functions of interventionist research. The paper identifies that skills of the researched and the researcher need to be developed and recognises that the skills required are different to those currently possessed by academic researchers.

Research limitations/implications

The paper examines only a single application of an interventionist research project conducted over a short period of time with a specific outcome in mind.

Practical implications

This paper provides a discussion of a working example of an interventionist research project and highlights to researchers and practitioners some of the advantages and disadvantages of undertaking such an approach to solving organisational problems.

Originality/value

The reflective critical discourse as outlined in this paper contributes to the practice of interventionist research by opening up further the discussion of how it can be implemented in practice and what are some of the considerations from both the perspective of practice and the skills base of the participants.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2000

Edwin A. Goodman

The capital markets, in league with the Internet, are creating a unique moment in business history. Of course, past courtships between capital and technology have driven economic…

Abstract

The capital markets, in league with the Internet, are creating a unique moment in business history. Of course, past courtships between capital and technology have driven economic growth and changed society. After all, venture capitalists and Wall Street bankers helped entrepreneurs launch semiconductors, main frame and personal computers, and biotechnology. But the catalytic change the Internet has ushered in is so extensive that it is really a change in kind rather than one of degree.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Book part
Publication date: 15 March 2022

Nikolas L. Hourvouliades

The main purpose of this chapter is to shed more light into the challenging small business (SME) task of securing adequate and appropriate funding for continued viability. Access…

Abstract

Chapter Contribution

The main purpose of this chapter is to shed more light into the challenging small business (SME) task of securing adequate and appropriate funding for continued viability. Access to finance is of fundamental importance to SME survival, invariably it involves working capital needs or long-term capital projects. This chapter will mainly focus on the Greek environment and the individual characteristics of the domestic market, in particular. As in most countries, SMEs form the backbone of Greece’s economic activity, accounting for almost 95% of the total. They are the very backbone of the country’s daily business and labour force. Crucially, the Greek banking system upon which many small enterprises rely has collapsed during the years of global financial crisis, with the domestic banks literally ending up completely drained of all available liquidity.

In a country that has gone through enormous financial turmoil, and with a damaged banking system that has undergone three recapitalisation processes, domestic companies had little, if any, support from the traditional banking sources. In the summer of 2015, things became critical, when the country almost left the European Union’s (EU) common currency zone and entered a capital control regime. As a result, enterprises sought other channels of financing to overcome the obstacle. Focus in this chapter will be on the role of the stock market, the national investment funds and the EU funding.

This chapter, in the main, builds insight from a research-informed case study: that of Greek SMEs and their access to finance (excluding the banking sector). The time span of the analysis covers the years of the domestic financial crisis, lasting considerably more than within the other European countries. Though varying in magnitude, the crisis in Greece started sometime in 2010 and concluded in 2018, leaving deep scars on the country’s productive body. During that period, the domestic banking system underwent catalytic changes, embracing three major recapitalisation schemes and an enormous merger phase that ended up with only four remaining systemic banks. Prior to that, the 2012 Private Sector Involvement (bailout program) led the country’s rating to a default status and made financing options extremely difficult.

This chapter will also offer comparisons to other European states, to enable drawing of conclusions about the different operating parameters of doing business in the greater region; and to facilitate search for common patterns between the countries that were hit by the credit crunch and also saw their banking systems weaken. The data will be drawn exclusively from secondary sources, including national and European public and private organisations dealing with financial and investment analyses. Once gathered, data is categorised and critically evaluated to look deeper into the nature of the behaviour of SMEs and the financing channels they have found during the study sample period.

Key findings will include the reporting and the evaluation of Greek firms’ access to finance with regard to non-banking sources, such as the stock market, EU funding, investment laws and venture funds. Comparison with prior years and with other European markets will show the main challenges and obstacles firms faced, and the solutions they found during the crisis.

Limitations can be split into two categories: first, the data reported at public and private sites include by default the official sector of the economy, thus, omitting the reporting of parallel or unofficial market activity. In an economy that includes approximately 20% of unofficial GDP, such sources most probably proved catalytic in the companies’ liquidity, without being officially reported. Second, the time span of the sample is quite large, making it difficult to analyse the specific characteristics of various companies at various time points in full detail. However, the chapter’s main purpose is to offer an all-inclusive picture of how things evolved during the years of the crisis and not to focus on specific points. Describing the big picture is the priority of this chapter, with a focus on capturing the financing trends during this period of abnormality. Perhaps a further study in the future could be inspired by this current one, to break-up the period into smaller pieces and dedicate detailed analysis to each chunk. Useful conclusions will be drawn in this chapter for policy-makers, including both fiscal and monetary directors, who will get a clearer picture of how the credit crunch influenced the market, and how SMEs worked their way through these challenging times to find ways to finance their operations, development and growth. The major contribution of this chapter is it being the first to cover SMEs exclusively during all years of the financial crisis in a country like Greece that has seen its banking sector collapse. Firms were left without their traditional source of funding, the next-door bank, and managed to find alternative routes to finance to survive and keep on going.

Details

Small Business Management and Control of the Uncertain External Environment
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-624-2

1 – 10 of over 2000