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1 – 10 of over 3000
Article
Publication date: 11 May 2012

Patricia Brouwer, Mieke Brekelmans, Loek Nieuwenhuis and Robert‐Jan Simons

The aim of this study is to explore whether and to what degree community development of teacher teams takes place and how community development comes about, that is, what…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to explore whether and to what degree community development of teacher teams takes place and how community development comes about, that is, what community‐building efforts teacher teams undertake.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a multi method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from seven interdisciplinary teacher teams in a secondary school during one school year. Teachers' perceptions of community development were complemented with video‐observations of team meetings by relative outsiders.

Findings

Data showed that the teacher teams undertook a wide variety and amount of community‐building efforts. However, community development of the teacher teams as perceived by the teachers was limited. Relative outsiders observed some community development.

Practical implications

From the findings the authors conclude that school managers could play a more proactive role in supporting teacher teams' community‐building efforts. Strategies embedding community‐building into the culture and policy of the school, including diagnosing, custom‐made support and making efforts explicit, could be effective.

Originality/value

The current study takes a long‐term approach, investigating the community development of teacher teams during the course of one school year. In addition, community development is measured using two perspectives, i.e. that of the community members and that of the relative outsider.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2013

Eleni Kaliva, Eleni Panopoulou, Efthimios Tambouris and Konstantinos Tarabanis

The purpose of this paper is to develop a domain model for online community building and collaboration in e‐government and policy modelling.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a domain model for online community building and collaboration in e‐government and policy modelling.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors followed a structured approach including five distinct steps: define the domain to be investigated; collect domain knowledge from both existing online community building and collaboration platforms and domain experts; analyse the gathered knowledge; develop and evaluate the domain model.

Findings

A domain model was developed for community building and collaboration in eGovernment and policy modelling, including the domain definition, the domain lexicon and the conceptual models modelling its basic entities and functions of the domain. In particular, the UML class diagram was used for modelling the domain entities and the UML use cases diagram for modelling the domain functions.

Originality/value

A literature search revealed a lack of domain models for online community building and collaboration, not only in e‐government and policy modelling but also in general. The proposed model provides a better understanding of the domain. It can also be used in the development of relevant platforms, leading to the reduction of software development costs and delivery time, as well as the improvement of software quality and reliability, by minimising domain analysis errors.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2009

Michaela Neumayr, Michael Meyer, Miroslav Pospíšil, Ulrike Schneider and Ivan Malý

Civil society organisations (CSOs) contribute essentially to welfare states and society. In Europe they play a key role in the provision of social services, but also fulfil a…

Abstract

Civil society organisations (CSOs) contribute essentially to welfare states and society. In Europe they play a key role in the provision of social services, but also fulfil a large variety of other functions, such as giving voice to unaddressed issues, offering alternative ways of occupational socialisation or facilitating social inclusion (cf. Kramer, 1981; Rose-Ackerman & James, 1986; Kendall, 2003). Current research suggests that the third sectors’ societal roles considerably vary between countries, depending on the welfare state they are embedded in: Starting with a revision of Esping-Andersen's welfare regime typology (1990) and also based on the earlier work of Moore (1966), Salamon and his colleagues developed a typology of four different ‘non-profit regimes’ (Salamon & Anheier, 1998; Salamon, Hems, & Chinnock, 2000a). As key dimensions for this classification, they applied the extent of governmental welfare spending and the size of the third sector (cf. Johnson, 1999). According to this typology of nonprofit regimes, in countries with a large third-sector CSOs mainly fulfil the service function. Countries with a relatively small third sector, so the implicit conclusion, would tend to engage in ‘the expression of political, social, or even recreational interests’ (Salamon & Anheier, 1998, p. 229).

Details

Civil Society in Comparative Perspective
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-608-3

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2021

Tugce Ertem-Eray and Eyun-Jung Ki

As the number of corporate blogs has continued to increase over the years, this study examines the use of relationship cultivation strategies of Fortune 500 companies on their…

Abstract

Purpose

As the number of corporate blogs has continued to increase over the years, this study examines the use of relationship cultivation strategies of Fortune 500 companies on their corporate blogs. Moreover, it focuses on how companies use corporate blogs as interactive online communication channels to create a sense of community among their publics.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis of Fortune 500 company corporate blogs was conducted to examine the use of relational cultivation strategies and their methods of promoting a sense of community.

Findings

Findings indicate that networking and sharing tasks are used most frequently among all relational cultivation strategies on corporate blogs, and that there are statistically significant differences among industries for using relationship cultivation strategies on corporate blogs. The most frequently used dimension of sense of community on corporate blogs is shared emotional connection.

Originality/value

Studies analyzing social media as public relations tools have not yet focused on community building. In fact, few studies have examined the community building aspect of corporate blogs in the public relations field. To fill this gap, this study focuses on community building and analyzes how companies use corporate blogs as an interactive online communication channel to create a sense of community among their publics.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2015

Steven Jay Cuvelier, Di Jia and Cheng Jin

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese police cadets’ background, motivations and educational perceptions and their attitudes toward common…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese police cadets’ background, motivations and educational perceptions and their attitudes toward common police roles.

Design/methodology/approach

Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 382 Chinese police cadets. Based upon predisposition and socialization theories, personal background, career motivation and attitudes toward education were examined as statistical explanations of cadets’ attitudes toward order maintenance, preventative patrol, law enforcement, and community building as elements of the police role.

Findings

Cadets who recognized more value in their practical and academic education also significantly favored the transitional and contemporary police roles (preventative patrol, law enforcement, and community building), which are taught as part of their college curriculum. But educational perceptions had no effect on order maintenance, which is a more historical role, and not emphasized by the police college. Cadets from lower SES backgrounds and those receiving outside influence to select a policing career tended to support traditional police roles whereas cadets with a relative in policing tended to show greater support for contemporary policing roles.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by being a cross-sectional study of a single police college. Future studies should incorporate a longitudinal element to follow the perceptions of cadets from their school experience into the policing profession and should be conducted in other settings to assess generalizability.

Practical implications

The impact of higher education on police cadets appears to be better measured as a function of their perceived importance of education (engagement) rather than measuring their exposure to it. The effectiveness of police training and education may be enhanced by adopting teaching methods that better engage learners.

Social implications

Better alignment between police officers’ attitudes toward their roles and duties and contemporary police standards and practices will assure more effective and responsible police action and delivery of police services to the community.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to demonstrate that Cadets who hold higher regard for practical and academic education are significantly better aligned to the policing roles emphasized by their educational program.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2022

Laura Seppänen, Inka Koskela, Heli Heikkilä, Helena Leino-Kilpi, Päivi Rautava, Minna Stolt, Mervi Siekkinen, Elisa Valtanen and Virpi Sulosaari

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is increasingly important in work and workplace learning. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of IPC that are…

Abstract

Purpose

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is increasingly important in work and workplace learning. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of IPC that are relevant for learning and developing at work.

Design/methodology/approach

We examine IPC in the discussion data of health care professionals when designing, implementing and evaluating developmental tasks. Qualitative content analysis is carried out on temporally sequential task trajectories, considering IPC from the perspective of the objects and goals of IPC task activity in developmental efforts.

Findings

The developmentally relevant characteristics of IPC are crystallized in the concepts of coordination, co-creation and community building, which play different, interdependent roles in development efforts. We show their interplay and how they complement each other in practice.

Research limitations/implications

Our findings regarding IPC characteristics are to be interpreted as working hypotheses and resources for further research.

Practical implications

Understanding the dynamics of IPC is useful for renewing work practices. Attention to the interplay and complementarity of IPC characteristics may help in the design and implementation of effective and sustained development efforts.

Originality/value

The dynamics of IPC in developmental settings have not been sufficiently studied. This paper proposes three developmentally relevant and intertwined characteristics of IPC for scholars of workplace learning.

Article
Publication date: 11 November 2013

Richard Vidgen, Julian Mark Sims and Philip Powell

– Chief executives (CEOs) have turned to blogging. This research asks: do CEO blogs attract commenters leading to genuine discussion and community building?

1197

Abstract

Purpose

Chief executives (CEOs) have turned to blogging. This research asks: do CEO blogs attract commenters leading to genuine discussion and community building?

Design/methodology/approach

The 30 most popular CEO blogs are analysed, community structure is graphically represented using social network analysis, measuring cohesion using connectedness. A review of content assesses whether richness and type of media affect community building.

Findings

By modelling a CEO blog as an affiliation network the structure is exposed. Community cohesiveness is assessed using a measure of connectedness. The connectedness ranking differs from the original Technorati Rank (TR) although the top blog in both is the same. Community building relates more to external reputation, writing style or topicality than to the type of media used.

Practical implications

CEO bloggers must engage commenters to build community. TR and connectedness scores measure different things but both affect community building. CEO blogs with high community scores post regularly, attract many comments and have an active core membership that bind the community. Top scoring CEO blogs build community and stimulate genuine discussion. Mid ranking blogs have little cross-post commenting and a fragmented network. Others attract few comments with low connectedness. “Wilderness” blogs may have no commenters. This suggests inefficient use of valuable CEO time. Because CEO credibility affects CEO blog success, a low-ranking blog depreciates CEO's reputation indicating little social capital.

Originality/value

There is little research into CEO blogging, this research contributes to the understanding of CEO blogging and community building.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2013

Bojan Božić and Werner Winiwarter

The purpose of this paper is to present a showcase of semantic time series processing which demonstrates how this technology can improve time series processing and community

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a showcase of semantic time series processing which demonstrates how this technology can improve time series processing and community building by the use of a dedicated language.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have developed a new semantic time series processing language and prepared showcases to demonstrate its functionality. The assumption is an environmental setting with data measurements from different sensors to be distributed to different groups of interest. The data are represented as time series for water and air quality, while the user groups are, among others, the environmental agency, companies from the industrial sector and legal authorities.

Findings

A language for time series processing and several tools to enrich the time series with meta‐data and for community building have been implemented in Python and Java. Also a GUI for demonstration purposes has been developed in PyQt4. In addition, an ontology for validation has been designed and a knowledge base for data storage and inference was set up. Some important features are: dynamic integration of ontologies, time series annotation, and semantic filtering.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focuses on the showcases of time series semantic language (TSSL), but also covers technical aspects and user interface issues. The authors are planning to develop TSSL further and evaluate it within further research projects and validation scenarios.

Practical implications

The research has a high practical impact on time series processing and provides new data sources for semantic web applications. It can also be used in social web platforms (especially for researchers) to provide a time series centric tagging and processing framework.

Originality/value

The paper presents an extended version of the paper presented at iiWAS2012.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 August 2014

Rajib Shaw and Shohei Matsuura

Schools play an important role in Japan by becoming evacuation centers after disasters. Depending on the nature of disaster, the school can be occupied for several days to several…

Abstract

Schools play an important role in Japan by becoming evacuation centers after disasters. Depending on the nature of disaster, the school can be occupied for several days to several months. Therefore, schools play a crucial role in disaster risk reduction and can contribute to very strong bonding with the local communities. This chapter describes the experiences of six cities with the roles of schools during disasters. Kamaishi, Kesennuma, and Natori, three cities affected by the tsunami, have shown the important role that schools played in the time of disaster. Although some schools were destroyed in these three cities, people spent significant time in other schools as evacuees. Pre-disaster preparedness of schools and communities helped a lot in this regard. Taking the experiences from the East Japan disaster, Saijo, Owase, and Oobu cities in West Japan demonstrated their preparedness for future disaster. The chapter also shows that school-centered disaster preparedness before the disaster leads to an effective role during the disaster and also facilitates post-disaster recovery with schools as the center.

Details

Risks and Conflicts: Local Responses to Natural Disasters
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-821-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 December 2021

Perttu Salovaara

A popular narrative connects craft breweries with revitalisation of cities, neighbourhoods or communities, particularly in locations that have suffered from deindustrialisation…

Abstract

A popular narrative connects craft breweries with revitalisation of cities, neighbourhoods or communities, particularly in locations that have suffered from deindustrialisation. Research, too, associates craft breweries with job creation, development of local economies, and with entrepreneurship, crafts production, and do-it-yourself culture. Human geographers link craft breweries with contemporary place-making and neolocalism. Neolocalism, a revived appreciation of local ingredients and production, has become both a societal phenomenon and a business proposition. Based on key indicators for neolocalism, this chapter evaluates to what degree the narrative linking craft breweries with revitalisation, neolocalism and community-building holds for seven studied Finnish craft breweries. The cases presented herein offer a more nuanced view of the phenomenon and open the narrative to variations and richer interpretations. The chapter takes a critical view on narratives that enable, maintain and create societal phenomena such as the craft beer revolution, and it adds to the growing literature on the context and consequences of craft breweries.

Details

Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in An Evolving Sector
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-185-0

Keywords

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