Corporate brands, the British Monarchy, and the resource-based view of the firm

Drawing on the nascent literature on corporate brands, the economic theory of the resourced-based view of the firm and the extensive literature on the British Monarchy, this article examines the branding credentials of the British Crown. This is the first time that this most arcane of institutions has been examined from organizational and management perspectives. The synthesis of these literatures confirmed the branding credentials of the Crown. From this, it is deduced that if the British Crown is a corporate brand then it ought to be managed as such. A conceptual model for the management of the monarchy is introduced and this involves the dynamic orchestration of five elements (Royal, Regal, Relevant, Responsive and Respected.) This is called “The Royal Branding Mix.” The Royal and Regal elements equate to a brand’s identity and have an explicit organizational focus. In contrast, the Relevant, Responsive, and Respected dimension have a public (stakeholder) focus. A “Corporate Branding Mix” is introduced which aims to have a more general utility and represents an adaptation of the “Royal Branding Mix.

Empowering teachers and learners: Strategies to maximise curriculum potential and counter disadvantage in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, through the Khanyisa initiative

This paper first provides a discussion on disadvantage and what that means in an educational context. It then proposes a theoretical conceptualisation of curriculum highlighting that curriculum advantages some learners more than others on several levels. Finally, discussion then turns to an evaluative study of an initiative that is ongoing in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, involving disadvantaged learners and their teachers in under-resourced schools. Key findings from the study include effective ways the initiative found (a) to assist teachers in disadvantaged schools to keep abreast of changes to curriculum; (b) to empower teachers to promote their learners’ capacity to access the physical science, higher level mathematics, and the business studies curriculum; and (c) to support learners to substantially increase their grades in what they term ‘the killer subjects’. This paper has a strong focus on mathematics as it is here that there have been the most marked increases in learners’ grades. These outcomes in turn have allowed learners to escape from the poverty trap and the disadvantage in which they had been situated

Exploring Students\u27 Perceptions of Academically Based Living-Learning Communities

This qualitative study employed focus group interviews to explore students\u27 perceptions of three well established academically based living-learning communities at a large, land-grant university in the Midwest. Three themes emerged that illustrated students\u27 perceptions of a culture that promoted seamless learning, a scholarly environment, and an ethos of relatedness among faculty, staff, and peers. Implications for practice and future research are discussed

Can price transparency contribute to more affordable patient access to medicines?

No abstract available

What Motivates Youth Civic Involvement?

Though the topic of youth civic involvement is increasingly popular in social science research, the question of why some youth are civically involved while others are not is not yet well understood. In this paper, a developmental contextualist approach is used to address the following questions: What motivations do youth report for civic involvement? Do motivations differ across school contexts? A qualitative interview study using an in-depth semi-structured interview approach with 21 diverse youth was used to investigate questions concerned youth civic involvements and motivation. Interviews were coded using both theory-based content analysis methods and open coding in an iterative coding process. Results suggest five categories of motivations and two categories of de-motivators that emerged from youth reports of their reasons for civic involvement. There is variation in levels, types, and motivations for youth civic involvement both across and within groups with similar school contexts. An emergent finding is that civic motivations likely differ from motivations for other youth involvements. Implications are that civic motivations need to be understood in context and such understanding points to new insights regarding how opportunities can be structured to better facilitate civic involvement.LBJ School of Public Affair

Two ways to Grid: the contribution of Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) mechanisms to service-centric and resource-centric lifecycles

Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs) support service lifecycle tasks, including Development, Deployment, Discovery and Use. We observe that there are two disparate ways to use Grid SOAs such as the Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) as exemplified in the Globus Toolkit (GT3/4). One is a traditional enterprise SOA use where end-user services are developed, deployed and resourced behind firewalls, for use by external consumers: a service-centric (or ‘first-order’) approach. The other supports end-user development, deployment, and resourcing of applications across organizations via the use of execution and resource management services: A Resource-centric (or ‘second-order’) approach. We analyze and compare the two approaches using a combination of empirical experiments and an architectural evaluation methodology (scenario, mechanism, and quality attributes) to reveal common and distinct strengths and weaknesses. The impact of potential improvements (which are likely to be manifested by GT4) is estimated, and opportunities for alternative architectures and technologies explored. We conclude by investigating if the two approaches can be converged or combined, and if they are compatible on shared resources

Lighting up learning: mathematics becoming less of a \u27killer subject\u27 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

This paper reports the findings of an evaluative study of an initiative, in its sixth year of implementation, enhancing the learning and teaching of mathematics in 20 disadvantaged secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, twenty years after democracy. Findings highlight the importance of initial and ongoing professional development for under-qualified teachers. Support and strategies that have enhanced the achievement in mathematics of learners in these still under-resourced schools, are described

Success and failure factors of the mergers and acquisitions performance : evidence from Bulgaria

This paper presents a study on the success and failure factors that influence the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance. In the initial part major theoretical studies, developed in the field of strategic management, corporate finance, organisational studies, and human resources are analysed. These works are used to outline ten main elements that can be considered essential for the success of the transactions. The discussed examines are founded on a number of leading theories – Agency theory, Resourced-based theory, Diversification theory, Learning theory, etc. Therefore, the empirical application of these theories is tested in the local context of the Bulgarian M&A deals. By the means of factor and regression analysis, three specific factors of successful M&A performance are empirically drawn. The conclusions are that leadership qualities of the managers, synergy of resources, and fast post-merger integration appear to be crucial for the successful performance of these strategic combinations.peer-reviewe