Understanding the Process Small Businesses Use to Capture, Convert, and Integrate Survival Knowledge

Many researchers have investigated the value of small businesses and have identified generic attributes of survival. One noted aspect of survivability is the ability to learn. Knowledge has long been recognized as a crucial competitive tool for organizational survival and competition. Further, business leaders must implement learning into the business for it to grow and survive. Capturing, converting, and integrating knowledge into the business is a requisite for business survival and represents an important line of inquiry. Since 2002, small businesses have accounted for more than 99% of all businesses and for 63% of net new jobs between 1993 and 2011. Since 2007, failure rates of small businesses have increased 40%. In California alone, more than 3 million small businesses exist, contributing 37% to the California GDP. The current research was used to add to the body of knowledge on learning and survivability using a multisite case study involving specifically small businesses within San Diego County, California, and answered the research question about how small businesses leaders implement a process to capture, convert, and integrate knowledge for the business to survive. The research was delimited to San Diego County, California, and a multipoint sampling strategy was used to obtain subject matter expertise

Bostonia. Volume 1

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

“I would not consider myself a homophobe”: Learning and teaching about sexual orientation in a principal preparation program

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the written reflections of aspiring principals in two principal-preparation courses where social justice is at the core of the content and which address sexual orientation as part of the responsibility of a social justice leader. Data Collection: Two instructors in a leadership-preparation program incorporated reflection assignments into their respective social-justice-related courses. One course was offered at the beginning of the program; the other offered at the end. Aspiring principals from two different cohorts of students participated in the study. The students’ reflections were coded to identify themes and patterns that were found in their reflections and to see if any of their reflections changed over time. Findings: The authors found that students had varied experiences with people who identified as LGBTQ. Second, we found that discussion of sexual orientation was complicated by students’ Christian beliefs. Third, we found that there was some change in the way in which students responded to sexual orientation, from a more passionate to a more analytical stance. We discuss these findings in light of the need for better assessment of future leaders’ attitudes and actions and of our own heteronormativity and heterosexism. We discuss implications for our own teaching as well as for other teachers in preparation programs

Auditing Inequity: Teaching Aspiring Administrators to Be Social Justice Leaders

While much has been written about preparing educational leaders to lead for social justice, much less has been written about how to do so. This study is one of the first to analyze the reflections and written assignments of aspiring administrators to determine what they are currently thinking about poverty, race and ethnicity, and social justice leadership and how that thinking is shaped throughout one course. Results indicate that students were variable in their individual reflections, but that assignments which required them to analyze the inequities in their schools and develop an implementation plan led all of these aspiring administrators to seek to redress those inequities. The paper discusses implications for other programs which prepare educational leaders

Planetary science

The following types of experiments for a proposed Space Station Microgravity Particle Research Facility are described: (1) low velocity collisions between fragile particles; (2) low velocity collisions of ice particles; (3) plasma-dust interaction; and (4) aggregation of finely-comminuted geological materials. The required capabilities and desired hardware for the facility are detailed

Ecosystem Indicators for Southeast Florida Beaches

Beaches are landscapes valued greatly by society that, when left intact, support both ecological processes and sustainable use. In Southeast Florida, alteration of beaches for human activities has resulted in substantial loss of naturally functioning beach habitat and reduced biological diversity. Of particular importance is the impact on beach ecosystems by the nearby urban environment. Beaches are dynamic ecosystems that require space to respond to natural or anthropogenic drivers and pressures. In Southeast Florida urban development has restricted or eliminated the ability of most beaches to react in a manner that conserves the natural beach ecosystem. The frequent result has been oceanfront areas with little or no intact habitat and limited opportunities for restoration, though disturbed beaches may still provide opportunities for ocean access, recreation, and other socioeconomic benefits in highly urbanized areas. In this study we present a framework for selecting relevant ecosystem and human dimension indicators for the beaches of Southeast Florida based on a conceptual ecosystem model. To capture the level of beach disturbance relatively pristine beaches and heavily altered beaches are endpoints in a continuum of beach development. Across this continuum nine indicators were developed to quantify beach condition. For ecosystem and human dimension assessment purposes, beaches were placed in one of two overarching categories: undeveloped to relatively undeveloped, or developed to highly developed. Nine selected indicators are then assessed as good (3), fair (2), or poor (1). The indicator scores are then summed to produce a total condition score for a particular beach. This simple ‘stop-light’ method is applicable even when there are limited data and provides a useful relative determination of ecosystem condition. Case studies employing this methodology are presented for three Southeast Florida beaches ranging from mostly natural to highly developed condition. The indicators directly address both ecosystem and human dimension goals to maintain healthy, sustainable, and useable beaches and shorelines in Southeast Florida. They balance the ecological benefit of remaining natural beaches with the societal benefit of recreational opportunities and access for a beach that can no longer sustain a suitable ecosystem. Each indicator is interpreted in the context of the trade-offs among multiple ecosystem and human dimension services provided by most beaches in Southeast Florida

PDAS as workplace tools for science teachers

This paper reports on work in progress on a project investigating the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) to help students make use of knowledge gained during the study of a Masters course in science education in their professional practice. We report on a review of the literature on mobile technologies as learning tools in workplace settings. We analyse this literature to suggest possible hypotheses for our study. We also describe the selection and design of activities for use on the PDAs, the evaluation strategy based on an activity theory augmented approach for the project and the issues arising during the project