Human Resource Practices, Knowledge-Creation Capability And Performance In High Technology Firms

This study examines the relationship among key HR practices (i.e., effective acquisition, employee-development, commitment-building, and networking practices), three dimensions of knowledge-creation capability (human capital, employee motivation, and information combination and exchange), and firm performance. Results from a sample of 78 high technology firms showed that the three dimensions of knowledge creation interact to positively affect sales growth. Further, the HR practices were found to affect sales growth through their affect on the dimensions of knowledge-creation capability

Communication between theory and practice: How student teachers develop theories of teaching

The teaching profession continues to have difficulty in codifying a body of knowledge on which to base pre-service teacher education programs. One problem is the gap between the student teachers’ theoretical beliefs and their practical experiences in classrooms. Student teachers often fail to implement their ideas and instead comply with the status quo in the classroom. Previous research has identified the student as dealing with this dilemma by developing a mind set which places theory in one compartment and practice in another. This paper describes a study of ten student teachers at the end of their training. Their descriptions of their experiences confirm the theory-practice gap but they also demonstrate that they are very much aware of the discrepancy between how they teach and how they would like to teach. It is a situation which they feel powerless to change. Pre-service course objectives need to be aligned with those of professional development programs for practising teachers in order to bring about a convergence of thinking and consequent change in schools

Attributes, Processes, and Tendencies applied to Government Information Technology Outsourcing

This study is concerned with the influence of contract norms on relationships in government IT outsourcing. Government IT outsourcing in Australia has a considerable budget (CRN 2012), but there is evidence of failure (Glass 2013; Pennington 2013; Rouse and Corbitt 2002), and is understudied theoretically (Gantman 2011). This study uses contract norms, classified into attributes and processes (Goles and Chin 2005). They are modified by tendencies, an expression of the way government IT outsourcing is different to private sector IT outsourcing. We will ask the government IT outsourcing managers how the tendencies affect the attributes and processes. The potential contribution is to identify and classify the tendencies, and to explore the impact of the tendencies on the attributes and processes

Geographic isolation and technological change: A new vision of teaching and learning in rural schools in New Zealand

Some small rural schools in New Zealand are currently developing new ways of applying information and communication technologies to the delivery of education while, at the same time, struggling to justify their continued existence. The development of teaching and learning networks in rural New Zealand enables resources to be shared and educational opportunities for those who live in geographically isolated parts of the country to be increased. It is further argued that, because of these developments, it is now appropriate to reconsider the significance of the size and the location of learning institutions, the ways in which education is delivered and the meaning of large and small schools

A four-step process for the development of knowledge-building communities in a digital intranet

The development of on-line educational structures and processes has led to new opportunities for the delivery of education in and between rural Canadian communities. Within digital Intranets it has been possible to develop virtual classes, which have encouraged collaboration in teaching, learning and the development of knowledge-building communities. Underpinning these developments has been a need to develop pedagogy appropriate for teleteaching and telelearning

Book Reviews

Reviews: Keegan, D. (ed) (1994) Otto Peters on distance education - the industralisation of teaching and learning. Routledge, London. Holmberg, B. (1995) Theory and practice of distance education (2nd ed.). Routledge (Routledge Studies in Distance Education): London. Tiffen, J., & Rajasingham,  L. (1995) In search of the virtual class-education in an information society. Routledge: London

Book Reviews

Reviews of: LOUISE MORAN and IAN MUGRIDGE (editors), 1993: Collaboration in distance education - international case studies. Routledge, London and New York, 178pp, NZ$169. 95   DESMOND KEEGAN (editor), 1993: Theoretical pr inciples of distance education. Routledge, London and New York, 272pp., NZ$179.9