334 research outputs found
Judging the impact of leadership-development activities on school practice
The nature and effectiveness of professional-development activities should be judged in a way that takes account of
both the achievement of intended outcomes and the unintended consequences that may result. Our research project set out to create a robust approach that school staff members could use to assess the impact of
professional-development programs on leadership and management practice without being constrained in this judgment by the stated aims of the program. In the process,
we identified a number of factors and requirements relevant to a wider audience than that concerned with the development of leadership and management in England.
Such an assessment has to rest upon a clear understanding of educational leadership,a clearly articulated model of practice, and a clear model of potential forms of impact.
Such foundations, suitably adapted to the subject being addressed, are appropriate for assessing all teacher professional development
Actors and networks or agents and structures: towards a realist view of information systems
Actor-network theory (ANT) has achieved a measure of popularity in the analysis of information systems. This paper looks at ANT from the perspective of the social realism of Margaret Archer. It argues that the main issue with ANT from a realist perspective is its adoption of a `flat' ontology, particularly with regard to human beings. It explores the value of incorporating concepts from ANT into a social realist approach, but argues that the latter offers a more productive way of approaching information systems
Ferroelectric and Incipient Ferroelectric Properties of a Novel Sr_(9-x)PbxCe2Ti2O36 (x=0-9) Ceramic System
Sr_(9-x)PbxCe2Ti12O36 system is derived from the perovskite SrTiO3 and its
chemical formula can be written as (Sr_(1-y)Pby)0.75Ce0.167TiO3. We
investigated dielectric response of Sr_(9-x)PbxCe2Ti12O36 ceramics (x = 0-9)
between 100 Hz and 100 THz at temperatures from 10 to 700 K using low- and
high-frequency dielectric, microwave (MW), THz and infrared spectroscopy. We
revealed that Sr9Ce2Ti12O36 is an incipient ferroelectric with the R-3c
trigonal structure whose relative permittivity e' increases from 167 at 300 K
and saturates near 240 below 30 K. The subsequent substitution of Sr by Pb
enhances e' to several thousands and induces a ferroelectric phase transition
to monoclinic Cc phase for x>=3. Its critical temperature Tc linearly depends
on the Pb concentration and reaches 550 K for x=9. The phase transition is of
displacive type. The soft mode frequency follows the Barrett formula in samples
with x=3.
The MW dispersion is lacking and quality factor Q is high in samples with low
Pb concentration, although the permittivity is very high in some cases.
However, due to the lattice softening, the temperature coefficient of the
permittivity is rather high. The best MW quality factor was observed for x=1:
Q*f=5800 GHz and e'=250. Concluding, the dielectric properties of Sr_(9-
x)PbxCe2Ti12O36 are similar to those of Ba_(1-x)SrxTiO3 so that this system can
be presumably used as an alternative for MW devices or capacitors.Comment: subm. to Chem. Mate
In search of innovative capabilities of communities of practice : a systematic review and typology for future research
The concept of communities of practice has generated considerable debate among scholars of management.
Attention has shifted from a concern with the transmission and reproduction of knowledge towards their
utility for enhancing innovative potential. Questions of governance, power, collaboration and control have
all entered the debate with different theorizations emerging from a wide mix of empirical research. We
appraise these key findings through a critical review of the literature. From a divergent range of findings,
we identify four main ways in which communities of practice enable and constrain innovative capabilities
as (a) enablers of learning for innovation, (b) situated platforms for professional occupations, (c) dispersed
collaborative environments and (d) governance structures designed for purpose. Our conclusion signals the
way forward for further research that could be used to improve our understanding of different contextual
forms and how they may align with organizations in enabling rather than constraining innovative capabilities
Synergy between intention recognition and commitments in cooperation dilemmas
Commitments have been shown to promote cooperation if, on the one hand, they can be sufficiently enforced, and on the other hand, the cost of arranging them is justified with respect to the benefits of cooperation. When either of these constraints is not met it leads to the prevalence of commitment free-riders, such as those who commit only when someone else pays to arrange the commitments. Here, we show how intention recognition may circumvent such weakness of costly commitments. We describe an evolutionary model, in the context of the one-shot Prisoner's Dilemma, showing that if players first predict the intentions of their co-player and propose a commitment only when they are not confident enough about their prediction, the chances of reaching mutual cooperation are largely enhanced. We find that an advantageous synergy between intention recognition and costly commitments depends strongly on the confidence and accuracy of intention recognition. In general, we observe an intermediate level of confidence threshold leading to the highest evolutionary advantage, showing that neither unconditional use of commitment nor intention recognition can perform optimally. Rather, our results show that arranging commitments is not always desirable, but that they may be also unavoidable depending on the strength of the dilemma.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
Collegial nests can Foster Critical Thinking, Innovative Ideas, and Scientific Progress.
How can management and strategy scholars organize to generate more productive, more innovative, and more impactful research? With appropriate cultures and leaders, small and egalitarian discussion groups that we call âcollegial nestsâ can become powerful generators of innovative ideas and creators of extraordinary scholars. Collegial nests need cultures that free participants to think critically, to cherish new viewpoints, and to speak freely without fear of ridicule. They also need leaders who model such cultures and facilitate frequent discussions. Two case examples illustrate how productive collegial nests can create better science and better scientists. To generate scientific innovation and progress on a large scale, many autonomous groups tackling related issues are desirable. Modern communication technology is making it feasible for groups to operate over large distances and to coordinate with each other at very low cost. Collegial nests offer greater potential for enhancing scholarly productivity and innovation than do attempts to regulate scholarship via hierarchical structures. Multiplicity can lower the probability of wasting resources on low-yield paths, egalitarian control can reduce the influence of vested interests, and a combination of shared goals and partial autonomy can integrate enthusiasm with sensible risk taking
Global mobility of professionals and the transfer of tacit knowledge in multinational service firms
Purpose: The use of expatriates to transfer individual and organizational know-how and knowledge is a practice widely used by multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, for service firms, the mobility of employees across national borders depends on the commitments made by countries under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In particular, the Mode 4 form of supply under GATS can limit the ability of professionals to enter a particular country and can restrict the intra-organizational transfer of knowledge in multinational service firms. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how MNEs attempt to overcome these barriers and transfer knowledge through their global network.
Design/methodology/approach: Using Nonaka and Takeuchiâs SECI model of knowledge transfer, the authors study the intra-organizational knowledge transfer practices of an Indian multinational service firm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 key informants involved with the organization.
Findings: The company uses global teams to transfer tacit knowledge and facilitates inpatriation through an internship program that helps the firm overcome nationality requirement that restricts the movement of their managers to other countries, which in turn limits their ability to transfer knowledge in the intra-organizational setting. The company uses the services of a not-for-profit youth organization that helps recruit interns for the program and also facilitates the relationship with the Indian Government, which provides support for this initiative by reducing barriers to entry for the interns.
Originality/value: This study takes the unique approach of studying barriers to movement of professionals and a firmâs strategic response. It identifies the pressures and barriers that companies face in the global economy and highlights the role of government agencies and other stakeholders in facilitating or restricting the transfer of knowledge within a firmâs international network. The paper articulates the implications for policy and practice, and a future research agenda
Electron transport in TiO2 probed by THz time-domain spectroscopy
Euan Hendry, F. Wang, J. Shan, T. F. Heinz, and Mischa Bonn, Physical Review B, Vol. 69, article 081101 (2004). "Copyright © 2004 by the American Physical Society."Electron transport in crystalline TiO2 (rutile phase) is investigated by frequency-dependent conductivity measurements using THz time-domain spectroscopy. Transport is limited by electron-phonon coupling, resulting in a strongly temperature-dependent electron-optical phonon scattering rate, with significant anisotropy in the scattering process. The experimental findings can be described by Feynman polaron theory within the intermediate coupling regime and allow for a determination of electron mobility
The Zoning of Semi-Enclosed Bodies of Water According to the Sediment Pollution: The Bay of Algeciras as a Case Example
This paper reports a study of the occurrence and
levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a bay
characterised by a chronic persistent impact. A total of 55
sediment samples were taken at different depths up to
111 m in two sampling campaigns. Chemical analyses were
carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. The
results indicate that: (1) significant spatial variations exist,
(2) levels of PAHs are related more strongly to the spatial
distribution of sediments than to mineralogy/granulometry,
(3) the sediments are slightly-to-moderately contaminated
by PAHs, and (4) these PAHs derive from pyrolytic and
petrogenic sources. Through use of an innovative data
classification system (proposed according to depth and
spatial location of sampling points), and using factorial and
cluster techniques, five zones have been differentiated
depending on the contamination level and source
- âŠ