bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Self Help Groups: A Tool to Boost up Woman Empowerment
Authors: Venkatesh J. , Kala K.
Published: February 2012

Rural women are one of the most marginalized groups in India. Women-led self-help groups (SHGs) can improve the plight of rural women by providing them access to credit. SHGs are made up of 15-20 members. Each member contributes money ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 100, which is then deposited in the bank. The group can then obtain loans from the bank of from their own funds. Empowerment is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and multi-layered concept. Womenís empowerment is a process in which women gain greater share of control over resources - material, human and intellectual like knowledge, information, ideas and financial resources like money - and access to money and control over decision-making in the home, community, society and nation, and to gain ëpowerí. According to the Country Report of Government of India, “Empowerment means moving from a position of enforced powerlessness to one of power”. Poverty and unemployment are the major problems of any under developed countries, to which India is no exception.† In India, at the end of ninth five year plan 26.1% of the population was living below poverty line.† In the rural area 27.1% of the population was living under poverty.† The overall unemployment rate is estimated to 7.32%.† The female unemployment rate is 8.5%.
The Johari Window Profile of Executives of a Public Sector Undertaking
Authors: Nair Shreekumar K. , Naik Neelima S.
Published: February 2012

Training in the domain of soft skills such as interpersonal communication has assumed lot of importance for organizations in recent times. However, desirable changes in the process of managerial communication call for proper knowledge about the prevailing communication patterns and interpersonal styles adopted by the executives. This paper presents the results of a study undertaken to explore and understand the interpersonal communication patterns of managers working in a public sector company based on the Johari Window Model. Using the Personnel Relations Survey, data was collected from 140 middle level managers belonging to various departments of the company. Results indicated a majority of the managers to be wanting in exposure as well as feedback in their interpersonal dealings with colleagues and superiors. Also, age was not found to have a bearing on the level of exposure as well as feedback of the managers. Implications of these and other related findings for managerial training are discussed in the paper.
Dynamics of Marital Roles in Consumer Decision Making: A Study of Indian Households
Authors: Gupta Krishna Das
Published: February 2012

This paper tries to explore decision making phenomenon among husbands-wives w.r.t purchase of high involvement items. While selecting the purchase items care has been taken to qualify them in terms of evidence of pronounced decision making, involvement of huge financial outlay, and prolonged consumption over a wide span of time. Since 1970's decision making and subsequent purchase roles played by husband-wives in household has witnessed tremendous to shift in the Western countries. This is governed by demographic factors like increasing women in the workforce, higher educational standards, and delayed age of marriage. As fallout of this trend, the topic assumes significance and effort has been made to study if there is an underlying shift in decision making observed in Indian households. This is achieved through measurement of the relative influence exerted by husbands and wives in purchase decisions
Impact of the Emotional Intelligence on Work Related Outcomes among the Nursing Staff at SRM Hospitals, Chennai
Authors: Choudary Y. Lokeswara
Published: February 2012

Emotional Intelligence often referred also as Emotional Intelligence Quotient is the ability of an individual to perceive, assess and manage emotions of his own self and of other people. Salovey and Mayer (1990) define Emotional Intelligence as the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions. Emotional Intelligence has four main components, namely, the ability to: 1. Perceive emotions; 2. Utilize these emotional perceptions to accomplish various activities or tasks; 3. Understand emotional variations; and 4. Manage emotions to achieve goals. Thus, Emotional Intelligence is a measure of an individual's capability and requires tools to assess this capability.

The nursing profession demands that the nurse, in the process of care, has to interact with the patients, the medical fraternity and the health care workers constantly. Hence, “Nurse-Patient Interaction” is the pulse of the nursing practice. This interaction is not just conversation. It is a complex process that involves nurse perception, understanding of the patient emotions and utilization of the perceptions to manage patient situations towards the goal of effective patient care.

Developing emotional intelligence requires that we unlearn old habits of thought, feeling, and action that are deeply ingrained, and grow new ones. Such a process takes motivation, effort, time, support, and sustained practice. An attempt has been made in this study to identify the determinant factors that influence the emotional intelligence as depended variable. The present study is focused on two major objectives namely: to study the significant impact of Emotional intelligence on behavior of nurses and to analyze the role of Emotional intelligence in work-related outcomes. The present study in explored on all aspects of work and work related issues affecting work efficiency and emotional intelligence of the nursing staff. The primary reasons for emotions at work place are heavy work load, working conditions. The solution to reduce the emotional levels of the nursing staff is clearly discussed in the study.
Emerging Demographic and Talent-Pool Challenges: Implications for Outsourcing to India
Authors: Gupta Rakesh
Published: February 2012

Human capital has always been an extremely important determinant of individual and social progress. In the present scenario, it is centripetal instrumental for developing economies in an increasingly competitive, services led, knowledge driven global economy. The degree of responsiveness of the skilled human resources on the overall development and specifically the economic growth has been well established. Notwithstanding, the known linkages between economic growth and human capital, it is pertinent to understand the significance of the skilled talent-pool in the knowledge economy and hence in the economic development. This paper highlights the emerging trends in the global economy with increasing reliance on the knowledge driven sectors for growth. It focuses on the emerging issues and challenges in the face of ageing population in developed countries, availability of skilled workforce and the increasing trend of relocating services jobs through off shoring and their likely impact. The study analyses the implications of changing global demographic trends and strength of Indian talent-pool for competitiveness in off shoring and outsourcing work. It argues that changing demographic profile of high income nations and off shoring provides India with an opportunity to increase its pace of economic development. It examines the higher education infrastructure in India and the quality and depth of skilled human resources coming out of this system to capitalize on this opportunity. It deliberates whether India can leverage its talent-pool capital and demographics to build/sustain the competitive advantage or not.
Innovation Diffusion and Adoption Models: Foundation and Conceptual Framework
Authors: Kaur Kamalpreet , Kaur Mandeep
Published: February 2012

Innovation in any field is mandatory to keep the systems on right track. Economists and other social scientists have attempted to understand the process of technology diffusion from time to time. In the present study, various models have been discussed thoroughly which contribute to identify the individual's as well as technology characteristics which further lead to the adoption and rejection of innovation. Several aspects explained by these models like time taken to accept the technology, demographic as well socio-economic characteristics of adopters, role of communication and rate of adoption has been elaborated which played a crucial role in the adoption and diffusion process of innovation. The Research and practical implications of these models have also been discussed.
The New Basel Accord and Credit Risk Management
Authors: Sinha Ram Pratap
Published: February 2012

The paper discusses in brief the implications Basel II regarding assessment of credit risk in the commercial banking sector under both the standardized approach and the foundation and advanced Internal Rating Based Approach. The paper also provides a brief review of some of the popular credit risk models and discusses the important issues relating to the integration of portfolio credit risk models with the risk bucket rule of BCBS (Basel Committee on Banking Supervision). Finally, the paper provides a brief overview of the RBI initiatives regarding migration to Basel II in the Indian context.
Operational Efficency of Indian Banking Industry: An Inter Sectoral Analysis
Authors: Kodan Anand Singh , Mahalan Sunjay , Bandhu Desh
Published: February 2012

The present study has been attempted to make the analysis and comparison of the operational efficiency of Indian banking industry. The present has study based on a set of four variables. First is net profit as percentage of total assets, second is Operating profit as percentage of total assets, third is Net NPA's as percentage of net advances and last is CRAR as percentage of total assets. For this purpose we has use parametric and non parametric. Both test indicate that there are significant difference in the operational efficiency of Indian banking industry. The operational efficiency of foreign banks is batter than public and private banks.
HR Strategies for Sustainability of Turnaround - a Case Study of Rourkela Steel Plant
Authors: Choudhary Archana , Jha Asmita
Published: February 2012

People are the most important resource for any organisation. Investing in human resources can go a long way in building a strong organisation capable of facing the toughest of challenges. Based on this premise began the voyage of Rourkela Steel Plant's (RSP) turnaround which is unique in terms of mass participation and involvement of employees having taken place without aid of any external factor or resources sustained over a long period of time and is still continuing. A series of initiatives were taken to tap the unlimited potential of human resources and whose focal point was survival and future of RSP, later metamorphosed to profitability and prosperity of RSP. This article is an attempt to discuss and analyse in detail the various HR strategies taken by RSP to sustain the turnaround in the long term.
A Study of Job Satisfaction and Factors that Influence it
Authors: Thekedam Joseph Sebastian
Published: February 2012

The present study examines specific organisational and teacher variables commonly associated with job satisfaction. The organisational variables include satisfaction with school climate, satisfaction with opportunities to assume a leadership role at the school, satisfaction with the degree of teacher participation in school decision making and satisfaction with pay etc. Teacher variables include personal/demographic characteristics and individual/psychological variables (satisfaction with ability to influence student learning, satisfaction with degree of attainment of professional goals etc.). In the present study, a statistical model is used to examine the relationship between these factors and teacher job satisfaction. The investigation of the variables associated with teacher job satisfaction can be expected to provide the basis for planning and policy decisions aimed at enhancing teacher work commitment and reducing turnover. Unlike some demographic and school-level variables, organisational variables can be influenced in the framework of a school restructuring and/or improvement plan.
Talent Maze
Authors: Krishnamohan K.V.S. , Patel Pavan
Published: February 2012

While Organizations today face a major challenge of attrition, it is becoming equally important to identify, nurture and retain talent. Organizational culture primarily needs to address these issues. While it's an accepted fact that, human resource in general, talented human resources in particular in an organization result in its distinctive competitiveness. The systems and structure in an organization has to support and encourage the existing talented human resources. Quite often it is apparent that the longevity of employment in an organization leads to employee loyalty where as various other factors play a major role to ensure the same. At various levels of organization it is the top management's responsibility to imbibe the philosophy of talent management across its length and breadth. Though HRM practices primarily aim at “right person at the right place”, quite frequently in organizations it is defocused either as “the right person at wrong place” or “wrong person at right place”. Talent Maze, the case study addresses the lacunae in Talent Management practices in an age old organization and their implications on the human talent thus providing an insight to the reader in to the right practices to be followed in talent management.
Reaching Families through Women and Reaching Community through Families - A Success Story of Women Empowerment in Kerala: The Case of Kudumbashree
Authors: Chirayath Susan , Chirayath Deepa
Published: February 2012

Early and mid 1990s witnessed revolutionary changes in Kerala, the most important among them being the evolution of participatory development. Drawing strength from this innovative change and its success in the state, government of Kerala established ‘Kudumbashree’ mission on 17th May, 1998 to eradicate poverty from the state in ten years by empowering women through collective action.

In order to facilitate collective action, three-tiered community based organizations of poor women, known as Community Development Societies (CDS), were formed as a part of capacity-building exercise. True vision of development, poverty alleviation and empowerment differentiate the functioning of Kudumbashree from all other poverty alleviation programs implemented in the third world countries. The entire concept of Kudumbashree is based on the economic empowerment of indigent masses particularly the poor women of Kerala.
HRD Practices in Indian Organizations and Their Impact on ‘Productivity’ of Human Resources: An Empirical Study
Authors: Jain Ravindra , Premkumar R.
Published: February 2012

In the wake of globalization, liberalization and privatization on economic front, organizations are expected to make objective assessment of existing status of their HRD system and processes in order to evolve need based pragmatic HRD Agenda for the future. In this context the present study gives a concrete base and direction as it provides the empirical evidence as regards to current status of HRD Sub-systems & facilitators in relation to HR productivity with reference to Indian Private Sector and Public Sector Organizations. Almost all the selected sub-systems of HRD (except Employee Communication and Employees' Empowerment) have been found to be moderately effective. Concerns of the various stakeholders for HRD cause and practices of selected management styles have also been found at moderate level to facilitate HRD process. HR Productivity has also been found to be confined only to moderate level. The selected HRD sub-systems, concerns of various stakeholders for HRD cause and the selected management styles have been found to have significant impact on HR effectiveness. Such findings of the study indicate that in order to improve the level of HR effectiveness, there exists a dire need of continuous improvement in design and implementation of HRD subsystems (particularly Employee Communication and Employee Empowerment), also in level of concerns of various stakeholders, as well as in practice of the management styles. Research on earlier researches and case studies need to be taken up as it will give right direction in order to formulate action strategies for the future.
Job Stress and Job Satisfaction of IT Companies' Employees
Authors: Kumar C. Sathya
Published: February 2012

This paper tries to explore decision making phenomenon among husbands-wives with respect to purchase of high involvement items. While selecting the purchase items, care has been taken to qualify them in terms of evidence of pronounced decision making, involvement of huge financial outlay, and prolonged consumption over a wide span of time. Since 1970's decision making and subsequent purchase roles played by husband-wives in household has witnessed a tremendous shift in the Western countries. This is governed by demographic factors like increasing women in the workforce, higher educational standards, and delayed age of marriage. As a fallout of this trend, the topic assumes significance, and effort has been made to study if there is an underlying shift in decision making observed in Indian households. This is achieved through measurement of the relative influence exerted by husbands and wives in purchase decisions
An Exploratory Study of Downsized Survivors' Work Behaviour
Authors: Waraich Sushmita Biswal , Bhardwaj Gopa , Yadav Nidhi
Published: February 2012

Downsizing is ideally aimed at reducing manpower and increasing profitability. But if the survivors' work behaviours are ignored, the very purpose of downsizing could be defeated. Thus, the current study intends to understand the impact of downsizing on the perception of survivors and the extent of different coping strategies used by them. A sample comprising of 68 managers was taken into account for the purpose of the study. The findings revealed that managers with more work experience and higher designation differed significantly from those with less work experience and lower designation in their perception of the downsizing scenario. Keeping in mind the scenario, the former appraised communication, perception of fairness, participation in decision making, team spirit and attitude more favorably than the latter. In terms of their coping strategies, the managers with more work experience resorted to more of problem-focused coping strategies and least avoidance/resignation coping strategies. The senior level managers also differed significantly from the junior level and resorted more to help seeking coping strategy.
Impact of Lock-in Period Expiration on Share Prices and Volume: An Empirical Study
Authors: Mahajan Rohini , Singh Balwinder
Published: February 2012

This paper examines the impact of lock-in period expiration on share prices and stock volume using closing prices and volume of BSE index for the period of 21 and 11 days around the event. The sample consists of one sixty five events of lock-in period expiration during seven year period i.e. from 2003 to 2009 for the IPOs which came in the year 2000 to 2006. The methods used include Standard event study, Market Adjusted Model, and Field and Hanka Model. The study provides evidence that the event of lock-in period expiration has not produced much impact on Indian stock market because results for both the methods of price reaction and for the method of stock volume reaction are insignificant which means share prices and stock volume of Indian companies have not faced any abnormality around the lock-in period expiration date.
An Occasion for Making an Overtime Payment
Authors: Gopinath Mohan , Castelino Edwin L , Abraham Dolphy M , Iyengar Srividya
Published: February 2012

This case is based on an actual event which happened in an international bank located in Mumbai. This case is meant to bring out how organizational conflicts can flare up without warning and can overshadow everything that a manager wants to do during the day. It particularly looks at the importance of handling unions without pandering to their every whim and examines the importance of cross cultural sensitivity in the work place. The case is also meant to provoke responses from professionals on how they may perhaps have tackled the situation.
Impact of Colors on the Psychology of Marketing — A Comprehensive over View
Authors: Singh Nayanika , Srivastava S. K.
Published: February 2012

Colors have always played a significant role in impacting one's moods, emotions, feelings, sensations and perception and seem to offer possibilities for multifaceted interpretation rather than leaving room for only one way of looking at it. Different signs merge in a person's experience of a product as colors do not function separately and individually, but from multi-layered references and can influence consumers' purchase decision, how they see things, their emotions, choices and thus are integral to the realm of advertising and marketing. Furthermore the perception and application of color is strongly influenced by ones innate physiological and psychological predisposition, personal experiences, age, gender, personality, income, ethnographic and demographic factors that makes its application effective within the domain of marketing all the more cumbersome and challenging. However, as a marketing tool, color can be a sublimely persuasive force; and as a functional component of human vision, color can capture attention, relax or irritate the eyes, and affect the legibility of the text and - All things put together, the right colors empower and contribute to the success of an advertising campaign, a product, a service, or even an interior space and in contrast wrong colors can be a costly mistake.

The present paper attempts to highlight and discuss the following research questions:

1. What is the significance and importance of colors in daily life (with special reference to marketing)? 2. How colors act as a medium in influencing the psychology of customers, contributing towards their branding, advertising, marketing and sale, based on a comprehensive review of literature and some noted case studies?
Surrogate Advertising in India
Authors: Dodrajka Sangeeta
Published: February 2012

Advertising is no longer a social waste as earlier perceptions. It is a necessary evil which is there to stay as it not only increases awareness about products but also enhances the choices for taking rational decisions for consumers. It leads to all sorts of healthy and unhealthy practices by distributors and marketers. Marketers use surrogate advertisements and brand extensions for propagating the banned products like liquor and tobacco. Many companies resort to other means of advertising also like sponsoring various sports personalities and tournaments which mark the presence of the products and reestablish their brands in the marketplace indirectly. A survey was conducted to gauge the extent of damage done to young Indian minds and whether their consumption habits are affected by such practices or not. The regulatory body needs to be empowered for curbing such practices.
Basel II in India: Compliance and Challenges
Authors: Kaur Mandeep , Kapoor Samriti
Published: February 2012

The stability of International banking system has emerged as a key concern for regulators in rapidly changing global banking scenario. In order to strengthen the soundness and stability of banks, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) came out with a comprehensive, flexible and risk sensitive framework known as Basel II. This paper attempts to assess in detail the role of Reserve Bank of India, in implementation of Basel II framework in Indian banking Scenario. For this purpose, Annual reports of Reserve Bank of India for the period 2002–03 to 2009–2010 have been analyzed in detail. The study has indicated that RBI has taken significant and structural initiatives to implement the Basel II norms in Indian financial system. It also gives glimpse of New Capital Adequacy framework to strengthen the banking structure. The study further throws light on challenges faced by Indian banking industry for the purpose of envisaged implementation of Basel II Accord.
Impact of Age on Pay Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction Leading to Turnover Intention: A Study of Young Working Professionals in India
Authors: Choudhury Rajashik Roy , Gupta Varun
Published: February 2012

In this study, the authors contribute insight into the relationship between pay satisfaction and turnover intention as well as between job satisfaction and turnover intention amongst young Indian professionals by segregating the respondents into two groups based on the median age. Data were collected from 230 working Indian executives, having median age of 25, from various industries such as Information Technology, Public Sector Units, Pharmacy, and Fast Moving Consumer Goods where they expressed their views on turnover intentions, job satisfaction & pay satisfaction in their respective organizations. The results revealed the negative relationship between turnover intention and job satisfaction and also between turnover intention and pay satisfaction. However, when age is introduced as a variable having a moderating effect on the above relationships, it was noticed that pay satisfaction is more significant than job satisfaction when it comes to intention to quit a job for employees who are relatively experienced having an age greater than the median age of 25; whereas, for employees less than the median age, turnover intention is driven more by job satisfaction than pay satisfaction. Findings from this study offer important implications for theory & research in turnover intention driven by factors like pay satisfaction and job satisfaction with the moderating effect of age of employees.
Duration Of Unemployment And Re-employment: Part — I
Authors: Noronha Ernesto
Published: February 2012

What happens to workers when an industry closes down? This paper answers this question in detail, by studying the impact of the closure of the New Rajpur Textile Mill in Ahmedabad on the lives of its employees.
The Temporary Victory and Ultimate Failure of Free Market Rationalism
Authors: McDonald Ross
Published: February 2012

The virtues of the free market are everywhere extolled today. Yet, in fact, a blind application of free market ideas and a dismantling of government controls has led to disaster and misery for millions. The article shows how the New Right, advocating the free market, has abandoned ethics, social concern and even rationality. In the end, however, rationality is bound to reassert itself.
Role of Leadership in Building A Sense of Community: A Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Mehta Pooja , Krishnan Venkat R.
Published: February 2012

An attempt is made in this preliminary study to measure the sense of community among employees, and to look at its relationship with the perceived leadership style of the supervisor. The results indicate that nurturant, task-oriented, and participative styles of leadership are positively related to a sense of community among employees.
Correlates of Risk-Taking Behaviours as a Process of Decision-Making
Authors: Yousuf S M Anwar , Jahan Akhtar
Published: February 2012

The present investigation is an attempt to find correlates of risk-taking behaviour. The difference between correlated means of social perception ( SPS) and choice dilemmas ( CDQ) came out to be statistically significant. A strong positive relationship has been found between SPS and CDQ. It is surprising to find a positive relationship between the scores of behaviour predictions ( BPS) and choice dilemmas ( CDQ), though an inverse relationship was expected. All the three scales discussed above have displayed sufficient content validity and may be recommended for future use.
Impact of Advanced Technology on Quality of Work Life a study of a steel plant
Authors: Venkatachalam J , Velayudhan A
Published: February 2012

The aim of the study was to see whether advanced technology has an impact on the quality of work life of employees. The sample for the study constituted 227 executives and 173 non-executives of a public sector steel plant, using advanced technology. The result of the stepwise multiple regression analysis reveals no significant influence of technology on the employees' QWL values; but a clear significant impact on other QWL dimensions — work complexity, autonomy, personal growth opportunities, top management support, workers' control, concern for organization's performance, QWL feelings and the quality of their social life.
Parental smoking and children’s attention to smoking cues
Authors: Lochbuehler Kirsten , Otten Roy , Voogd Hubert , Engels Rutger CME
Published: February 2012

Research has shown that children with smoking parents are more likely to initiate smoking than children with non-smoking parents. So far, these effects have been explained through genetic factors, modelling and norm-setting processes. However, it is also possible that parental smoking affects smoking initiation through automatic cognitive processes. Therefore, we examined whether children with a smoking parent focus longer, faster and more often on smoking cues. The children were given two movie clips to watch, during which their attention to smoking cues was assessed with eye-tracking technology. Results showed that children with a smoking parent focused more often and longer on smoking cues compared with children with non-smoking parents. No correlations between attentional bias and explicit smoking cognitions were found. In conclusion, results suggest that parental smoking affects children’s attention to smoking cues. These findings may indicate that parental smoking instigates automatic cognitive processes in children who have not experimented with smoking, and possibly even before explicit smoking cognitions become more favourable.
Stereo-vision-based navigation of a six-legged walking robot in unknown rough terrain
Authors: Stelzer Annett , Hirschmüller Heiko , Görner Martin
Published: February 2012

In this paper we present a visual navigation algorithm for the six-legged walking robot DLR Crawler in rough terrain. The algorithm is based on stereo images from which depth images are computed using the semi-global matching (SGM) method. Further, a visual odometry is calculated along with an error measure. Pose estimates are obtained by fusing inertial data with relative leg odometry and visual odometry measurements using an indirect information filter. The visual odometry error measure is used in the filtering process to put lower weights on erroneous visual odometry data, hence, improving the robustness of pose estimation. From the estimated poses and the depth images, a dense digital terrain map is created by applying the locus method. The traversability of the terrain is estimated by a plane fitting approach and paths are planned using a D* Lite planner taking the traversability of the terrain and the current motion capabilities of the robot into account. Motion commands and the traversability measures of the upcoming terrain are sent to the walking layer of the robot so that it can choose an appropriate gait for the terrain. Experimental results show the accuracy of the navigation algorithm and its robustness against visual disturbances.
Job's Crisis of Language: Power and Powerlessness in Job's Oaths
Authors: Pelham Abigail
Published: February 2012

When Job loses everything, it may seem that what he has left are words. Yet, testing the limits of language in his new situation through a series of curses and oaths, Job becomes increasingly aware that his previously powerful words have been sapped of their former force. Although commonly supposed that, in his final oath of ch. 31, Job effectively forces God to answer him, this article argues that Job's call for God's response is a ruse, based on his experience of God's silence and absence. In ch. 31, Job speaks seemingly powerful words, fully aware of their powerlessness; his aim is to invest them with the power they lack by convincing his hearers that they are in fact powerful.
In Unexpected Places: Ritual and Religious Belonging in the Book of Esther
Authors: Wetter Anne-Mareike
Published: February 2012

The religious content of the book of Esther is highly debated. Most approaches attempt to analyse religion in this narrative in terms of its similarities or dissimilarities with other texts from the Hebrew Bible. This article travels a different road. Applying ritual theory (more specifically, theories on rites-of-passage and ritualization) to selected parts of Esther, it explores processes of identity formation in the narrative in general, and their potential correlations with the religious identity of Esther and the Yehudite community in particular.
Competition or Collaboration?
Authors: Bassok Daphna
Published: February 2012

Over the past decade states have surpassed the federal Head Start program as the primary public funder of preschool slots. This paper investigates trends in Head Start enrollment in the context of increased state investment in early childhood. Using national, longitudinal data I find no evidence Head Start programs in states with expanding state programs experienced drops in enrollment. However, programs operating near expanding pre-kindergarten programs serve higher percentages of children age three and younger. The results suggest that Head Start programs, particularly those located near expanding pre-kindergarten programs, may be reinventing themselves in response to the expanding state sector.
And They’re Off
Authors: Kolbe Tammy , Rice Jennifer King
Published: February 2012

The Race to the Top fund (RTT) is intended to be a major federal investment in state and local education capacity and systemic education reforms aligned with federal policy priorities. In coming years, questions will be asked about the extent to which investments made through the RTT grant program improve educational productivity and effectiveness. This article establishes a baseline profile for how states and localities intend to invest federal RTT funds. The authors’ initial look at states’ RTT budgets provides an early indication of the amounts and types of investments in public education that are likely to result from the RTT program as well as raises critical questions for consideration in future evaluations of the RTT grant program.
Measurement of mechanical and electrical energy flows in the semiactive piezoelectric shunt damping system
Authors: Václavík Jan , Mokrý Pavel
Published: February 2012

The analysis of the mechanical and electric energy flows in the semiactive vibration control system, which is made of a piezoelectric actuator shunted by a negative capacitor, is presented. The vibration control system is designed to suppress the vibration transmission in a narrow frequency range. Using a proper adjustment of the electronic circuit elements, the transmissibility of vibrations has been suppressed by 35 dB at the frequency of 1.5 kHz. The results of our measurements indicate that the average apparent electrical power in the electric part of the vibration control device is about 100 times larger than the mechanical power, which is supplied to the system from the source of vibrations. The rules for designing the highly efficient and low-power electronic parts of semiactive vibration control systems are discussed.
Seismic control of concrete shear wall using shape memory alloys
Authors: Ghassemieh Mehdi , Mostafazadeh Mahnaz , Sadeh Maryam Saberdel
Published: February 2012

Shape memory alloy is a new functional material, which has found increasing applications in many engineering areas. Research efforts have been extended to use shape memory alloy in controlling civil structures. In this article, both pseudoelastic and shape memory effect properties of Nitinol shape memory alloy are implemented for control of concrete shear wall structure when subjected to seismic excitation. First, the behavior of the concrete shear walls equipped with shape memory reinforcements in its pseudoelastic characteristics is assessed, and the results are compared with the behavior of the ordinary concrete shear wall utilizing steel reinforcements. A finite element time history analysis is employed, and the results indicate that the proposed enhancement of the concrete shear wall with shape memory alloy reinforcements is able to reduce the permanent residual strain in the structure and hence attain reasonable improvement in seismic response. Then, the memory effect characteristics of shape memory alloys by imposing pretension in SMA rebar in concrete shear wall are evaluated. The results show that the concrete shear wall equipped with pretension rebars is much stiffer than either the concrete shear wall equipped with pseudoelastic shape memory alloy rebars or the ordinary concrete shear wall with steel.
Teachers as Advocates
Authors: Roberts Julia Link , Siegle Del
Published: February 2012

Teachers, including teachers of children and young people who are gifted and talented, care about educational issues; and, consequently, they need to advocate for issues impacting their students. Strategies for advocating are described—strategies for advocating with colleagues at the school level, in the community for district-wide issues, and at the state and national levels for policy and legislative issues.
Alternative Routes to Teacher Preparation
Authors: Kaplan Sandra N.
Published: February 2012

Alternative routes to teacher preparation that have been advocated by reformers have ramifications for gifted education. Issues such as recruitment, assignment, support, and mentoring also have been discussed with regard to educating teachers of the gifted. The article illustrates how general and gifted education share common concerns and pathways to identify and implement alternative routes to prepare teachers.
Reaching Those We Teach
Authors: Delisle James R.
Published: February 2012

In the quest for solutions to make school as rigorous and relevant as possible, one particularly vibrant source of information is often omitted: the opinions of our students. Yet, by posing specific questions about curriculum, classroom climate, and teacher competencies and attitudes, a rich database of usable suggestions emerges. The author of this article highlights specific ideas for improving school conditions for gifted children and adolescents, which were gleaned from more than 10,000 individual responses to an online survey of gifted students from the elementary through high school age. Clustering these comments into five categories termed “The 5 Cs of Student Engagement”— control, complexity, common bonds, choice, and caring teachers—the author invites readers to implement some of the suggestions offered by education’s primary consumers: our students.
The “RAPID” Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Program for Inattentive Children
Authors: Young Susan
Published: February 2012

Objective: The objectives of the current study were to ascertain feasibility and acceptability of directly delivering a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) group intervention for inattentive children in a school setting, to examine the reliability of the RATE-CQuestionnaires that accompany the program, and to determine whether they can be used to measure outcome. Method: Eighty-eight parents/carers, their children (age 8-11), and teachers at mainstream primary schools in London participated by completing the RATE-C Questionnaires; 48 participated in the group treatment following which the Questionnaires were readministered together with a semistructured interview. Results: The intervention had a completion rate of 92%. Postgroup interviews supported the acceptability of a direct intervention with young children. Reliability of the RATE-C Total scores was excellent for parent/carer, child, and teacher ratings; postintervention parent/carer ratings indicated significant improvement on scales of attention, emotion, and conduct with medium to large effect. Conclusion: The results support the reliability of the RATE-C Scales, and feasibility and acceptability of the RAPID intervention.
Computational performance of ultra-high-resolution capability in the Community Earth System Model
Authors: Dennis John M. , Vertenstein Mariana , Worley Patrick H. , Mirin Arthur A. , Craig Anthony P. , Jacob Robert , Mickelson Sheri
Published: February 2012

With the fourth release of the Community Climate System Model, the ability to perform ultra-high-resolution climate simulations is now possible, enabling eddy-resolving ocean and sea-ice models to be coupled to a finite-volume atmosphere model for a range of atmospheric resolutions. This capability was made possible by enabling the model to use large scale parallelism, which required a significant refactoring of the software infrastructure. We describe the scalability of two ultra-high-resolution coupled configurations on leadership class computing platforms. We demonstrate the ability to utilize over 30,000 processor cores on a Cray XT5 system and over 60,000 cores on an IBM Blue Gene/P system to obtain climatologically relevant simulation rates for these configurations.
Seeing pink: Searching for gender justice through opposition in Ukraine
Authors: Rubchak Marian
Published: February 2012

The collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991 opened up an important window of opportunity for female self-reidentification in Ukraine. Broadly speaking, thus far the country’s transition from a totalitarian society to a democratizing one has produced two waves of opposition. The First Wave began with a neotraditional form of rejection of communist values. Eventually, it was succeeded by a new opposition, this time to the newly established dominant cultural code. One of the most important characteristics to distinguish the First Wave from the Second was a generational divide. This article compares the two waves with regard to the nature of their respective oppositions and their ability to produce changes calculated to minimize the negative stereotyping and abuses against women. The article focuses on one dominant form of opposition to existing cultural norms, in each of the two waves.
Gender-equality as boundary: ‘Gender–nation frames’ in Norwegian EU campaign organizations
Authors: Bygnes Susanne
Published: February 2012

This article examines how women’s and gender-equality issues form part of social movement organizations’ ideological framing and discusses how this tendency is mirrored in discourses at European and nation-state levels. Focusing on one of Western Europe’s few non-EU member countries, the article compares how two Norwegian social movement organizations draw on gender issues in their argumentation. The analysis is empirically based on written material produced by the organizations and takes recourse in a feminist methodological approach rooted in the tradition of discourse analysis. The analysis suggests that gender-related issues discussed by the organizations are coloured by an implicit North–South hierarchy which frames some areas, nations and cultures as more gender-equal and women-friendly than others. By drawing on notions conceptualized by Nira Yuval-Davis, it is argued that social movement organizations’ tendency to frame women’s issues and gender-equality in a way that implicitly marks and maintains symbolic boundaries between North and South is coloured by a ‘politics of belonging’ at the macro-level. The final discussion suggests some of the ways in which it may be problematic to see Nordic gender-equality traditions and current EU initiatives as universal solutions that fit all women living in Europe.
‘Gays who cannot properly be gay’: Queer Muslims in the neoliberal European city
Authors: El-Tayeb Fatima
Published: February 2012

The article traces the framing of Muslim Europeans as the continent’s Other by focusing on the silencing of queer Muslims within public debates around ‘Islam and homosexuality’. Ignoring class as a factor in the violence produced by the gentrification of urban spaces, the pitting of the (implicitly white) gay community against the (implicitly straight) Muslim community posits the latter as a threat to the continent’s foundations that needs to be contained through forms of spatial governance in line with the neoliberal restructuring of the city. Maintaining that this is a Europe-wide phenomenon, the article looks at Amsterdam as exemplifying the European metropole as a site of pseudo-homophile Islamophobia. Simultaneously, with activist groups like the queer of color collective Strange Fruit, it is also representative of the strategies of resistance developed by groups whose presence is virtually erased through culture clash discourses, namely queer Muslims. The article argues that an intersectional queer of color activism, as practiced by Strange Fruit, and a queer of color critique building on it, allows to undermine binaries from the Muslim/European dichotomy to the normative coming out narrative, invariably positioning queers of color as ‘not properly gay’.
Contesting Europe: A call for an anti-modern sexual politics
Authors: Petzen Jennifer
Published: February 2012

In Western Europe, debates surrounding the integration of ‘Muslim’ women over the last decade signify the ways in which racialized notions of gender and sexuality have come to define acceptable and unacceptable ways of being European. Discourses concerning the wearing of the headscarf and ‘honour crimes’ are particular ways in which ‘Muslim’ genders are produced, condemned and held responsible for posing a threat to supposedly stable European values of gender equality and sexual emancipation. This article examines some of the interventions by feminist and gay activists Germany regarding the veil and so-called honour crimes, which reflect an increasing acceptance of the state’s escalating racialization processes on the part of activists. The article concludes that the very racialization of the category ‘Muslim’ needs to be examined not only in a postcolonial context but also how this process has emerged after 9/11 and the ‘War on Terror’.
Postcolonialism and organizational knowledge in the wake of China’s presence in Africa: interrogating South-South relations
Authors: Jackson Terence
Published: February 2012

China’s presence in Africa appears to be part of a new geopolitical dynamic that may be affecting the way management and organizational knowledge from the South should be conceptualized and studied. The purpose of this article is to interrogate the adequacy of emerging critical management theories premised on challenging the West’s modernization projects, particularly Postcolonial and Dependency Theories, in the light of a changing geopolitical dynamic. It discusses the need for a new theoretical lens through which to understand and research China’s presence in Africa at organizational and community levels. It points to the lack of empirical knowledge at these levels, and proposes a research agenda based on an interrogation of China’s previous anti-colonial relationship with African countries and the way its present-day motives are played out at organizational level, and with an aim to understanding the extent to which China’s engagement is given voice to African management and organizational knowledge.