bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“Help for wayward children”: child guidance in 1930s Australia
Authors: Wright Katie
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Historical studies of the expert management of childhood in Australia often make passing reference to the establishment of child guidance clinics. Yet beyond acknowledgement of their founding during the interwar years, there has been little explication of the dynamics of their institutional development. The purpose of this article is to examine the introduction of child guidance in Australia against the backdrop of the international influences that shaped local developments.

Design/methodology/approach

The article investigates the establishment of child guidance clinics in Melbourne and Sydney in the 1930s. In doing so, it explores the influence of American philanthropy, the promise of prevention that inspired the mental hygiene movement, and some of the difficulties faced in putting its child guidance ideals into practice in Australia.

Findings

American philanthropy played an important role in the transnational carriage of ideas about mental hygiene and child guidance into Australia. However, it was state support of child guidance activities that proved critical to its establishment. In addition to institutional developments, what also emerges as important in the 1930s is the traction gained in the broader realm of ideas about “adjustment” and mental health, particularly in relation to the efficacy of early intervention and multidisciplinary approaches to treating problems of childhood.

Originality/value

In tracing its early development, the article argues for the importance of understanding child guidance not only in terms of its administrative successes and failures, but also more broadly in terms of how early intervention as an influential mode of thought and practice took root internationally.
Empire to nationhood: heroism in natural disaster stories for children
Authors: Bell Avril , Patterson Lesley , Dryburgh Morgan , Johnston David
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Natural disaster stories narrate unsettling natural events and proffer scripts for social action in the face of unforeseen and overwhelming circumstances. The purpose of this study is to investigate stories of natural disasters recounted for New Zealand school children in the School Journal during its first 100 years of publication.

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis is used to categorise the disaster event and to identify two distinct periods of disaster stories – imperial and national. Textual analysis of indicative stories from each period centres on the construction of social scripts for child readers.

Findings

In the imperial period tales of individual heroism and self‐sacrifice predominate, while the national period is characterised by stories of ordinary families, community solidarity and survival. Through this investigation of natural disaster stories for children, the paper identifies the shifting models of heroic identity offered to New Zealand children through educational texts.

Originality/value

This study adds to the existing literature on the School Journal and to the broader study of the history of imperialist and nationalist education in New Zealand. In these times of increased disaster awareness it also draws attention to the significance of disaster narratives in offering social scripts for children to draw on in the event of an actual disaster experience.
Learning marginality
Authors: Carlos González‐Faraco J. , Gramigna Anita
Published: June 2012

Purpose

In the Europe of the nineteenth century, a significant increase in abandoned children was caused by demographic pressures and growing economic difficulties that progressively afflicted the lowest social strata of the population. Those who had neither family, nor school, educated themselves in the streets or learned from patron‐tutors who aspired to produce a specific social subject, channelizing their “congenitally” subversive tendencies through a certain kind of structured apprenticeship. This model of education (or “bad education”) can be defined as the formalization, paradoxically devoid of symbols and alphabet, of the experience of the street within a specific system of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to seek to encounter in literary sources the traces of the education of these marginalized children.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors intend to study, by means of the testimony of novels, the mentality of this historic period and the phenomenon of this very different kind of childhood. The epistemological and methodological viewpoint that is adopted is both ethnographic and historical, since the authors are attempting to understand and establish the evolving nexuses and dynamics of the educational phenomenon that is the object of the investigation.

Findings

The central objective of this investigation lies in the notion of “bad education”. By “bad education” the authors mean the presence of an educational itinerary, an acculturation, a personality formation, and a professionalization that have all strayed from the dominant, hegemonic social models. This “model” of education forms part of the prevailing educational philosophy of a particular epoch and historical situation, as demonstrated throughout this paper.

Originality/value

This paper proposes an operation of educational archaeology. However, this operation can contribute to an epistemological awareness that can greatly benefit both the pedagogical reflections of our time and the educations of so many marginalized children who inhabit the destitute streets of the contemporary metropolis.
Silencing the “other” Black Paper contributors
Authors: Limond David
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to encourage re‐reading and re‐evaluation of a series of educational polemics published in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, the Black Papers. These works proposed, for the most part, avowedly conservative views on education: condemning so‐called “progressive” teaching methods and the re‐organisation of secondary schools in the UK (especially England) into non‐selective comprehensives. It is argued, however, that much said and written about the Black Papers since has concentrated only on selected “high profile” contributors, to the neglect of other contributors, often anonymous, whose comments were sometimes more measured/thoughtful.

Design/methodology/approach

The work proceeds first by re‐visiting the facts surrounding the writing of the Black Papers and their critical reception. It then analyses the nature of the contributors and describes selected essays not usually referred to when the Black Papers are discussed by historians and others.

Findings

The work finds that the Black Papers are often infuriatingly and unhelpful polemical in nature but that much written about them since has concentrated only on selected contributors, ignoring others who were more measured.

Originality/value

The work is perhaps the first critical re‐reading of the Black Papers in any depth in several decades. It does not simply dismiss them as hysterical rants by ill‐informed authors and suggests that they re‐pay careful attention, despite their often polemical nature.
The university which never was
Authors: Hutchinson Mark
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to trace debates between state and federal governments, and community stakeholders, leading to the establishment and abolition of the first attempt at a university for Western Sydney, established as Chifley University Interim Council.

Design/methodology/approach

The historical analysis draws from published papers, oral history accounts, and original documents in archives of the University of Sydney and the University of Western Sydney.

Findings

Higher education reform in the 1980s in Australia was fought out as an extension of broader issues such as “States rights”, the rising political power of peri‐urban regions, long‐standing tensions between state and Commonwealth bureaucracies, and the vested interests of existing tertiary education and community groups.

Originality/value

This is the only existing study of attempts to found Chifley University, and one of the few available studies which take a social and contextual approach to understanding the critical reforms of the 1980s leading up to the Dawkins Reforms of 1988‐1990.
New plots are badly needed in finance: accounting for the financial crisis of 2007‐2010
Authors: Czarniawska Barbara
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze common emplotments of interpretations of the financial crisis of 2007‐2010.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a text analysis.

Findings

The paper finds that the same “strong plots” are commonly used to explain financial crises to the general public.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on interpretations of financial crises.
From management controls to the management of controls
Authors: Tessier Sophie , Otley David
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the dynamic development of technical controls in different companies and to interpret the observations using Van de Ven and Poole's typology of change process theories.

Design/methodology/approach

Case study data were obtained through semi‐structured interviews, observation and document analysis in three organisations (Company A, Company B and Company C).

Findings

The paper highlights the life‐cycle development of technical controls, where controls are implemented, improved and eventually removed. It highlights the fact that the progression through the life‐cycle can follow either a dialectical motor of change based on conflict or a teleological motor of change based on consensus.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the paper enhance the theory of rules developed by March et al., by providing insight into how change actually occurs, i.e. how inertia is broken.

Practical implications

The paper offers practitioners some guidelines for the management of their control systems to help them maintain more effective and efficient control systems.

Originality/value

The paper explains that under a teleological motor of change, inertia is broken more easily than under a dialectical one, because there is less tolerance for control obsolescence, hence improvement and removal of obsolete controls are more likely to occur. This is important for listed organisations having to implement more and more technical controls to comply with laws such as SOX. The paper also suggests that the life‐cycle is not a “motor” of change as suggested by Van de Ven and Poole, because it cannot explain how inertia is broken.
Accounting and accountability in an Italian social care provider
Authors: Bracci Enrico , Llewellyn Sue
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This article aims to focus on one of the most intriguing issues related to the public sector reforms: the accountability systems. In particular the paper aims to deal with the relationships between accounting‐based reforms, forms of accountability, and people‐changing or people‐processing approaches to service provision within Italian social work.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the accountability and people changing/processing literature to interpret and discuss the evidence gathered in an in‐depth longitudinal case study conducted in a social service public organization between 2007 and 2009.

Findings

The article reveals that the case study site had developed two distinct groups of services: “Territoriali” and “Residenziali”. “Territoriali” engage in a traditional mode of social care, they provide professional support to clients with, sometimes, quite intractable problems, and aim to modify clients' characteristics, behaviour and attitudes. In contrast, “Residenziali” deal with, and often outsource, more standardized care packages in the form of residential care, day care and some home‐based services. The accounting reforms were received very differently in these two areas. “Territoriali” was resistant to the changes but, in large part, “Residenziali” embraced them. The article then argues that this reflected the extent to which each service area was willing and able to implement a people‐processing rather than a people‐changing approach. The adoption of the people‐processing method had profound implications for the ways that accountability was both experienced and delivered in the services.

Originality/value

This article deals with the under‐researched area of social care. It integrates two literatures not previously articulated together: accountability and people changing/processing. A three‐year longitudinal study is presented, enabling an in‐depth appreciation of the changes affecting social services and the differential responses to accounting and consequent shifts in accountability in two contrasting service areas.
Understanding the responses of professional accounting bodies to crises
Authors: Carnegie Garry D. , O'Connell Brendan T.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this Australian case study, set in the 1960s, is to comprehensively examine the responses of the two major professional accounting bodies to a financial/corporate/regulatory crisis necessitating the defence of the profession's legitimacy.

Design/methodology/approach

This historical paper draws on surviving primary records and secondary sources and applies the perspectives on the dynamics of occupational groups and the legitimacy typology of Suchman.

Findings

While the history of the accounting profession has been characterized by intra‐professional rivalries, this case study illustrates how such rivalries were put aside on recognising the power of collectivizing in defending the profession's legitimacy. Based on the available evidence, pragmatic legitimacy is shown to have been a key focus of attention by the major accounting bodies involved.

Research limitations/implications

The paper may motivate similar studies in Australia and elsewhere, thus potentially contributing to developing a literature on comparative international accounting history. The evidence for this historical investigation is largely restricted to surviving documents, making it necessary to rely on assessments of the key sources.

Originality/value

In addressing responses to crises in defending the legitimacy of the profession as a whole, the paper makes an original contribution in exploring the relationship between literature on the dynamics of occupational groups and on legitimacy management.
Accounting‐related research in PPPs/PFIs: present contributions and future opportunities
Authors: Andon Paul
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review research investigating the implications of public private partnership (PPP) schemes for public investment, focusing on the role and effects of accounting as it relates to the assessment, management, control, reporting, accountability and policy direction of these arrangements. Based on this review, it aims to offer reflections on future directions for this research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper derives five research themes adapted from the PPP research agenda outlined by Broadbent and Laughlin as a framework to guide a literature‐based analysis and critique of the relevant PPP literature published up to December 2010.

Findings

The review highlights the range of interesting contributions that extant accounting‐related research has made to current knowledge about PPP policy and procedure. From this, concentrations of research effort are identified (its largely technical, critical, procurement‐oriented and Anglo‐centric focus), and opportunities for future research are proposed. With regard to the latter, the opportunities proffered have in common a need to question the nature and functioning of PPPs, consider the complexities of PPPs in action, and explore connections between research and practice.

Originality/value

The main contributions this paper makes relate to understanding the “state of the art” of accounting‐related PPP research, the progress this research agenda has made in line with Broadbent and Laughlin's agenda, as well as insights into fruitful directions future research could take.
Flight of fantasy: writing a full proof “code” for ethics
Authors: Botes Vida
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to portray the Code of Ethics in digital format, by using a markup language like C#. to formulate code. Digitally executed, this should reduce in the audit expectation gap.

Design/methodology/approach

Using wordplay the design consists of the technical formulation of a piece of hybrid code written in the language C# but sourced from the Code of Ethics.

Findings

The programmer constructs the Revised Code of Ethics released by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in July 2009, in “code”, to ensure that it is free from errors.

Originality/value

This paper, utilizing wordplay, represents a unique attempt to write the Code of Ethics in such a way that if executed by a computer it would be infallible to human judgement error, hence reducing the expectation gap of auditing and assertions.
Caution – this office may damage your health
Authors: Hopkins Mike
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to present reflections on the frustrations of working in the modern business office setting.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a fictional poem.

Findings

The poem reveals that the accumulation of relatively minor irritants, distractions and frustrations can have a significantly deleterious effect on the mental condition of some sensitive office workers.

Research implications

The paper presents warning signs for the potential implications for occupational health and safety of the culture and working conditions prevalent in many office environments in the twenty‐first century.

Originality/value

The paper presents a poet's perspective on modern office working conditions.
The driving forces of sustainability
Authors: Stoughton Anne M. , Ludema James
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to provide an integrative model for how commitment to sustainability emerges at the organizational, functional, and individual levels within organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted through a multi‐site, comparative case study using three large corporations with exemplary sustainability standings. Key employees from each organization were interviewed. Interview transcripts and sustainability reports were analyzed using discourse analysis, and a constructivist approach to grounded theory was used to build a model for how sustainability emerges at the organizational, functional, and individual levels.

Findings

Within the corporations studied, different perspectives toward sustainability exist. At the organizational level, senior leadership defines sustainability and establishes an integrated culture by aligning sustainability with business purposes and driving sustainability priorities through the organization. At the functional level, managers assume a differentiated perspective and translate organizational sustainability goals into tools and programs for facilities, suppliers, and employees. At the individual level, based upon different cultural influences, independent actors assume a fragmented perspective. Each of these perspectives influences the others and is essential to the long‐term success of a commitment to sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

Viewing sustainability through multiple perspectives presents an interesting approach for research. Most sustainability literature addresses change from an organizational level. Therefore, addressing sustainability change from an organizational, a subcultural, and an individual level provides further insight into how sustainability develops within organizations.

Originality/value

There are different and often contradictory views of how sustainability develops within organizations. This paper provides fresh insight into this process.
Corporate environmentalism and top management identity negotiation
Authors: Cherrier Hélène , Russell Sally V. , Fielding Kelly
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine the narratives of acceptance and resistance to the introduction of corporate environmentalism. Despite recognition that managers and senior executives play a primary role in corporate environmentalism, relatively few researchers have examined how top management supports, accepts, negotiates, disregards, or rejects the implementation of corporate environmentalism within their organization. By considering how members of a top management team reflect on corporate environmentalism the aim is to examine potential identity management conflicts that arise during the implementation of environmentally sustainable initiatives within organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was adopted to address the research aims. By taking this approach the paper examines the lived experience of the participants as they internalized corporate environmentalism as part of their identity and as part of the organizational identity. Data collection involved 15 semi‐structured interviews with senior executives and board members of a large Australian hospital.

Findings

Based on an in‐depth thematic analysis of interview transcripts, it was found that individuals attributed a dominant discourse to corporate environmentalism based on their lived experience of organizational change for sustainability. Six dominant discourses were identified. Three were resistant to corporate environmentalism: the pragmatist, the traditionalist, and the observer; and three were supportive of corporate environmentalism: the technocentrist, holist, and ecopreneur.

Originality/value

The findings demonstrate that although top management operated in and experienced the same organizational context, the narratives and identities they constructed in relation to sustainability varied widely. These findings emphasize the challenges inherent in developing an organizational identity that incorporates sustainability principles and the need for change management strategies to appeal to the diverse values and priorities of organizational managers and executives.
Leading complex change with post‐conventional consciousness
Authors: Brown Barrett C.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to document how leaders with a highly‐developed meaning‐making system design and engage in sustainability initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 32 leaders and change agents were assessed for their meaning‐making system, or action logic, using a variation of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test; 13 were identified as holding the three rarest and most complex action logics able to be measured. Semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews explored their behavior and actions as related to complex change initiatives.

Findings

These leaders appear to: design from a deep inner foundation, including grounding their work in transpersonal meaning; access non‐rational ways of knowing, and use systems, complexity, and integral theories; and adaptively manage through “dialogue” with the system, three distinct roles, and developmental practices. Fifteen leadership competencies and developmental stage distinctions for three dimensions of leadership were identified.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size leads to the findings being propositions that require further validation before broader generalization.

Practical implications

The results provide the most granular view to date of how individuals with highly complex meaning‐making may think and behave with respect to complex change, offering potential insight into the future of leadership.

Social implications

The study explores how to cultivate leadership with the capacity to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Originality/value

The paper documents 15 competencies that are largely new to the leadership literature, and that reflect the actions of leaders operating with highly sophisticated meaning‐making systems.
An interaction and networks approach to developing sustainable organizations
Authors: Ryan Annmarie , Kajzer Mitchell Ingrid , Daskou Sofia
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to present an interactions and networks approach (INA) to the issue of change for sustainability, which can bring business out of the firm‐centric impasse and lead to collaborative action and transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper builds upon the extant relational theories in management, and presents a holistic multi‐level framework (the system/network, issue‐based or strategic nets, dyadic relationships and the network organization) to conceptualize change for sustainability.

Findings

By adopting INA business is able to discuss: the nature and role of the network in building systems level change; the role of dyadic relations as a central mechanism for change; and the nature of organizational level capabilities necessary to enhance learning for sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

Areas of future inquiry include examination of the dynamics of intra‐stakeholder relationships over time, specifically the development of actors' attitudes, behavior and cognition in business networks alongside how actors perceive and capitalize on network embedded learning. Further scholarly attention in these areas can further the appreciation of how an INA can assist in building more sustainable organizational futures.

Practical implications

The paper builds on the concept of “ecological literacy” at an organizational level, and considers the specific capabilities required including network visioning, orchestration and the ability to perceive the “other” as partners in creating new market realities. Moreover, it discusses the role and importance of firm “change agent power” in this regard.

Originality/value

By building on an INA approach, the paper provides an important conceptual stepping stone towards the ongoing realization of sustainable organization and market forms.
Micro‐moments, choice and responsibility in sustainable organizational change and transformation
Authors: Stokes Peter , Harris Phil
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper's aim is to examine the catalytic and pivotal role of micro‐moments in organizations and their role in producing the possibility of sustainable or unsustainable change and transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs participant observation within an interpretivistic methodological approach. This provides critical incident vignettes with which to explore issues.

Findings

The argument contends that macro‐events in relation to either (un)sustainable and (ir)responsible events are rooted in “micro‐moments” centred on behaviour and choices. These myriad choices occur repeatedly – a dilemma captured by the metaphor of Janus. Underpinned by templates of Aristotelian virtue ethics and Kantian deontology, the paper argues that consistent “good” character” and “good behaviour” are central to ensuring sustainable change. Alternatively, “bad” character and behaviours have a propensity to engender ambivalent unsustainable and irresponsible environments.

Social implications

The work heightens awareness of seemingly “insignificant” micro‐behaviour in organizations undergoing processes of change. If allowed to occur without redress, negative micro‐moments lead to negative impacts on the macro‐aspects of the organization whereas positive moments tend to engender more sustainable and responsible environments.

Originality/value

The paper builds an amalgam of extant literatures on business ethics, organizational behaviour, corporate culture, organizational change management and sustainability and focuses attention on the under‐developed phenomenon of the micro‐moment.
Sustainability and the need for change: organisational change and transformational vision
Authors: Millar Carla , Hind Patricia , Magala Slawek
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to provide an introduction to the special issue on the theme of sustainability and the need for change.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper gives an overview of sustainability and its managerial and policy dilemmas for organizations. It also outlines the topics covered in the papers in the special issue.

Findings

The question that the papers seek to answer is: how can organisations deal with the sustainability challenge? The papers cover the key sustainability dilemmas: how to balance short term priorities with long term vision, organisational change with stability, strategic goals with day to day implementation, domestic with international responsibilities; how to manage the corporate brand, image and reputation; how to influence policies nationally and internationally, and foster relations, all in the realm of effecting the change in attitude and behaviour that sustainability demands.

Originality/value

The paper introduces an eclectic collection of papers that are intended to inform, challenge and stimulate continuing debate.
Ethical practice: a study of Chilean school leaders
Authors: Cuellar Carolina , Giles David L.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This article seeks to report on a research inquiry that explored the educational praxis of ethical school leaders in Chile. Behaving ethically is an imperative for school leaders. Being an ethical educational leader is something different. It is not only about behaving according to standards, but also rather involves an ethical way of being that engages the leader holistically in their attempt to do the right thing for students.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study design was employed to gain insight into the feelings, beliefs and thoughts of ethical school leaders in Chile regarding their educational experiences. To this end, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with eight identified ethical school leaders. The data focused on the commonalities and uniqueness within and across participants.

Findings

Six main themes that reflect the experience of being ethical as a school leader in Chile were identified and included: holding personal and professional ethics as inseparable; “consistently” inspiring practice; valuing others; sustaining a humane view of education; being sensitive to the complex local context; and leading as serving.

Originality/value

Ethical leaders in education have been shown to influence educational contexts from a moral imperative that is grounded in a critical and humanistic concern that deeply affirms “others” as a common good. Becoming and being an ethical leader is indeed an experiential journey that integrates the leader's personal and professional way of being. The findings provide key elements of ethical leadership within a Chilean school context that can influence current and future school leaders' practices and professional development.
Mentors' ethical perceptions: implications for practice
Authors: Shapira‐Lishchinsky Orly
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This study attempts to describe mentors' perceptions of their ethical dilemmas, the derived mentor roles, and the ethical guidelines suggested by mentors, with reference to previous studies exploring the mentors' multifaceted roles.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 60 mentors participated in a two‐phase study: the mentors were asked to submit descriptions of their ethical dilemmas to the study web site, and submissions were then discussed in focus groups. A four‐stage coding process derived from grounded theory was utilized.

Findings

The findings were grouped by means of the ATLAS.ti 5.0 into five main categories: discretion, caring, accountability, autonomy, and distributive justice. The findings raise three important issues: first, mentors perceive their role mainly as empowering their mentees and perceive their powerlessness as being due to lack of tools for dealing with ethical dilemmas. Second, most mentors' ethical dilemmas involved conflicts with school principals. Third, a large number of mentor roles and several of the derived ethical guidelines are unique to the mentoring situation.

Practical implications

The findings may promote the design of an educational program for mentors that will relate to the ethical aspects of mentoring. Such programs call for the participation of school principals in program development and meetings to help mentors deal with their ethical dilemmas.

Originality/value

While previous studies in mentoring focused on defining mentoring, describing mentors' roles, and suggesting how to build effective mentoring, no study focused on the ethical aspects of mentoring. This study describes mentors' ethical dilemmas, and the unique ethical guidelines that emerged.
Response to intervention implementation: a successful principal's approach
Authors: Murakami‐Ramalho Elizabeth , Wilcox Kathleen A.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the implementation of response to intervention (RTI) in elementary schools. RTI is a systematic and comprehensive teaching and learning process intended to identify and prevent student academic failure through differentiated or intensified instruction.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an exploratory case study approach, this study observes the philosophical shift from removing students from the classroom for testing and remedial instruction, to incorporating a three‐tiered intervention approach beginning with the classroom teacher.

Findings

Findings show the strategies one principal used to implement RTI practices using a whole‐organization structured approach. Teachers and administrators jointly planned the strategies and created venues conducive for the intervention students needed to meet district, local, and national academic expectations.

Research limitations/implications

Research implications relate to the limited sample a single‐case study can provide. Nonetheless, the case brings useful steps at an administrative level in building successful structures for the focused improvement of teaching and learning processes.

Practical implications

Case studies provide a venue for practitioners and researchers to analyze possible approaches based on real examples. This study demonstrates possibilities in the adaptation of mandates to work on behalf of the improvement of children.

Originality/value

This study is significant since there is a growing interest in adopting RTI processes in several countries around the world and in providing possible models of implementation for practitioners and researchers.
The interactive effects of perceived parental involvement and personality on teacher satisfaction
Authors: Li Chung‐Kai , Hung Chia‐Hung
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relations between teachers' perception of parental involvement and teacher satisfaction. It further aims to investigate how this relationship may be moderated by interpersonal personality traits.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was conducted; participants were 572 classroom teachers who teach at public elementary schools in Taiwan.

Findings

Hierarchical regression results indicated that parental involvement at home was considered the most effective factor influencing teachers' satisfaction, followed by teacher‐parent contact. Parental involvement at school was less important. Furthermore, extraversion moderates the relationship partially; teachers low in extraversion perceived home‐based involvement associated with teachers' satisfaction more strongly than those high in extraversion. In contrast, the study found no moderating effect for agreeable teachers.

Originality/value

This article presents an original empirical study that expands the model of parental involvement in order to improve understanding of how teacher's perception of parent involvement is linked to teacher satisfaction.
Cigarette smoking and anti‐smoking counseling practices among physicians in Wuhan, China
Authors: Gong Jie , Zhang Zhifeng , Zhu Zhaoyang , Wan Jun , Yang Niannian , Li Fang , Sun Huiling , Li Weiping , Xia Jiang , Zhou Dunjin , Chen Xinguang
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The paper seeks to report data on cigarette smoking, anti‐smoking practices, physicians' receipt of anti‐smoking training, and the association between receipt of the training and anti‐smoking practice among physicians in Wuhan, China.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants were selected through the stratified random sampling method. The questionnaires were completed by the sampled physicians and the response rate of the survey was 98.1 percent.

Findings

Among the total sample, 11 percent were current smokers. Significantly more male physicians than female physicians were current smokers (31.6 vs 0.9 percent, p<0.001). In total, 41 percent of physicians always or often asked patients about smoking habits, and 61 percent of them often advised patients to quit. Receiving anti‐tobacco training significantly increased the likelihood for physicians to ask patients about smoking (odd ratio=2.55, p<0.001) and to advise patients against smoking (odd ratio=4.05, p<0.001) with and without controlling gender, age, education, type of hospital and medical services specialty.

Practical implications

More effort should be devoted to training for physicians with focus on anti‐smoking practice and smoking cessation counseling in addition to assist physicians themselves to quit smoking.

Originality/value

The findings of this study update the data regarding cigarette smoking among physicians in Wuhan, China, and their practice of anti‐tobacco counseling. It indicates that it is very important to provide the training regarding anti‐smoking counseling among physicians.
Counseling Chinese patients about cigarette smoking: the role of nurses
Authors: Zao Li Han , Zhang Yu , MacDonell Karen , Ping Li Xiao , Chen Xinguang
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to determine the cigarette smoking rate and smoking cessation counseling frequency in a sample of Chinese nurses.

Design/methodology/approach

At the time of data collection, the hospital had 260 nurses, 255 females and five males. The 200 nurses working on the two daytime shifts were given the questionnaires; none refused to participate, reaching a response rate of 100 percent. All the participants were females as the five male nurses were working in the operation rooms at the time of data collection, are were thus not accessible.

Findings

Some key findings include: only two nurses, out of 200, identified themselves as current cigarette smokers; all provided anti‐smoking counseling to patients, the majority of them did not think their efforts were successful; cigarette smoking is a problem in China: the nurses estimated that 80 percent of male and 10 percent of female patients were current smokers; in the opinions of the nurses, Chinese smokers used smoking as a stress reliever and a social lubricant; two methods may help smokers to quit or reduce smoking: using aids such as patches, acupuncture and nicotine gum, and counseling by health professionals; the nurses think that cigarette smoking is well accepted in the Chinese culture.

Practical implications

Findings of this research suggest that the Chinese Ministry of Health should take measures to change the cultural norms and values regarding cigarette smoking including strict rules be imposed on not passing/sharing cigarettes in the workplace.

Originality/value

In a collectivistic culture such as China where opinions of authorities are respected, the part of nurses, who represent health authority to their patients, in assisting patients to quit or reduce smoking cannot be overemphasized. This study adds to the scarce research on Chinese nurses' role in helping patients' smoking cessation efforts.
Cigarette smoking practice and attitudes, and proposed effective smoking cessation measures among college student smokers in China
Authors: Cui Yanping , Ying Mao , Fan Hongqi
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the average daily consumption of cigarettes and its correlates, attitudes toward smoking, and suggestions for anti‐smoking measures in a sample of Chinese college student smokers.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 150 college student cigarette smokers in Baoding, a city near Beijing, filled out a questionnaire asking about their average daily consumption of cigarettes, attitude toward smoking and their opinions on how they might control their smoking behavior.

Findings

In total, 85.3 percent of the smoking students were males and 14.7 percent females, and males had started smoking earlier. However, and surprisingly, the average daily consumption among females was greater than among males (9.6 vs 5.6 cigarettes a day, p<0.01). Average daily cigarette consumption was significantly associated with perceived health condition (students who thought themselves in poorer health consumed more), perceived risk of cigarette smoking (but with those who thought it harmful actually consuming more than those who did not), frequency of offering cigarettes as gifts, and perceived enjoyment from smoking. The three most commonly reported measures which curbed smoking were friends' or classmates' suggestions, the urging of a boyfriend/girlfriend, and the urging of parents.

Practical implications

Findings in this paper underscore the importance of developing effective smoking cessation programs through gender‐specific approaches at post‐secondary educational institutions as well as coordinating anti‐smoking efforts at multiple levels of educational administration in China.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the few studies on Chinese college students' cigarette smoking practices and student smokers' attitudes toward cigarette smoking. It also reports for the first time possible effective anti‐smoking measures as suggested by the students themselves. The value of this study lies in the finding that cigarette smoking among highly educated individuals in China is on the rise and vigorous research on the smoking behavior of this group should be a high priority.
Supplier‐contractor collaboration in the construction industry
Authors: Bemelmans Jeroen , Voordijk Hans , Vos Bart
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Recent developments in the construction industry resulted in an increased importance of collaboration with and managing of suppliers by prime contractors. The focus of this study is on getting insights into existing knowledge on this topic and the gaps in this knowledge base. The goals of this study are threefold: to verify the current state of, to gain insights into, and to provide suggestions for supplier‐contractor research.

Design/methodology/approach

The current state of supplier‐contractor research in the construction industry is verified through a taxonomic approach to the literature on buyer‐supplier research over the last decade (2000‐2009). The method followed consists of the following three steps: journal selection, initial article selection and final article selection.

Findings

Supplier‐contractor research in the construction industry is still a relatively under‐researched phenomenon. The major topics discussed in the identified articles are aspects of partnering (conditions, characteristics and barriers/obstacles) and (sub)contracting/procurement issues (practices, selection criteria, performance and characteristics).

Research limitations/implications

This study concludes that future research should focus on longitudinal studies, testing organisational barriers to partnering, the benefits of partnering in practice, conditions under which the formation of collaborative relationships between suppliers and contractors takes place, and experiences with this formation process.

Practical implications

In practice, contractors do see a need to develop closer and more collaborative relationships with their suppliers. This study highlights the topics that need to be addressed to achieve these goals.

Originality/value

This study is a literature overview of relatively scarce research on collaborative relationships between suppliers and contractors in the construction industry.
Characteristics of global architectural firms
Authors: Oluwatayo Adedapo , Amole Dolapo
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors which discriminate between local and global architectural firms in Nigeria. The rationale was to examine how the globalization process differs in Nigeria and contribute to the discourse on globalization.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is quantitative, using discriminant analysis to differentiate the global architectural firms from the local ones. The study used a random sample of 92 architectural firms in Nigeria, examining various characteristics of the firms through a questionnaire.

Findings

There was a strong distinction between global and local firms. Compared to the local architectural firms, the global firms were larger, and mostly run by sole principals who were more experienced. The internet was used more to communicate with other professionals, but less to communicate with clients and in designing and drafting. The global firms also placed higher value on developing expertise in specific building types.

Research limitations/implications

Data are obtained from architectural firms in Nigeria only. The results suggest that global architectural firms are peculiar and exhibit certain characteristics which further differentiate them from local ones.

Practical implications

The implications for architectural firms seeking to operate globally include building size advantage, building expertise in specific specializations, having principals with high level experience and employing alliances with other professionals in operating internationally.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the body of knowledge on architectural firms which are under‐researched. The importance of this paper lies in its empirical nature in investigating the characteristics of global architectural firms using a sample of architectural firms in Nigeria.
Modelling industrial construction operations using a multi‐agent resource allocation framework
Authors: Liu Yang , Mohamed Yasser
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Modelling construction resources and their dynamic interactions and constraints are a challenging problem. The allocation of these resources to competing activities is usually a function required in any scheduling process. Performing such allocation under a dynamic and diverse set of constraints adds more complexity to the problem. This study seeks a structured approach for representing resources and their allocation to different activities through the use of an agent‐oriented modelling framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A model is developed for a real case of assembly operations of industrial construction modules. The model follows a multi‐agent resource allocation structure and is implemented within an agent‐based simulation environment. The model is used to evaluate the effects of different optimization algorithms and modelling parameters on the generation of a construction schedule. Different experiments run through the model and their results are analyzed and discussed.

Findings

The model showed sensitivity only under large and continuous workloads. Overall the structured approach followed in developing the model provided a flexible medium for experimenting with different elements of the resource allocation problem.

Research limitations/implications

The work is limited to the studied case and the results cannot be generalized beyond similar cases. The modelling approach used in the study provides a platform that can facilitate future research in construction resource allocation strategies.

Originality/value

The presented work demonstrates a new approach for modelling construction resource allocation problems that enables structured experimentation with alternative allocation algorithms. It also presents a novel way for modelling modular industrial construction operations.