The relative effects of environmental, internal and contextual factors on organizational learning: the case of Hong Kong schools under reforms

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.L. Jack Lam ◽  
S.K. Nicholas Pang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
Supportive Culture ◽  
Historical Question

In the context of rapid environmental changes under current school reform, the present paper attempts to locate an answer for a historical question related to the sources of organizational changes and for a prevailing question probing the relationships among external, internal and contextual factors affecting school organizational learning. Based on the information provided by 1,197 teaching staff from 67 Hong Kong government‐aided elementary and secondary schools, the present study confirms the proposition advanced by the “strategic choice school”, that it is leadership action which accounts for organizational adaptation. Moreover, through a series of path analyses, transformational leadership along with supportive culture and flexible structure are mainly accountable for organizational learning, while external and contextual conditions provide the additional incentives in dictating the extent of organizational learning that is taking place in schools.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Study on University Students’ Perceived Employability: Comparative Effects of Personal and Contextual Factors

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110361
Author(s):  
Meriç Ergün ◽  
Harun Şeşen
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
University Students ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Perceived Employability ◽  
Contextual Determinants

This study aimed to investigate the personal and contextual determinants affecting the employability perception of university students using a comprehensive model, and to compare the effects of these determinants with each other. The sample consisted of 463 university students from Turkish universities in İstanbul. Following explanatory and confirmatory analyses, the study variables were tested via hierarchical regression analysis. Across all variables, generic skills, academic performance, personal circumstances, and external labor market had significant and positive effects on the perception of employability, while students’ work experience and the contribution of university and consultants did not. The external labor market was identified as the strongest determinant of employability, and contextual factors were identified as having a stronger influence than personal ones. The results present a number of suggestions for stakeholders—including the Ministry of Education, university administrations, teaching staff, employers, students, families, media, and graduates—vis-à-vis perceived employability.

scholarly journals Which Factors Influence Farmers’ Use of Protective Measures During Pesticides Exposure?

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 338-349
Author(s):  
Maryam Afshari ◽  
Jalal Poorolajal ◽  
Forouzan Rezapur-Shahkolai ◽  
Mohammad Javad Assari ◽  
Akram Karimi-Shahanjarini
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Physiological Arousal ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Pesticides Exposure ◽  
Positive Effect

Farmers in developing countries use harmful pesticides while taking few or no protective measures. There is limited evidence on factors affecting their safety measures. The objective of this study was to identify the underlying factors influencing farmers’ protective behaviors (PBs) and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the exposure to pesticides. From April to August 2017, a descriptive study was conducted in Twiserkan County in western Iran among 474 farmers from 104 villages. A questionnaire was developed to measure demographic characteristics and factors suggested in integrated agent-centered (IAC) framework. The questionnaire was validated in terms of content validity through expert reviews and tested for reliability in a group of farmers. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews with farmers. Physiological arousal (β = .154, p < .05), intention (β = .345, p < .05), habit (β = .188, p < .05), and contextual factors (β = .101, p < .05) had a significant and positive impact on farmers engaging in pesticide PBs. Among the assessed factors, only physiological arousal (β = .122, p < .05) and habit (β = .646, p < .05) were found to have a significant and positive effect on the use of PPE, but the intention (β = –.039, p > .05) and contextual factors (β = –.009, p > .05) had no significant relation with the use of PPE. The results of this study identified determinants of farmers’ safety measures. Our results suggest that the IAC framework could serve as a guide to developing a more effective intervention for safety measures of Iranian farmers.

scholarly journals A Scoping Review of Organizational Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Schools: A Complex Systems Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Puspa Khanal ◽  
Fabio Bento ◽  
Marco Tagliabue
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Organizational Responses ◽  
Additional Element ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
School Settings

This study is a scoping review of the literature on organizational adaptation in school settings during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dramatic and unexpected environmental changes raise questions about the capacity of schooling organizations to adapt to in response to the pandemic. Different management practices have implications for the selection of organizational behaviors, electively in school settings. The research literature on school responses is analyzed from a selectionist perspective. The aim of this study is to identify and describe three constituting elements of this perspective: variation, interaction, and selection. An additional element is considered in this analysis and comprises the mechanisms of exploration and exploitation in the context of organizational adaptation. Sixteen studies met the selection criteria of describing emergent processes in schools. The findings highlight the emergence of exploration, as teachers actively experimented with a range of strategies and methods in order to maintain educational activities in the complex and uncertain context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several questions are raised regarding the effects and maintenance of new practices in the post-pandemic scenario. Management practices that facilitate variation and open communication about learning processes can contribute to the process of organizational adaptation.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR KONTEKSTUAL YANG MEMPENGARUHI AMALAN KITAR SEMULA PENJAWAT AWAM NEGERI MELAKA (Contextual Factors Affecting the Recycling Practices of Melaka State Civil Servants)

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-103
Author(s):  
NOR FAZILAH ABDUL HAMID ◽  
MASHITOH YAACOB ◽  
NOR AZILAH AHMAD ◽  
ZUBAIDAH MOHD NASIR ◽  
NADZIRAH ROSLI
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Factors Affecting

Kebersihan merupakan salah satu aspek yang penting untuk menjadikan negara Malaysia setaraf dengan negara maju. Selain daripada komuniti, penjawat awam juga dilihat mempunyai peranan yang besar untuk memelihara kebersihan persekitaran di tempat kerja melalui penjimatan perbelanjaan bagi urus tadbir negara. Oleh itu, kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk mengenal pasti tujuh faktor kontekstual yang mempengaruhi amalan kitar semula dalam kalangan penjawat awam di negeri Melaka. Data kuantitatif diperoleh melalui soal selidik manakala data kualitatif adalah melalui temu bual bagi menyokong data kuantitatif. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah pensampelan bertujuan ke atas 365 orang penjawat awam kerajaan negeri Melaka. Dapatan kajian kuantitatif dianalisis dengan menggunakan perisian SPSS 20. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan faktor kontekstual pengetahuan terhadap amalan kitar semula dalam kalangan penjawat awam kerajaan negeri Melaka adalah tinggi (M=4.41; SP=0.65) diikuti dengan menjaga alam sekitar (M=4.29; SP=0.66), pengasingan sisa pepejal (M=3.75; SP=0.69), kempen kitar semula (M=3.71; SP=0.70), menjana pendapatan sampingan (M=3.59; SP=0.70), pengaruh sosial (M=3.50; SP=0.67) manakala faktor kontekstual kemudahan kitar semula (M=3.35; SP=0.91) adalah yang paling rendah. Penemuan hasil kajian ini dapat membantu organisasi dan jabatan untuk mempelbagaikan promosi, kempen dan aktiviti kitar semula bagi mendorong penjawat awam mengamalkan kitar semula dalam konteks yang lebih luas lagi. Kata kunci: Sisa pepejal; Faktor kontekstual kitar semula; Amalan kitar semula; Pejabat; Penjawat awam

scholarly journals Distribution Patterns of Odonate Assemblages in Relation to Environmental Variables in Streams of South Korea

Insects ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Da-Yeong Lee ◽  
Dae-Seong Lee ◽  
Mi-Jung Bae ◽  
Soon-Jin Hwang ◽  
Seong-Yu Noh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Self Organizing Map ◽  
Factors Affecting

Odonata species are sensitive to environmental changes, particularly those caused by humans, and provide valuable ecosystem services as intermediate predators in food webs. We aimed: (i) to investigate the distribution patterns of Odonata in streams on a nationwide scale across South Korea; (ii) to evaluate the relationships between the distribution patterns of odonates and their environmental conditions; and (iii) to identify indicator species and the most significant environmental factors affecting their distributions. Samples were collected from 965 sampling sites in streams across South Korea. We also measured 34 environmental variables grouped into six categories: geography, meteorology, land use, substrate composition, hydrology, and physicochemistry. A total of 83 taxa belonging to 10 families of Odonata were recorded in the dataset. Among them, eight species displayed high abundances and incidences. Self-organizing map (SOM) classified sampling sites into seven clusters (A–G) which could be divided into two distinct groups (A–C and D–G) according to the similarities of their odonate assemblages. Clusters A–C were characterized by members of the suborder Anisoptera, whereas clusters D–G were characterized by the suborder Zygoptera. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) identified forest (%), altitude, and cobble (%) in substrata as the most influential environmental factors determining odonate assemblage compositions. Our results emphasize the importance of habitat heterogeneity by demonstrating its effect on odonate assemblages.

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