Performance assessment for school leaders: comparing field trial and implementation results

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-59
Author(s):  
Margaret Terry Orr ◽  
Liz Hollingworth ◽  
Barbara Beaudin
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Field Trial ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Career Aspirations ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Authentic Evaluation ◽  
And Gender

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare two years of results for one state’s performance-based assessments for principal licensure Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL). This includes the field trial (2014–2015) and first year of statewide implementation (2015–2016) when passing score requirements and fees were added. Survey results on candidates’ career aspirations provide concurrent validation. Design/methodology/approach Two years of PAL submissions (n=569 candidates) were scored by trained, certified scorers. Task and total score results were compared by year, preparation pathway and gender. Online feedback survey results on career aspirations for (n=146 candidates) were compared by year. Findings The results show that PAL assessments measure independent dimensions of leadership, differentiate candidates on leadership knowledge and skills, and confirm PAL’s internal validity. Implementation year scores were higher than field trial scores, and preparation program candidates scored better than non-program candidates did. Candidate career aspirations were stronger in the implementation year than during the field trial. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to one state’s candidates, but findings are generalizable based on the wide range among candidates’ districts (demographically and economically). Practical implications The results are promising for the leadership preparation and assessment field, demonstrating the effectiveness of performance assessment for authentic evaluation of leadership candidates’ knowledge and skill and overall readiness for initial leadership work. Originality/value This is the first large scale performance assessment for aspiring leaders designed for state licensure decisions. It is being replicated in another state and shown promise for both formative and summative leadership assessment.

Application of eco-friendly natural dye obtained from Spathodea campanulata on silk using combination of mordants

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Kumaresan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Potassium Dichromate ◽  
Ferrous Sulphate ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Natural Dye ◽  
Alkaline Media ◽  
Silk Fabric ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
New Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extract the eco-friendly natural dye obtained from the flower of Spathodea campanulata and apply on silk fabric using combination of mordants. The fastness properties of the flower of Spathodea campanulata dyed silk fabric have been studied using different combination (1:3, 1:1 and 3:1) of various mordants, such as myrobolan: nickel sulphate, myrobolan: aluminium sulphate, myrobolan: potassium dichromate, myrobolan: ferrous sulphate and myrobolan: stannous chloride. The wash, rub, light and perspiration fastness of the dyed samples have been evaluated. Design/methodology/approach – For dyeing there are three methods are used. They are Pre mordanting, Simultaneous mordanting and Post mordanting methods. Dyed silk materials are tested by using wash fastness, rub fastness, light and perspiration fastness methods. Findings – It is found that Spathodea campanulata dye can be successfully used for the dyeing of silk to obtain a wide range colours by using various combinations of mordants. With regards to colour fastness, test samples exhibit excellent fastness to washing, rubbing, except for pre-mordanting using myrobolan: potassium dichromate combination; and good to excellent fastness to perspiration in both acidic and alkaline media. Originality/value – Availability of literature related to this work is not available. The study of combination of mordants of this natural dye on silk is a new research work and the large scale preparation is definitely very useful to the society.

A logic model of the implementation of a regional workforce strategy in positive behavioural support

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Noone ◽  
Alison Branch ◽  
Melissa Sherring
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Logic Model ◽  
Competency Framework ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioural Support ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Wide Range

Purpose Positive behavioural support (PBS) as a framework for delivering quality services is recognised in important policy documents (CQC, 2020; NICE, 2018), yet there is an absence in the literature on how this could be implemented on a large scale. The purpose of this paper is to describe a recent implementation of a workforce strategy to develop PBS across social care and health staff and family carers, within the footprint of a large integrated care system. Design/methodology/approach A logic model describes how an initial scoping exercise led to the production of a regional workforce strategy based on the PBS Competence Framework (2015). It shows how the creation of a regional steering group was able to coordinate important developmental stages and integrate multiple agencies into a single strategy to implement teaching and education in PBS. It describes the number of people who received teaching and education in PBS and the regional impact of the project in promoting cultural change within services. Findings This paper demonstrates a proof of concept that it is possible to translate the PBS Competency Framework (2015) into accredited courses. Initial scoping work highlighted the ineffectiveness of traditional training in PBS. Using blended learning and competency-based supervision and assessment, it was possible to create a new way to promote large-scale service developments in PBS supported by the governance of a new organisational structure. This also included family training delivered by family trainers. This builds on the ideas by Denne et al. (2020) that many of the necessary building blocks of implementation already exist within a system. Social implications A co-ordinated teaching and education strategy in PBS may help a wide range of carers to become more effective in supporting the people they care for. Originality/value This is the first attempt to describe the implementation of a framework for PBS within a defined geographical location. It describes the collaboration of health and social care planners and a local university to create a suite of courses built around the PBS coalition competency framework.

Conflict resolution practice in public procurement: evidence from Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuliya Rodionova
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Judicial Proceedings ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Conflict Handling ◽  
Informal Relations ◽  
First Time

Purpose This paper aims to analyze conflict resolution practice in public procurement. The specific feature of this sphere is the presence of the state and the resulting differences in assessing the chances of protecting one’s interests in court, as well as the effectiveness of judicial conflict resolution mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the findings of a large-scale survey of suppliers conducted in 2017. To identify the characteristics of suppliers that use different conflict resolution mechanisms, probit-models were evaluated. For robustness check, combined mechanisms for resolving conflict situations were also considered and multi-nomial logistic regression was used. Findings The survey results showed that the majority of suppliers prefer to resolve conflicts in public procurement using an out-of-court negotiation with procurers while only 31% of respondents resort to judicial proceedings. At the same time, suppliers potentially involved in informal relations with procurers, are less likely to go to court and less often use negotiations. Practical implications The results of the study can be used as a justification for the development of a regulatory and organizational framework for the use of negotiations, mediation, arbitration and other alternate methods of conflict resolution in public procurement. Originality/value This paper makes an important contribution to the conflict-handling strategies of businesses and government by presenting for the first time a quantitative assessment of the prevalence of mechanisms for resolving conflicts in public procurement and factors influencing the choice of a conflict resolution mechanism.

Israeli Art Music

Music ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronit Seter
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Western Art ◽  
Jewish Diaspora ◽  
Jewish Music ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
And Gender

Writings about music in Israel illuminate a wide range of topics, often exploring the politics of social identities: nationalism, folklorism, Orientalism, ethnicity, multiculturalism, East-West cultural borrowings and appropriations, representation, religion, and gender. Complementing the Oxford Bibliographies articles on “Jewish Music” and “Jews and Music” (by Edwin Seroussi and Judah Cohen, respectively, both of which focus mostly on ethnomusicological research into ethnic, liturgical, and popular musics in the Diaspora), this bibliography focuses primarily on Western art music by Israeli composers, yet it also examines selected writings on ethnic and popular musics that inform it. Most of the approximately forty notable immigrant composers who fled fascist Europe to British Palestine during the 1930s and 1940s—the founders of Israeli art music—aspired both to create local music and to continue their original styles from their native countries, mostly Germany, Russia, and Poland, or those they studied in France and elsewhere. As participants in the evolving Hebraic and Zionist culture, they believed that they should partake in the creation of a native, Hebrew musical style, informed by local Jewish ethnic sources that had arrived in Israel from the Mizraḥi Jewish Diaspora, often from Yemen, Iraq, or Morocco, or from those of the Palestinian Arabs. This ideology was passionately disseminated, argued, contested, and ultimately stamped as narrowly nationalistic. Beyond general and themed overviews, as well as reference works and other research tools, this bibliography focuses on the writings by and about the founders. It emphasizes those founders whose works were most widely performed and discussed, namely the Israeli Five: Paul Ben-Haim (b. 1897–d. 1984), Alexander Uriah Boskovich (b. 1907–d. 1964), Oedoen Partos (b. 1907– d. 1977), Josef Tal (b. 1910–d. 2008), and Mordecai Seter (b. 1916–d. 1994). It also examines composers who studied with the them and therefore considered themselves “second generation,” such as Yehezkel Braun (b. 1922–d. 2014) and Tzvi Avni (b. 1927); selected peers of the second cohort who immigrated to Israel in the late 1960s and the 1970s, notably Mark Kopytman (b. 1929–d. 2011) and André Hajdu (b. 1932–d. 2016); and a number of younger composers, including Betty Olivero (b. 1954). For the founders and many of their successors, the desire to create “Israeli” rather than “Jewish” music—either following common, essentialist stereotypes and signifiers, or creating neonationalist, Bartókian-, or Stravinskian-influenced local art—was paramount, whether or not they spoke or wrote about it explicitly. Yet others—and often the same composers at later stages in their lives—attempted to follow European and, more recently, American trends. While for many the word “Jewish” has often denoted Ashkenazi characteristics, “Israeli” entailed the use of Mizraḥi melodic and rhythmic elements; that is, elements from the musical traditions of the Jewish communities who fled to Israel from Arab countries and of the indigenous Palestinians. These formative, defining ideologies characterize the music of the founders but less so younger composers, who feel free to defy it. Still, Israeli compositions often receive local prizes and wider reception when they refer to local culture, folklore, identities, ethnicities, and politics. Acknowledgments: I am deeply grateful to my friends and colleagues who helped with their comments, most notably Yosef Goldenberg, Uri Golomb, and Ralph Locke, whose eagle-eyed comments over multiple iterations transformed this article. I am also indebted to Judith Cohen (Israel), Judit Frigyesi, Yoel Greenberg, Jehoash Hirshberg, Bonny Miller, Marina Ritzarev, Edwin Seroussi, Assaf Shelleg, and Laura Yust, who all took the time to read, encourage, and provide content and editing comments that helped polish this article. This large-scale project could not have been what it is without all of your contributions. Finally, this work was partly supported by an NEH Fellowship.

scholarly journals Intersectional observations of the Human Brain Project’s approach to sex and gender

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-144
Author(s):  
B. Tyr Fothergill ◽  
William Knight ◽  
Bernd Carsten Stahl ◽  
Inga Ulnicane
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
And Gender

Purpose This paper aims to critically assess approaches to sex and gender in the Human Brain Project (HBP) as a large information and communication technology (ICT) project case study using intersectionality. Design/methodology/approach The strategy of the HBP is contextualised within the wider context of the representation of women in ICT, and critically reflected upon from an intersectional standpoint. Findings The policy underpinning the approach deployed by the HBP in response to these issues parallels Horizon 2020 wording and emphasises economic outcomes, productivity and value, which aligns with other “equality” initiatives influenced by neoliberalised versions of feminism. Research limitations/implications Limitations include focussing on a single case study, the authors being funded as part of the Ethics and Society Subproject of the HBP, and the limited temporal period under consideration. Social implications The frameworks underpinning the HBP approach to sex and gender issues present risks with regard to the further entrenchment of present disparities in the ICT sector, may fail to acknowledge systemic inequalities and biases and ignore the importance of intersectionality. Shortcomings of the approach employed by the HBP up to March, 2018 included aspects of each of these risks, and replicated problematic understandings of sex, gender and diversity. Originality/value This paper is the first to use an intersectional approach to issues of sex and gender in the context of large-scale ICT research. Its value lies in raising awareness, opening a discursive space and presenting opportunities to consider and reflect upon potential, contextualised intersectional solutions to such issues.

Exploring use and benefit of corporate social software

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-296
Author(s):  
Alexander Stocker ◽  
Johannes Müller
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Social Software ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Usage Data

Purpose To measure the success of corporate social software (CSS), interviews, surveys, content and usage data analysis have been commonly used in practice. While interviews and surveys are only capable of making perceived use and benefits transparent, usage data analysis reveals many objective facts but does not allow insights into potential user-benefits. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to link both perspectives to advance CSS success measuring. Design/methodology/approach The research case is References+, a Corporate Social Software developed at Siemens to facilitate worldwide sharing of knowledge, experiences, and best practices since 2005. References+ currently has around 15,000 registered members located in more than 80 countries. This paper evaluates results from a user survey with nearly 1,500 responding employees and links all survey results to the corresponding participant’s data on platform use to generate additional insights. Findings The paper generates findings on how CSS is used in practice and how it is perceived by employees of a large-scale enterprise. Furthermore, it explores how a combination of subjective and objective evaluation methods can be applied to advance the state-of-the-art in measuring use and benefits. By linking CSS usage data to corresponding survey data, the paper provides results on what type of use of CSS may create what type of benefit. Practical implications This study encourages practitioners to take advantage of a variety of instruments for measuring the benefits of CSS. It generates numerous arguments for practitioners on how to make the benefit of CSS more transparent to financial-oriented decision-makers to successfully defend knowledge management projects against shrinking IT budgets. Originality/value This paper is one of the first attempts to explore the relationship between “perceived use” and “perceived benefits” measured by surveys and “factual use” measured by CSS usage statistics for knowledge management research. The findings of this paper may empower the role of user surveys in generating additional insights on use and benefits.

Legislative approaches to nondiscrimination at work: a comparative analysis across 13 groups in 193 countries

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jody Heymann ◽  
Bijetri Bose ◽  
Willetta Waisath ◽  
Amy Raub ◽  
Michael McCormack
Keyword(s):  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Foreign National ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender

PurposeThere is substantial evidence of discrimination at work across countries and powerful evidence that antidiscrimination laws can make a difference. This study examines the extent of protections from discrimination at work in countries around the world and which groups were best covered.Design/methodology/approachThis study assesses legal protections in hiring, pay, promotions/demotions, terminations and harassment for 13 different groups across 193 countries using a database the authors created based on analysis of labor codes, antidiscrimination legislation, equal opportunity legislation and penal codes. Differences in levels of protection were examined across social groups and areas of work, as well as by country income level using Chi-square tests.FindingsProtection from gender and racial/ethnic discrimination at work was the most common, and protection across migrant status, foreign national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity was among the least. For all groups, discrimination was more often prohibited in hiring than in promotion/demotion. There was inconsistent protection from harassment and retaliation.Research limitations/implicationsAddressing discrimination at work will require a broad range of synergistic approaches including guaranteeing equal legal rights, implementation and enforcement of laws and norm change. This study highlights where legislative progress has been made and where major gaps remain.Originality/valueThis article presents findings from an original database containing the first data on laws to prevent discrimination in the workplace in all 193 countries around the world. The study analyzes legal protections for a wide range of groups and considers a full range of workplace protections.

Tourism demonstration system for large-scale museums based on 3D virtual simulation technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-381
Author(s):  
Yongcai Hu ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Xigang Liu ◽  
Quan Gan ◽  
Jie Shi
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Virtual Simulation ◽  
Simulation Technology ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
3D Network ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
3D Scene

Purpose The purpose of this study is to enhance audience experience in museum by using three-dimensional (3D) virtual simulation technology. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a large space museum building tourism demonstration system based on 3D virtual simulation technology was proposed. Starting from the concept of virtual reality (VR), the characteristics of VR and the classification of VR systems were introduced, and the research status of VR technology at home and abroad and the application of 3D virtual simulation were discussed. Then the key technologies of 3D modeling, 3D scene optimization and 3D simulation driving of 3D virtual simulation were expounded, and the characteristics and application scope of different technical methods were analyzed. Finally, an example of the Hongzhou Kiln 3D network museum was listed. Findings The research results showed that 3D virtual simulation has a wide range of applications in the field of VR. Different elements need to be considered for different types of applications, and different contents need to be integrated to achieve the corresponding interaction modes. Originality/value Virtual image; multimedia; large space museum; tourism demonstration system; 3D virtual simulation technology.

scholarly journals A Large-Scale Whole-Genome Comparison Shows that Experimental Evolution in Response to Antibiotics Predicts Changes in Naturally Evolved Clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J. T. Wardell ◽  
Attika Rehman ◽  
Lois W. Martin ◽  
Craig Winstanley ◽  
Wayne M. Patrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Experimental Evolution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Genome Comparison ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Deletions ◽  
Wide Range

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a wide range of acute and chronic infections. An increasing number of isolates have mutations that make them antibiotic resistant, making treatment difficult. To identify resistance-associated mutations, we experimentally evolved the antibiotic-sensitive strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 to become resistant to three widely used antipseudomonal antibiotics, namely, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, and tobramycin. Mutants could tolerate up to 2,048-fold higher concentrations of antibiotics than strain PAO1. Genome sequences were determined for 13 mutants for each antibiotic. Each mutant had between 2 and 8 mutations. For each antibiotic, at least 8 genes were mutated in multiple mutants, demonstrating the genetic complexity of resistance. For all three antibiotics, mutations arose in genes known to be associated with resistance but also in genes not previously associated with resistance. To determine the clinical relevance of mutations uncovered in this study, we analyzed the corresponding genes in 558 isolates of P. aeruginosa from patients with chronic lung disease and in 172 isolates from the general environment. Many genes identified through experimental evolution had predicted function-altering changes in clinical isolates but not in environmental isolates, showing that mutated genes in experimentally evolved bacteria can predict those that undergo mutation during infection. Additionally, large deletions of up to 479 kb arose in experimentally evolved meropenem-resistant mutants, and large deletions were present in 87 of the clinical isolates. These findings significantly advance understanding of antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa and demonstrate the validity of experimental evolution in identifying clinically relevant resistance-associated mutations.

Critical success factors for maintenance of local public buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 412-427
Author(s):  
Arnt Ove Hopland ◽  
Sturla F. Kvamsdal
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Success Factors ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Sampling Error ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Public Buildings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Survey Results

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate a survey on critical success factor for the maintenance of local public buildings and how reported score values and factor rankings depend on characteristics (contingencies) of the local governments that participated. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data from a large-scale survey of Norwegian local governments that covered 66 per cent of all local governments and 80 per cent of the population. The authors combine these data with contingent information from public registers on demographics, fiscal, political and geographical characteristics. The authors run regressions to determine whether contingencies affect survey results. They further study how score values vary with a key contingent factor. Findings The main result of this paper is that the reported importance of critical success factors is contingent on local government population levels. A comparison of importance rankings based on population quartiles shows that ranking orders change, both between quartiles and from the overall ranking, and that certain factors show systematic changes. Further, the authors find that when controlling for sampling error, groups of factors should be considered as equally important. This result holds both for the full sample ranking and for rankings within population quartiles. Originality/value The results of this paper have implications for all survey-based investigations of critical success factors where contingent information on respondents are available. Contingencies need to be taken into consideration, both when assessing rankings according to some criteria and when comparing actual score values.

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