Networked improvement communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Alicia Grunow ◽  
Laura Baker ◽  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Louis M. Gomez

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to delineate an approach to quality assurance in education called networked improvement communities (NICs) that focused on integrating the methodologies of improvement science with few of the networks. Quality improvement, the science and practice of continuously improving programs, practices, processes, products and services within organized social systems, is a still-evolving area in education. This paper is the first of seven elaborating upon different approaches to quality improvement in education[1]. It delineates a new methodology called the NICs model. Developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the approach is aimed at continuously improving the quality of practices, processes and outcomes in targeted problem areas in education systems. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the historical development, theoretical foundations, core principles and adaptation of key elements of the NICs model for quality improvement in education. A case study specifically examines the problem of fostering new teacher effectiveness and retention in large public school systems in the USA. Findings The six principles underlying the NICs model are as follows: make the work problem-specific and user-centered, focus on variation in performance, see the system that produces outcomes, improve at scale what you can measure, use disciplined inquiry to drive improvement and accelerate learning through networked communities. Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available that examine the application of common models of quality improvement in education. This paper elaborates on one promising approach. In addition to examining the NICs model, the paper derives added value by allowing comparisons with seven widely used quality improvement approaches treated in this volume.

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Dick Gale

Purpose This paper is one of seven in this volume, each elaborating different approaches to quality improvement in education. The purpose of this paper is to delineate a methodology called positive deviance. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core principles and a case study demonstrating an application of positive deviance in US education, specifically dealing with the problem of high school dropout prevention in a California school district. Findings The six phases of this “asset-based” improvement approach are: define the organizational or community problem and desired outcomes; determine common practices relevant to the problem; discover uncommon but successful behaviors and strategies that solve the problem (the positive deviants), through inquiry and observation; design an action learning initiative based on findings; discern (monitor) progress of the initiative by documenting and evaluating regularly; and disseminate results through sharing, honoring and amplifying success stories. Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available on commonly used models of quality improvement from business, manufacturing and other fields that have potential value in improving education systems internationally. This paper fills this gap by elucidating one promising approach. By facilitating a comparison of the positive deviance approach to other quality improvement approaches treated in this volume, the paper provides added value.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Patricia Greco

Purpose This paper is one of seven in this volume that aims to elaborate different approaches to quality improvement in education. It delineates a methodology called Lean for Education. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core concepts and a case study demonstrating an application in US education, specifically dealing with the problem of improving technology supports and services for instructional purposes in a school district system. Findings An approach borrowed from manufacturing, Lean is aimed at creating and delivering the greatest value to the clients or “customers” in education systems while consuming the fewest resources and eliminating waste. Simultaneously, the method engages the organization in continuous problem solving, learning and making quality improvements with Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles. The core concepts that organize the Lean for Education approach are: continuous improvement and respect for people (Emiliani, 2005). Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available on commonly used models of quality improvement in other fields that might have potential value in improving education systems internationally, such as large grade kindergarten-to-12 education systems in the USA. This paper fills this gap by elucidating one promising approach. The paper also derives value as it permits a comparison of the Lean for Education method with other quality improvement approaches treated in this volume.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Karen Dodd

Purpose This paper is one of seven in this volume elaborating different approaches to quality improvement in education. This paper aims to delineate a methodology called Deliverology. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core principles and a case study showing an application of Deliverology in the Kentucky Department of Education in the USA. Findings The core principles underlying the approach are embodied in its guiding questions: What is our system trying to do? How are we planning to do it? At any given moment, how will we know whether we are on track to succeed? and If we are not on track, what are we going to do about it? Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available on commonly used models of quality improvement in other fields that might have potential value in improving education systems internationally. This paper fills this gap by elucidating one promising approach. The paper also derives value, as it permits a comparison of the Deliverology approach with other quality improvement approaches treated in this volume.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Islam Mohamed Hegazy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is the better understanding of the increasing relation between big data 2.0 and neuromarketing, particularly to influence election outcomes, along with a special aim to discuss some raised doubts about Trump’s presidential campaign 2016 and its ability to hijack American political consumers’ minds, and to direct their votes. Design/methodology/approach This paper combines deductive/inductive methodology to define the term of political neuromarketing 2.0 through a brief literature review of related concepts of big data 2.0, virtual identity and neuromarketing. It then applies a single qualitative case study by presenting the history and causes of online voter microtargeting in the USA, and analyzing the political neuromarketing 2.0 mechanisms adopted by Trump’s political campaign team in the 2016 presidential election. Findings Based on Trump’s political marketing mechanisms analysis, the paper believes that big data 2.0 and neuromarketing techniques played an unusual role in reading political consumers’ minds and helping the controversial candidate to meet one of the most unexpected victories in the presidential elections. Nevertheless, this paper argues that the ethics of using political neuromarketing 2.0 to sell candidates and its negative impacts on the quality of democracy are and will continue to be a subject of ongoing debates. Originality/value The marriage of big data 2.0 and political neuromarketing is a new interdisciplinary field of inquiry. This paper provides a useful introduction and further explanations for why and how Trump’s campaign defied initial loss predictions and attained victory during this election.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Elaine Berrena

Purpose This paper is one of seven in this volume elaborating upon different approaches to quality improvement in education. This paper aims to delineate a methodology called Implementation Science, focusing on methods to enhance the reach, adoption, use and maintenance of innovations and discoveries in diverse education contexts. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core principles and a case study showing an application of Implementation Science in education, namely, in promoting school–community–university partnerships to enhance resilience (PROSPER). Findings Implementation Science is concerned with understanding and finding solutions to the causes of variation in a program’s outcomes relating to its implementation. The core phases are: initial considerations about the host context; creating an implementation structure; sustaining the structure during implementation; and improving future applications. Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available on commonly used models of quality improvement in other fields that might have potential value in improving education systems internationally. This paper fills this gap by elucidating one promising approach. The paper also derives value, as it permits a comparison of the Implementation Science approach with other quality improvement approaches treated in this volume.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 861-880
Author(s):  
Chien-Min Kuo ◽  
Kuan-Yu Chen ◽  
Yi-Ching Lin

Purpose Teachers, students, librarians, scholars and domain experts often spend a lot of time and effort to select good and suitable textbooks. This study aims to propose and construct a computer-aided bibliometric system to rate textbooks. Through the software system designed here, the quality of every textbook can be easily and quickly known. This system will benefit both scholars and librarians. Design/methodology/approach Four methods were used to evaluate textbooks in this study, including: questionnaire recommendation analysis, dissertation citation analysis, library circulation analysis and bibliography analysis. The system architecture includes three subsystems: the textbook indexing and searching subsystem, the statistics added-value analysis subsystem and the citation report inquiry subsystem. An example demonstrates the usability and validity of the proposed method and system. The example uses surveying textbooks. The following percentages were used in the correlation calculation: textbook citation percentage (TCP), textbook library circulation percentage (TLP) and textbook recommend percentage (TRP). Findings There are three textbook assessment methods applied in this study, including: dissertation citation, library circulation and questionnaire recommendation. Dissertation citations for textbooks have a high correlation value with library circulation. The frequency correlation calculation was 0.7, while the TCP, TLP and TRP correlation calculation was 0.84. Therefore, the dissertation citation method can be accepted to evaluate textbooks effectively. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work related to evaluating surveying textbooks using a computer-aided bibliometrics system that can deal with large amounts of data and generate results quickly. This can be applied to other fields as well.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-25

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This case study paper concentrates on the capacity of innovative applications of social media-led communication to inject added value into customer loyalty programs, based upon an analysis of the highly successful Shop Your Way (SYW) program run by Sears in the USA. The results revealed that social media is a pivotal force in the pursuit and retention of loyal customers, since individuals respond positively to participating in an ongoing experience of collecting rewards distributed on social platforms. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Afriantoni Afriantoni ◽  
Ibrahim Ibrahim

This study aimed to describe in depth between the link of school policy and the school quality improvement. The method in this study is a qualitative method using the case study presented descriptively. This research was conducted at SMA Negeri 2 Babat Tomat Kabupaten Musi Banyuasin. Based on this study it was found that the First, free school policy can help the economy / ease the burden of school costs to be incurred by the parents. Second, the policy constraints of the application for free school educa-tion at SMAN 2 Babat Toman is not very effective, so that the students' interest is not increasing, infrastructure is one of the obstacles in the implementation of free school education, how the quality of schools will be increased if it is not supported by facilities and complete infrastructure. Third, the quality of school education free SMAN 2 Babat Toman already realized well with regard to input, input turns unselected maximum, that is the students. Fourth, the implementation of free school education in Banyuasin, the quality of school SMAN 2 Babat Toman Muba Sumsel was not increased. This means that the implementation for free school education quality of school SMAN 2 Babat Toman was not increased.Keywords : free schools, school quality, case studies


Author(s):  
Hendri Wasito ◽  
Hening Pratiwi ◽  
Adi Wibowo ◽  
Nia Kurnia Solihat

Drugs are an important component of health services that are the needs of the community. There is still a lack ofcommunity knowledge of medicines and management especially for family members, hence an educational effort as well asimprovement of quality of drug management in family through training program and mentoring by pharmacist. Thiscommunity service activity aims to determine the knowledge and attitude of the community in managing drugs in the familyand improve the quality of drug management by the community in the family. The activity was conducted in SidasariWetanKubangkangkung Village Kawunganten Cilacap. The workshop on drug management in family was conducted by pharmaciststo the 33 participants. Data collection was done by using questionnaire and observation through home visit. The result of theactivity shows that the increase of knowledge and attitude of the society in managing drugs in the familywere 10% and 7%,respectively. Workshop activities and mentoring by pharmacists can provide benefits and behavioral changes in family drugsmanagement.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Alicja K. Zawadzka

The paper presents the results of a study on the attractiveness to tourists and natives of the cultural qualities of coastal towns on The Pomeranian Way of St. James that are members of the Cittaslow network. Attention to the quality of urban life is inscribed in the development policies of towns applying to join the Cittaslow movement. In order to join the network (apart from the size criterion), towns need to meet a minimum of 50% plus one of the 72 criteria grouped into seven categories. One of the category is Quality of Urban Life Policy, so the towns applying to join Cittaslow commit themselves to actions aimed at improving the quality of urban life. The study on the attractiveness of cultural qualities of towns to tourists and natives was conducted using the author’s BRB method, whose added value is its universality and the possibility to study small towns regardless of their membership in the Cittaslow network. BRB is an acronym that stands for BUILDINGS, RELATIONSHIPS, BALANCE, and comprises three scopes of activities: BUILDINGS (iconic building and important sites where the inhabitants and the tourists are present); RELATIONSHIPS (the visual effects of the relations between the inhabitants and the town) and BALANCE (solutions that implement modern technologies). This method enables identification of places that are important to the inhabitants, where urban life takes place and which are often created with the involvement of the inhabitants. These are often the same spaces as those that attract tourists and perhaps stimulate them the desire to visit the town again (BRB—be right back). The aim of the BRB method is shown the attractiveness of small towns. The study has shown that the characteristic feature of Polish Cittaslow towns is their diversity: the architectural attractiveness of three towns is high both to tourists and natives. On the other hand, the urban attractiveness of the examined towns is an insufficient.


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