Enactments and resistances to globalizing testing regimes and performance-based accountability in the USA

2020 ◽  
pp. 279-293
Author(s):  
Bob Lingard
Keyword(s):  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance

They teach, but do they apply?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 743-766
Author(s):  
Anete Petrusch ◽  
Guilherme Luís Roehe Vaccaro ◽  
Juliane Luchese
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Effective Sample Size ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Lean Thinking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Administrative Services ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Although discussed for more than 20 years, information about Lean adoption in higher education institutions (HEIs) is scarce, especially in developing countries. This research aims to investigate the degree of Lean thinking adoption on administrative services of Brazilian private HEIs. The results are compared to studies from USA and UK, highlighting the maturity on enablers, principles, tools and performance measures related to Lean. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey research was carried out. The instrument is adapted for HEIs from the proposal of Malmbrandt and Åhlström (2013) for Lean services. Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis were used to validate the adapted instrument. Additional data analysis was based on non-parametric tests. Findings No evidence of broad implementation of Lean thinking in administrative processes of Brazilian private HEIs was found, with the adoption being incipient. The results are convergent to those presented by other studies in the USA and the UK. There is a gap between the existing knowledge about Lean in the academic sphere of the HEIs and its application on their academic processes. Research limitations/implications The effective sample size was of 47, despite contacts being sent to 2,090 institutions. This sample allows exploratory research, although further research is required. Results are adherent to those found in research from other countries. Originality/value The research presents descriptive and exploratory results regarding the adoption of Lean in Brazilian HEIs. No previous similar research was found in the literature.

Sun, wind, rain and the sewer: outward form opportunities in a degraded landscape

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 285-294
Author(s):  
Timothy Stenson
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Housing Market ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Good News ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis

The US housing market is infamous on at least two counts: implicated in the global financial crisis and notorious for its unsustainable consumption of resources and consequent discharge of carbon dioxide. Lately anything like good news regarding housing in the USA is scarce. However, the pause resulting from the collapse of the market, and increasing concern regarding building's agency in the environment, combine to provide an opportunity to reconsider the form and performance of housing. This may yet create an opening for design.

scholarly journals Natural(ly) men: masculinity and gendered anti-ageing practices in Finland and the USA

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 356-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANNA OJALA ◽  
TONI CALASANTI ◽  
NEAL KING ◽  
ILKKA PIETILÄ
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hard Work ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Aged People ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Global North ◽  
And Performance

ABSTRACTThe neo-liberal ideologies that point to individual responsibility for risks increasingly influence countries of the global North. The anti-ageing industry reflects this dictate and encourages middle-aged people to use their products and services to manage their ageing. However, given the negative connotations attached to the term ‘anti-ageing’, which is usually seen to focus on aesthetics and thus be a woman's concern, men may be likely to disavow being involved in such activities. The article uses interview data collected from men aged 42–70 from Finland and the United States of America to explore whether and how men adhere to the call to manage their ageing when such anti-ageing activities are seen to be potentially feminising. We find that these men reflected neo-liberalism in the sense that they felt that, although ageing cannot be prevented, it can be controlled. Also while they generally rejected anti-ageing products and services that they judged to affect aesthetics, they reported that they use those that they define as promoting health and performance instead. For them, masculinity is the instrumental focus on performance to the exclusion of beauty or attractiveness. Masculine anti-ageing bodily strategies must also be ‘natural’, involving hard work rather than the use of products, which they regard as never having been scientifically proven to enhance performance. Thus, in talk of their anti-ageing, men distance themselves from women.

scholarly journals A framework for coordination center responsibilities and performance in a multi-site, transdisciplinary public health research initiative

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-289
Author(s):  
Sarah D Hohl ◽  
Sarah Knerr ◽  
Beti Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Coordination Center ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance

Abstract Funding bodies in the USA and abroad are increasingly investing in transdisciplinary research, i.e. research conducted by investigators from different disciplines who work to create novel theoretical, methodological, and translational innovations to address a common problem. Transdisciplinary research presents additional logistical and administrative burdens, yet few models of successful coordination have been proposed or substantiated, nor have performance outcomes or indicators been established for transdisciplinary coordination. This work uses the NIH-funded Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) Centers Initiative as a case study to put forward a working framework of transdisciplinary research coordination center (CC) responsibilities and performance indicators. We developed the framework using a sequential mixed methods study design. TREC CC functions and performance indicators were identified through key-informant interviews with CC personnel and then refined through a survey of TREC research center and funding agency investigators and staff. The framework included 23 TREC CC responsibilities that comprised five functional areas: leadership and administration, data and bioinformatics, developmental projects, education and training, and integration and self-evaluation, 10 performance outcomes and 26 corresponding performance indicators for transdisciplinary CCs. Findings revealed high levels of agreement about CC responsibilities and performance metrics across CC members and constituents. The success of multi-site, transdisciplinary research depends on effective research coordination. The functions identified in this study help clarify essential responsibilities of transdisciplinary research CCs and indicators of success of those transdisciplinary CCs. Our framework adds new dimensions to the notion of identifying and assessing CC activities that may foster transdisciplinarity.

scholarly journals Strategic capabilities, competitive strategy, and performance among retailers in Argentina, Peru and the United States

2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Parnell
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Strategy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Retail Trade ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Strategic Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Strategic Capabilities ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThis paper aims to assess the influence of strategic capabilities on the business strategy‐performance relationship among retail businesses in Argentina, Peru, and the USA.Design/methodology/approachZahra and Covin's self‐reported scale was amended and utilized to categorize businesses along Porter's typology. Strategic capability scales were adopted from DeSarbo and associates. Self‐reporting scales to assess relative competitive and objective performance in the present study were adopted from Ramanujam and Venkatraman. A survey containing these scales was administered to 277 attendees at a retail trade show in the USA. The survey – translated into Spanish – was distributed by mail and completed by 136 retailers in Peru and 163 retailers in Argentina.FindingsLinks were assessed among strategic capabilities, generic business strategies, and performance in retail businesses in Argentina, Peru and the USA. Support was found for links between the focus strategy and both marketing and linking capabilities, between the differentiation strategy and technology capabilities, and between the cost leadership strategy and management capabilities. The low cost‐differentiation combination strategy was associated with high performance in strategic groups whose businesses possess strong management and technology capabilities. These findings highlight the importance of developing strategy‐specific capabilities as a foundation for superior performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study relied on self‐reported assessments of competitive strategy, organizational capabilities, and performance. It utilized cluster analysis, assessed only retailers, and considered only three nations.Originality/valueExtant strategic group research highlights the link between group membership and firm performance. The present study reinforces previous research. In addition, the presence of organization‐specific strategic capabilities helps to explain why some businesses outperform others in the same strategic group.

Study shows strong union presence specifically encourages use of person-centered human resource management (HRM) practices, but discourages performance-centered ones

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 4-6
Keyword(s):  
Senior Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Economies ◽  
Hrm Practices ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Hr Function ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The researchers wanted to find out a number of things. First, they wanted to assess the influence of strong unions on approaches to HRM. Second, they wanted to know if the strategic HR function had a positive effect on both person-centered and performance-centered HRM. Third, they tested the theory that the economic context had a significant influence on HRM practices. Companies in liberal market economies (LMEs), for example, were expected to adopt more performance-centered HRM, but for companies in coordinated market economies the reverse was likely to be true (CMEs). Design/methodology/approach Cristiani et al collected their data from the Cranet 2009 survey, the world’s largest comparative analysis of HRM practices. They sent out a questionnaire to senior managers responsible for HRM at private multinational companies. The authors sampled 3,406 firms across 14 countries. They placed six OECD nations in the LME group (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA) and ten in the CME group (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands). Findings The data revealed that the strategic HR function had a positive effect on the adoption of both person-centered and performance-centered HRM. The study also demonstrated that a more powerful union presence encouraged the use of person-centered approaches, whereas it discouraged performance-centered ones. The data suggested that the variety of capitalism (VoC) moderated the relationships between the strategic HR function role and performance-centered HMR, but the same impact on person-centered approaches was not found. Originality/value Proof of the moderating effect of the VoC shows that HR professionals – especially at multinationals - need to align their practices with the larger context in which their company is operating. The most valuable finding for businesses was the impact of a strong union presence on which HRM practices were likely to be accepted, or rejected.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Apgar Scores and Changes in the Neonates of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Patients Treated with Metformin versus Glyburide: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Sumanta Saha ◽  
Sujata Saha
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Apgar Score ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Apgar Scores ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Performance Bias

<b>Aims</b>: This study aims to compare the Apgar scores (at different time points after birth) and their changes between the newborns of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients treated with metformin and glyburide, respectively. <b>Methods:</b> Electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that compared these outcomes between the above-depicted intervention groups. The data about the study design, the population characteristics, the interventions compared, and the outcomes of interest were extracted from the eligible trials. Then, these trials were critically appraised by the Cochrane tool. After that, the effect of the tested interventions on the respective outcomes of interest was reported narratively. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The literature search produced 4 single-center trials sourcing data from about 538 participants in the USA, Brazil, and Israel. The risk of detection and performance bias was unclear in the respective trials. The trials primarily reported about the Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min after birth. These scores were not different between glyburide- and metformin-treated GDM patients in any trial. No trial reported the Apgar score at 10 min after birth or the changes in Apgar score between 1, 5, or 10 min after birth. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In all trials, the Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min after birth did not vary between the newborns of GDM mothers treated with metformin and glyburide, respectively.

OSH at Trinidad and Tobago's Fingertips

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon ◽  
Kit Fai Pun
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Media Types ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

As Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) embraces the digital age, one field in which the country must advance is Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). This paper seeks to identify how T&T's Occupational Safety and Health Agency (TTOSHA) addresses e-government (e-gov) through its website, how its approach compares to those used by leading OSH bodies in two first-world countries, the USA (US) and the UK, and how the T&T approach may be improved. The OSH e-gov practices of the US OSHA, UK HSE, and TTOSHA websites are presented. Through a content analysis and comparison exercise, e-gov shortcomings of the TTOSHA site are noted and recommendations for improvement are proposed. The paper's potential benefits include improved accessibility and utility of the TTOSHA site through improved matching of site content to international practice, broader ranges of resource topics and media types, improved responsiveness and connectivity with stakeholders, and better focus on OSH performance through the dissemination of searchable OSH statistics and performance reports.

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