Reinventing Operating Models for Sustainable Organizational Performance

The main argument elaborated in this chapter is that companies, particularly start-ups, need to continuously work on their business leadership, human capital, and organizational change and persistence in order to survive and keep thriving even in uncertain times, such as the post-COVID-19 period. Additionally, the chapter argues that Pfeffer's seven principles for organizational success are still very relevant today and recommends to start-ups to use this framework. The chapter draws from the literature on human capital and management, organizational structure and perseverance, and responsible business leadership. The drawings from the literature are then applied to a single case study, the recruitment consultancy The Big Search. The findings confirm that Pfeffer's seven principles for organizational success are highly relevant today to companies that do want to invest in their performance and success. Moreover, the findings show the challenges and opportunities that start-ups, such as The Big Search, have gone through.

The Impact of the Seven Principles of Good Practice as a Teaching Technique on EFL Student –Teachers' Performance

The interest in pre-service teacher training has become influential in teaching English as a foreign language, and the purpose of this training course is to prepare qualified teachers to teach effectively through the application of this technique by undergraduate students. This research aims to find out the effect of using the seven principles of good practice as a teaching technique on the fourth stage student-teachers’ performance at the College of Education for Women/University of Baghdad, during the academic year 2017-2018. The sample includes (60) students selected according to the stratified sampling method. The observational checklist used by the department to assess the student teachers’ performance during the practicum period is used as a study instrument. This quantitative study used the quasi-experimental design of two independent samples, experimental control groups and the control group trained traditionally. The former group is designed to verify the hypothesis that states, “there is no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group trained by seven principles of good practice and that of the control group trained traditionally in their teaching performance”. The study has concluded that the hypothesis is rejected according to the result of the T-test of two independent samples. Accordingly, the researcher recommends the university administration to use new techniques in learning and overcoming the difficulties that the student teachers face and the shortcoming encountered during the educational process.

Religion and Law in the European Union

All three major European supranational institutions—the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (CoE), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)—acknowledge the importance of religion within European history and culture and give special recognition to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. As has been argued elsewhere, the attitude of both the EU and the CoE to ‘religion’ is characterized by seven principles—the value of religion and of non-religion; subsidiarity; religious freedom; religious equality and non-discrimination; the autonomy of religious associations; cooperation with religion; and the special protection of religion by means of privileges and exemptions—principles that may be induced from their laws and other regulatory instruments. In doing so, they seek to maintain a balance between Europe’s religious, humanist, and cultural elements. How that balance and recognition operate in practice, however, is far from clear-cut and is highly sensitive to individual circumstances.

THE INFLUENCE OF STREET’S ELEMENTS ON WALKABILITY: A CASE OF COLOMBO 07

The walking behaviour of pedestrians continuously depends on street design and its quality. In Asian countries, streets have evolved from traditional streets without interpreting the actual need and impact of street elements for walking behaviour. However, they act only as transportation links while limited to the name by itself. This research aimed to identify the street elements that influence walkability and to investigate the most influential factor for walkability in terms of “Link and Place” to promote walkability in the Sri Lankan context. This study was conducted using a mixed-method approach. The on-site observations were carried out through a photograph survey and rough sketches to observe the street elements. Later, findings were validated through the questionnaire survey regarding the seven principles of a walkable street. Then, data were analysed by using descriptive analysis and correlation analysis aided by SPSS software. The findings of the observation and questionnaire revealed that there are nine most common street elements of streets which influence walkability in the Sri Lankan context. Finally, the study agreed that both “Link and Place” functions are equally important for the walkability of pedestrians.

Assessing Interdisciplinary Research in the Social Sciences: Are we on the right track?

In this chapter we first discuss how interdisciplinarity is perceived in research policy making and in applied bibliometric research. We put forward a processual view on disciplines and interdisciplinarity in the social sciences which emphasizes the changing nature of disciplines and the heterogeneity of individual fields. This view challenges the current status quo in the development of bibliometric indicators as well as qualitative research assessment exercises. We propose a stance in which the focus is shifted to the changing dynamics of the social sciences in order to develop a better understanding of interdisciplinarity. We point out that the cognitive and socio-cultural diversity of disciplines makes it difficult to transfer current disciplinary peer review practices to the evaluation of interdisciplinarity. We reiterate seven principles proposed by Klein which might guide more appropriate evaluation practices suitable for the assessment of interdisciplinarity in the social sciences.

Personal principles for a roadmap to educational recovery in the 'Covid decade'

The Government's roadmap to recovery from the educational deficit caused by Covid-19 appears to pivot, primarily, on 'catch-up' plans and 'discipline hubs'. Despite continuous teaching online and in Covid-restricted classroom formats, teachers have been urged to act like 'absolute heroes' and abide by their 'moral duty' to keep schools open. However, neither appeals to 'heroic' duty nor Nolan's Seven Principles of Public Life, are likely to provide the conceptual underpinning required of a roadmap to meet the complex challenges of children's new learning needs or enhance their wellbeing. This article offers an alternative approach to educational principles for navigating the unchartered territory of the 'Covid decade' now unfolding.