Exploring trust: culturally responsive and positive school leadership

PurposeThis article explores the connection between Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) and Positive School Leadership (PSL) and how both engage with a concept that deeply connects both leadership expressions – trust.Design/methodology/approachA multi-year, single site case study method examined a district-level equity leader, and her struggles and successes with promoting equity and positive culture throughout a large suburban district in the US.FindingsTrust, established through regular interactions, allowed the district's leadership equity team to build positive relationships with building leaders. Trust was not only a mitigating factor on the relationships themselves, but also regulated the extent to which equitable practices were discussed and implemented in the district. Trust allowed conflicts to surface and be addressed that led to individual and organizational change.Research limitations/implicationsThe case highlights the importance of both CRSL and PSL principals, along with the idea of “soft power” in cultural change, to foster equity in schools. Established trust does not erase the difficulties of enacting CRSL/PSL, but allows the difficulties to be addressed. The authors found that dynamic, iterative, regular interactions over a long period reinforced trust allowed CRPSL to take root in the district.Originality/valueThe authors use a single subject case to argue that the core of empirical work moving forward should draw on an integration of culturally responsive leadership.

Agency-Linked Risk Management with Ownership and Board Sub-Committee Governance: Evidence from an OECD Economy

From a risk management perspective, this study examines the role of ownership and board sub-committee governance on direct measures of agency costs in a small OECD economy—New Zealand. Using Logistic and OLS regression approaches, two proxies of direct agency costs are tested on a pooled sample of 466 firm-year observations ranging from 2012 to 2018. The study provides evidence that insider ownership concentration outperforms outsider ownership concentration in constraining agency costs. Moreover, audit committee independence can also effectively deter agency costs. These findings suggest that both insider ownership concentration and audit committee structure are important risk management mitigating factor for deterring agency costs in New Zealand companies.

TP9.2.9Luminal Investigation Following CT Diagnosed Acute Diverticulitis

The commissioning guide for colonic diverticular disease by the Royal Collage of Surgeons (2014) states that all patients should undergo luminal investigations once an acute attack of diverticulitis has passed. The rational behind this is to ensure a malignant polyp is not missed, however there is mounting evidence and opinion that this may not be necessary. We aim to evaluate how our unit follows the commissioning guide and investigate the number of subsequent polyps and cases of malignancy found. Surgical inpatients with a CT proven diagnosis of acute diverticulitis within a one year period (2018) were included. Their CT scans were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis and electronic records examined to see if luminal investigations were requested, occurred and what the findings were. There were 78 cases of CT confirmed diverticulitis. Of these 11 patients underwent emergency Hartmanns procedure. This left 67 patients in whom investigations were requested in 47. Within the 20 cases were follow up was not requested, 50% had a mitigating factor. 40/47 patients who had investigations booked underwent the requested test. In 6 cases a polyp was found and there were no cases of colorectal cancer. Based on current guidance there is scope to improve the follow up investigations in this population of patients with CT proven diverticulitis. As no colorectal cancers were found this is in keeping with the growing notion that colonoscopy may be reserved for those with complicated diverticulitis on CT or with CT findings on a background of ‘red flag’ symptoms.

Corporate Innovation and the Auditor's Assessment of Going Concern

In this study, we examine whether external auditors assess corporate innovation activities when considering a financially distressed client's ability to continue as a going concern. Using patent count, patent market value, and patent citation to measure the firm-level innovation output, we document that higher quantity and quality of innovation activities are associated with a lower likelihood of going concern opinions. The association between innovation and going concern opinions is more pronounced for audit offices with high exposure to corporate innovation and clients operating in R&D-intensive industries. In additional analyses, we confirm that innovation is associated with future business value, as measured by future profitability and intellectual property licensing agreements. We conclude that corporate innovation represents a mitigating factor when auditors consider whether a going concern opinion is appropriate for a financially distressed client.

SENTENCING THE ELDERLY – AN ACT OF MERCY OR DISCRIMINATION? S v Phillips (unreported, DCLD), case no CC141/08

In 2008, the authors’ note on advanced age as a mitigating factor in the South African criminal courts set out the Roman-Dutch history and the South African case law with regard to this issue. Brief reference was made to the position of the elderly offender in the Zimbabwean, English and Australian jurisdictions. The aim of this note is not to repeat what was said before, but to provide a wider perspective on the pertinent issues relating to sentencing the elderly (a contested term, but for present purposes referring to offenders over the age of 60), especially the concept of mercy. It should be reiterated that old age does not exclude criminal liability, but it can serve as one of many mitigating factors during sentencing although it is not a bar to imprisonment. The case of S v Phillips is no exception. The structure of this note is the following: it commences with a discussion of the Phillips judgment and to place it within a general problematic sentencing framework vis-a-vis the elderly. The concept of mercy is then examined in light of recent Commonwealth jurisprudence; whereafter parallels are drawn between the sentencing of a battered wife and the sentencing of a battered geriatric. The note concludes with a brief mention of the post-sentencing options available to an offender in the form of mercy and as well as parole.

BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT AS A MITIGATING FACTOR IN SENTENCING S v Latha 2012 (2) SACR 30 (ECG)

Supernatural belief does not sit easily with the law. Squaring such belief with legal concepts such as the reasonable person is a particularly vexing task. Nevertheless, it is necessary for the courts to take account of such belief as a fact of the South African society. Belief in witchcraft is an ongoing and widespread phenomenon, giving rise to the question whether such belief can play a role in exculpating, or mitigating the punishment of those who engage in criminal conduct as a consequence of such belief. A recurring problem for the courts is how to deal with the situation where a genuine belief in witchcraft provides the motivation for the killing of a suspected witch or wizard in order to protect or defend the interests of the accused or another person. Can such a belief mitigate punishment? This problem arose in the case of S v Latha (2012 (2) SACR 30 (ECG)).

THE ROLE OF REMORSE IN SENTENCING

It has become an established feature of the South African sentencing practice to consider the level of remorse displayed by the accused. Genuine contrition or remorse is generally regarded as a mitigating factor whilst the absence thereof is considered to be an aggravating factor. Our courts link the presence of remorse with the prospect of the rehabilitation of the offender. In S v Seegers (1970 (2) SA 506 (A) 512G–H) Rumpff JA held that remorse, as an indication that the offence will not be committed again, is an important consideration, in suitable cases, when the deterrent effect of a sentence on the accused is considered. This note considers the meaning of “remorse” in the eyes of our courts, the approach of South African courts (in particular the Supreme Court of Appeal) to the role of remorse in sentencing, as well as the question whether the presence or absence of remorse can truly be determined by a court.