Fintech – stick or carrot – in innovating and transforming a financial ecosystem: toward a typology of comfort zoning

Purpose Fintech is an “untilled field” in which the relation between Fintechs and incumbents is yet to be understood. This paper aims to explore this relationship and advance its theoretical and practical understanding. It further contributes toward Fintech paradigm and research domain emergence that both to date remain yet elusive. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopted a multiple-case study strategy for the purpose of theory building. Seven players from the Fintech ecosystem in Quebec (Canada) were selected, representing financial institutions, Fintech start-ups and Quebec’s financial cluster. Primary data was collected via in-depth interviews with ten respondents at the level of vice presidents, Managers, directors, chief executive officers and founders, and unobtrusive data – in the form of running records, mass-media news reports, presentations and proceedings from Fintech events. Data analysis was informed by grounded theory methods and techniques. Findings Grounded in data, this paper puts forward a typology of “comfort zoning” and its four types: nimbling, imperiling, cocooning and discomforting. Research limitations/implications Following the tenets of the grounded theory, four criteria are used to evaluate the emergent theory: fit, relevance, workability and modifiability. It is expected the interpretation and adoption of comfort zoning typology will be challenged, modified and enhanced by Fintech researchers and practitioners. Practical implications The comfort zoning typology would aid practitioners in their efforts to define and refine the domain of Fintech, problematize it and eventually enhance the relationship between Fintechs. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to explore the relationship between Fintechs and incumbents and advance the theoretical and practical understanding of this relationship.

Scoring Running Records: Complexities and affordances

Running Records are thought to be an excellent formative assessment tool because they generate results that educators can use to make their teaching more responsive. Despite the technical nature of scoring Running Records and the kinds of important decisions that are attached to their analysis, few studies have investigated assessor accuracy. We measured precision across 114 teachers who were given a pre-coded Running Record to analyze by comparing their quantification and interpretation of the record against a scoring key. We also used Rasch measurement to examine which items teachers found easy and hard to score accurately. Analyses revealed wide variation in teachers’ accuracy, particularly in interpretation, that, according to item difficulty analysis, were caused by a few specific mistakes in scoring. Implications to improve training so that individuals administer Running Records more reliably are shared.

Promoting Children Potential and Social Abilities: A Qualitative Study of Nursery Assessment Practices in Malaysia

This study aims toidentify the frequency of assessments at TASKA (nursery) centres and how the assessments are conducted. The study involves 20 teachers from TASKA (nurseries) who conduct early education programs for children aged birth to 4 years old. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers based on instruments from the early childhood care and education (ECCE) Research Project which included two main standards, an element of children’s learning and assessment. There are various frequencies of each assessments for each TASKA such as two times a year; three times a year; every three months, monthly, weekly and daily. The frequencies of assessment are depending on the TASKA needs such as a reporting to other teachers when they progress. The result also shows that the observation conducted with checklist, anecdotal record, running records and portfolio. Observation records as mentioned by the teachers to monitor children development and to show the quality of the TASKA. In conclusion, the frequency of observation gives benefit to the children and for teachers’ preparation and future plan for the program. The continuation of child observations carried out by parents or guardians at home can help identify the child’s development more accurately.

Formative Reading Assessments of Running Records and Miscue Analysis

This book chapter takes a close look at two well-known reading assessments – running records and miscue analysis - that are often not put in conversation with the other when evaluating a reader's process. In order to explore what happens when using these assessments in tandem, we designed a single student case study involving a fifth grade girl and eight sessions of interviews, running records and miscue analysis. Our findings highlight selected themes that emerged from the analyses to reveal patterns the reader used across the sessions and showcase different aspects of the reader's reading processes from the perspectives of both assessments. We argue that understanding the theoretical and empirical contributions of both reading assessments contributes to the development of teacher expertise about readers and their reading processes.

American Masters Road Running Records—The Performance Gap Between Female and Male Age Group Runners from 5 Km to 6 Days Running

Recent studies investigating elite and master athletes in pool- and long-distance open-water swimming showed for elite swimmers that the fastest women were able to outperform the fastest men, and for master athletes that elderly women were able to achieve a similar performance to elderly men. The present study investigating age group records in runners from 5 km to 6 days aimed to test this hypothesis for master runners. Data from the American Master Road Running Records were analyzed, for 5 km, 8 km, 10 km, 10 miles, 20 km, half-marathon, 25 km, 30 km, marathon, 50 km, 50 miles, 100 km, 100 miles, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 144 h, for athletes in age groups ranging from 40 to 99 years old. The performance gap between men and women showed higher effects in events lengthening from 5 km to 10 miles (d = 0.617) and lower effects in events lengthening from 12 to 144 h (d = 0.304) running. Both other groups showed similar effects, being 20 km to the marathon (d = 0.607) and 50 km to 100 miles (d = 0.563). The performance gap between men and women showed higher effects in the age groups 85 years and above (d = 0.953) followed by 55 to 69 years (d = 0.633), and lower effects for the age groups 40 to 54 years (d = 0.558) and 70 to 84 years (d = 0.508). In summary, men are faster than women in American road running events, however, the sex gap decreases with increasing age but not with increasing event length.