A systematic review of key contextual challenges facing school principals: Research-informed coping solutions

The function of school leadership has been significantly changed by the multi-layered school context to meet the demands of stakeholders. Increasing autonomy and accountability pressures have made it difficult to maintain the balance of principals’ tasks, which gives rise to a variety of challenges. This study adopted a descriptive quantitative form of a systematic review to analyse 169 related studies about the challenges faced principals and research-informed coping solutions for such challenges published in the international journals indexed by the WoS, SCOPUS, and ERIC databases between 2001 and 2020. This analysis identified 734 contextual challenges, including challenges related to principals’ roles and actions (31%) influenced by institutional contexts (24%), socio-cultural contexts (11%), stakeholders (3.4%), and parents (5.2%). Additional contextual challenges were related to the leading staff (6%) and teachers (7.9%). Finally, 11.2% of the contextual challenges corresponded with concerns about student performance. This research highlights the need for modifying leadership preparation programs in a context sensitive manner, active participation of all stakeholders in setting school targets and methods for achieving them, and creating a supportive culture that encourages mutual progressive trust between governments, local communities, and school principals.

Working on Crime: Individual and Team Management of Knowledge for Decision Making in the Initial Investigative Process

<p>Every police agency needs to know how a productive environment for investigators working on crime, based on an effective investigative knowledge-management system, may best be provided. In order to contribute understanding for that purpose, this research examines three strands of the theme of working on crime that are entailed in the initial stages of an enquiry: the nature of the investigative process; investigative teamwork, and the individual and team management of knowledge. It is contended that the initial investigative process requires speedy and effective use of knowledge from four main sources: from objects and scenes, from people, from investigators' own experience, and from knowledge-management systems. The management of this knowledge for decision making in the initial stages of a police investigation of a crime is essentially a process of intuitive pattern-making ahead of verification. It is both internalised and manifest, and sited within the prevailing culture, undertaken by an individual investigator upon the explicit, implicit and unknown facts available to him or her, thus creating a continuing, unselfconscious, productive interplay between the skills of one and the complexity of the other. This process takes place within a subtle and multi-layered environment, the 'investigative entity'. In order to advance understanding of the process in its environment, it was necessary first to conceptualise a new model of this 'investigative entity'. The model illuminates the complexity of the investigative task, shows the centrality of individual investigators, and their skills, to the process of investigation, and emphasises the interrogative interface of the practitioner and the decision making process with the architecture of knowledge. Classical theories and practices of decision making are discussed, amplified with material on the intuition and analytic processes which underlie the model, the particular need for knowledge in investigative decision making, and the role of investigative knowledge-management systems as tools for intuition. The role played by official knowledge-management systems in the investigative entity is delineated, but emphasis centres on the power and utility of the individual investigator's tacit knowledge and skills. However, investigative work requires that investigators must often work in teams, where for success, a supportive culture for individuals' intuitive decision making needs to be provided. The thesis examines ways in which investigative teams may be viewed, and establishes a list of criteria for identifying the nature of investigative teams. The New Zealand Police provides the locus for examining the potency and relevance of the investigative entity model, both for individual investigators and for teams, and the actual use of police knowledge-management systems by investigators. Through interviews, observation and discussion a picture takes shape of investigators managing knowledge, both as vigorously competent individuals, and in concert with others. This empirical vignette sheds light on how investigative decision making in the initial stages of an incident takes place in practice. To conclude, guidelines for providing the optimal conditions and knowledge-management systems for investigators are suggested, with the responsibility for doing so laid upon the agency and the government.</p>

Working on Crime: Individual and Team Management of Knowledge for Decision Making in the Initial Investigative Process

<p>Every police agency needs to know how a productive environment for investigators working on crime, based on an effective investigative knowledge-management system, may best be provided. In order to contribute understanding for that purpose, this research examines three strands of the theme of working on crime that are entailed in the initial stages of an enquiry: the nature of the investigative process; investigative teamwork, and the individual and team management of knowledge. It is contended that the initial investigative process requires speedy and effective use of knowledge from four main sources: from objects and scenes, from people, from investigators' own experience, and from knowledge-management systems. The management of this knowledge for decision making in the initial stages of a police investigation of a crime is essentially a process of intuitive pattern-making ahead of verification. It is both internalised and manifest, and sited within the prevailing culture, undertaken by an individual investigator upon the explicit, implicit and unknown facts available to him or her, thus creating a continuing, unselfconscious, productive interplay between the skills of one and the complexity of the other. This process takes place within a subtle and multi-layered environment, the 'investigative entity'. In order to advance understanding of the process in its environment, it was necessary first to conceptualise a new model of this 'investigative entity'. The model illuminates the complexity of the investigative task, shows the centrality of individual investigators, and their skills, to the process of investigation, and emphasises the interrogative interface of the practitioner and the decision making process with the architecture of knowledge. Classical theories and practices of decision making are discussed, amplified with material on the intuition and analytic processes which underlie the model, the particular need for knowledge in investigative decision making, and the role of investigative knowledge-management systems as tools for intuition. The role played by official knowledge-management systems in the investigative entity is delineated, but emphasis centres on the power and utility of the individual investigator's tacit knowledge and skills. However, investigative work requires that investigators must often work in teams, where for success, a supportive culture for individuals' intuitive decision making needs to be provided. The thesis examines ways in which investigative teams may be viewed, and establishes a list of criteria for identifying the nature of investigative teams. The New Zealand Police provides the locus for examining the potency and relevance of the investigative entity model, both for individual investigators and for teams, and the actual use of police knowledge-management systems by investigators. Through interviews, observation and discussion a picture takes shape of investigators managing knowledge, both as vigorously competent individuals, and in concert with others. This empirical vignette sheds light on how investigative decision making in the initial stages of an incident takes place in practice. To conclude, guidelines for providing the optimal conditions and knowledge-management systems for investigators are suggested, with the responsibility for doing so laid upon the agency and the government.</p>

Developing rightly culture on TQM - evidence from SMEs in the context of emerging economy

Purpose Total quality management (TQM) must include orientation towards quality awareness in the overall organisational processes in a firm. A successful TQM needs a supportive culture that can adapt to alterations and strengthen innovation. This study aims to confirm the association between the style of management known as organisational culture (OC) and TQM practices in manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach Data-driven research was drawn from self-assessment inquiries among 772 managers/owners of manufacturing SMEs of the Saudi Arabia Kingdom (KSA). The dominant culture was detected by means of a cross-sectional technique. Findings The findings enrich the literature by revealing a positive effect of OC on TQM execution in the manufacturing SMEs of KSA. Research limitations/implications Prior to the execution of TQM operations, administrators of manufacturing SMEs should be aware of the culture within organisations so that TQM may be implemented. Practical implications The study suggests that organisations, particularly manufacturing SMEs, should constantly strive to enhance the TQM culture. Social implications Amid intense competition among manufacturing SMEs, it is crucial to guarantee their high performance. This research assists society in evaluating the strength of a particular SME sector and further enables it to assess which SMEs really have a good OC–TQM relation. Originality/value The paper creates and presents various platforms of the OC and TQM as a unified body of knowledge.

Organizing Safe Spaces: #MeToo Activism in Sweden

Networked online environments can effectively support political activism. In Sweden, the #metoo movement resulted in over 100,000 people participating in activities challenging sexual harassment and abuse, including collecting testimonies via social media and drafting and discussing petitions published in print news media. Participation involved many risks, such as social stigma, losing one’s job, or misogynist terrorism, which meant that participation required a high level of trust among peers. Human-computer interaction (HCI) research on trust generally focuses on technical systems or user-generated data, less focus has been given to trust among peers in vulnerable communities. This study, based on semi-structured interviews and surveys of participants and organizers of 47 petitions representing different sectors in society, found that trust was aggregated over networks of people, practices, institutions, shared values, and technical systems. Although a supportive culture based on a feeling of solidarity and shared feminist values was central for safe spaces for participation, when activism was scaled up, social interaction had to be limited due to increased risk. HCI research views trust as a process of crossing distances, increasing over time; however, our results reveal that trust decreased over time as the movement grew and public exposure increased, a trend most evident when the participants actually came from a tightly knit community. Therefore, this study points out the significance to balance the need for transparency and community with the need for anonymity and distance in the development of tools to support large-scale deliberative processes that involve conflicts and risks.

Are Family-Supportive Practices Strategic for Brazilian CEOs?

Purpose: The goal of the present study was to investigate chief executives&rsquo; intention and potential to create a family-supportive culture in the Brazilian context, further assessing the role of their aspirations in their employees&rsquo; perceptions. Methodology: Two researchers conducted 60 minutes of online semi-structured interviews with CEOs of seven companies of different sizes (measured by the number of employees), economic sectors, and capital structure. To complement the data gathered from CEOs, we also conducted private and individual 30-minute online interviews with three employees from each company. Findings: A total of four categories and 11 sub-categories emerged from the analysis of CEO interviews, and four categories and six sub-categories emerged from the analysis of employee interviews. Originality: The results suggest that family-supportive culture is promoted through behaviors that are consistent with the organization&rsquo;s core values, as well as through commitment of the agenda and resources of the company&rsquo;s leadership team.

Understanding Reasons for Lack of Acceptance in HIV Programs Among Indigenous: a Qualitative Study in Indonesia

Background: Melanesians are Indigenous Papuans that are racially and culturally different from most Indonesians. Poverty and inequalities remain high in this region despite having the highest revenues. Furthermore, Papua has the highest HIV prevalence rate, which is 24 times higher than other regions. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an understanding of the acceptance of HIV programs among Papuans.Methods: This is a qualitative study carried out using the grounded theory with data collected from 23 Papuans through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. All interviews were conducted in Bahasa Indonesia, audio-recorded, summarized, and transcribed for analysis.Results: The results showed that to “keep being a good Papuan," emerges from 4 interconnected categories, including 1) Culture and Religion, 2) Dealing with modernisms, 3) Tailoring program and 4) Stigma reduction. As a substantive theory underpinning the experiences of indigenous people with the programs, “Keep being a good Papuan” was a way of overcoming a series of problems and dealing with modernism to eliminating HIV. This is largely focused on the local culture, therefore any adjustment needs to balance keeping their tradition and welcoming modernism.Conclusions: Therefore, the future of the programs needs to be agreed upon, funded, implemented, measured, and achieved. One of the strategies used to achieve this is by elaborating a supportive culture and community-based interventions. Further, implementation needs to be prioritized to integrate and improve the quality of the programs due to the needs of the community and the available resources.

Shared Leadership

Shared leadership refers to an emergent, collective team process where leadership is distributed among and stems from team members, rather than a single designated leader. While shared leadership has gained considerable attention in the literature in recent years, it has received little attention in information systems (IS) project teams. In this study, a theoretical moderation framework in IS project teams that portrays the positive relationship between shared leadership and IS project success is presented. Moreover, project-centered moderators (i.e., project complexity and project task interdependence) and team-centered moderators (i.e., team autonomy and team supportive culture) have been proposed to influence the shared leadership-IS project success relationship. This study proposes that this relationship is stronger when projects are more complex and more interdependent, and when teams have a higher level of autonomy and supportive culture.

Managing clients and patients: Exploring the experience of client-based incivility in veterinary practice

Background: Interactions with clients have been identified as a key potential stressor within veterinarian work. However, there is a lack of research investigating the experience, and impact, of specific behaviours such as incivility. The current study aimed to address this literature gap by investigating veterinary perceptions of client-based rudeness. Method: Telephone interviews were used to gather qualitative data regarding veterinary perceptions of client-based rudeness. This encompassed the potential causes of incivility, the impact on the veterinarian, and coping strategies.Results: Thematic analysis produced 16 themes relevant to client-based rudeness, and one over-arching theme. The over-arching theme suggested that vets consider client management, and patient care, two distinct aspects of their role. Key themes included the perception of client worry as a key causal factor of rudeness, the utilisation of empathy as a client management technique and the potential for rudeness to have an adverse impact on mental health. A supportive practice was considered vital for enabling successful coping.Conclusion: It is important that veterinary practices are aware of the potential for client rudeness to adversely impact vet wellbeing. Practices should seek to develop guidelines detailing appropriate responses to rudeness, alongside developing a supportive culture to maximise vet coping strategies.