Francesco Sofo

Transfer of Training: A Case-Study of Outsourced Training for Staff from Bhutan

The article examines the perceptions of managers, academics and technical staff in relation to the transfer of training resulting from their participation in out-country training funded by Bhutans Ministry of Education. Out-country training refers to in-service education, training and professional development programs, especially in relation to technical education, higher education and specialization courses undertaken abroad. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of out-country training over a five-year period to gauge the level of training transfer among three different types of participants. The methodology included surveying 149 Bhutanese out-country training participants between 1999 and 2003. A representative sampling technique was used to select 58 academics, 46 managers and 45 technical support staff for inclusion in the survey. Semistructured in-depth interviews were also conducted with 19 of these trainees across the three categories. Results of the study indicate high initial levels of motivation in all trainees, but a change in attitude toward their training once it was underway. On return to the workplace, participants reported even less confidence in their ability to transfer their learning compared to their confidence reported before the program began.

Instructional leadership in Indonesian school reform: overcoming the problems to move forward

The paper reviews the research on instructional leadership and, through identifying problems emerging in Indonesian school reform, suggests some sustainable solutions. There are some discrepancies in the processes of Indonesias school reform, and the objectives of the national education reform do not seem to have been reflected in the actual implementation. School leadership is suggested to be a decisive factor in student attainment. There is a scarcity of research on Indonesian school reform, and this papers study of instructional leadership emphasises the need to identify and overcome problems in order to move towards optimising student achievement.

Thinking Style Diversity and Collaborative Design Learning

The paper explores the impact of structured learning experiences that were designed to challenge students’ ways of thinking and promote creativity. The aim was to develop the ability of students, coming from different engineering disciplines and characterized by particular thinking style profiles, to collaboratively work on a project-based learning experience in an educational environment. Three project-based learning experiences were structured using critical thinking methods to stimulate creativity. Pre and post-survey data using a specially modified thinking style inventory for 202 design students indicated a thinking style profile of preferences with a focus on exploring and questioning. Statistically significant results showed students successfully developed empathy and openness to multiple perspectives.

Adaptive Decision Making and Intellectual Styles

Chapter 1:Introduction to the Role of Decision Making from Multiple Perspectives.-Chapter 2: Literature Review of Critical Thinking and Intellectual Styles.-Chapter 3: Case study - International Convergence and Divergence of Intellectual Styles and Critical Thinking Between Italy, Finland and Australia.-Chapter 4: Conclusion and Directions for Further Exploration.

The inability of compliance strategies to prevent collusive conduct

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that cartel conduct is a common example of non‐compliance with competition laws and, in order to generate insight and lessons regarding aspects of corporate governance, two areas of cartel behaviour are to be analysed. The first is the extent to which employees of organisations were aware of the seriousness and illegality of their cartel conduct, and the second is the extent to which determining bodies acknowledged the presence or absence of compliance strategies within corporations being prosecuted for cartel conduct.Design/methodology/approach – A measurement matrix devised from the literature was used as a methodological framework through which content analysis was conducted to explore whether cartel offenders were aware of the illegality of their behaviour and whether the presence or absence of compliance strategies was acknowledged by the court. In total, 69 publicly available investigatory outcomes sourced from 11 different jurisdictions were analysed.F...

An occupational perspective of poverty and poverty reduction

ABSTRACT Poverty is a complex problem with diverse interdependencies. Effective poverty reduction requires new ways of thinking about poverty and innovative programs to reduce its impact on people, communities and the environment. To date, a mix of economic, social structural, capabilities and learning perspectives have been applied to understanding poverty and planning strategies to expedite its reduction. We propose that inclusion of an occupational perspective will foster deeper understanding of the causes of poverty and its impact on people and communities. To that end, we introduce the SEED-SCALE, a novel theoretical framework designed to bring about social change. We argue that it is inherently occupation-focused and highly appropriate for poverty reduction programs, as it uses human energy (i.e. what humans do) to generate community and global solutions.

Reflections on China and a six‐dimensional framework for managing research and development

Purpose – There are continuing efforts by Chinese institutions to improve their approach to the management of research and development (R&D) within the national and global arenas. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for managing R&D in China.Design/methodology/approach – The framework is derived from a review of two OECD reports, three books and 15 recently published articles in scholarly journals (1977‐2008) all of which are mainly related to the structure and organisation of research in foreign‐owned and Chinese research institutes.Findings – In this paper, issues in the literature are identified and arranged in themes in order to discover key lessons about the management of R&D. The result of the analysis is a hybrid six‐dimensional model incorporating open innovation, connecting with the world, knowledge management, a public approach, balanced development and communities of inquiry.Research limitations/implications – The framework emphasises a base of shrewd economic expansion supporte...

Decision Making in the Social Sciences

This chapter explores four social science disciplines and their perspectives and concerns in relation to decision making. The chapter is organized into four perspectives: sociology; management; marketing and education. The key concepts covered in the sociology section include how decisions are constrained and controlled by cooperation, competition, trust, reciprocity, and social norms. The management discipline is regarded as the science of decision making and this second section explores rational decision making, risk, uncertainty, the decision school, individual, and group decision making as well as the concept of adaptive decision making. The third major section examines decision making from a marketing perspective taking a broad view of communicating information and social influences. The focus in this section centers on unlocking the black box to optimize understanding mindsets, customer behaviors, cognitive style, and market appreciation. The final section deals with adaptive decision making in education and discusses recent studies in various education sectors including compulsory schooling: mainstream, exceptional students (gifted, talented, and special), and in other sectors such as higher education, vocational education, health and medical education, and workplace learning.

Bank Branches as Smart Environments: Introducing a Cognitive Protection System to Manage Security and Safety

Protection of Bank Branches (BBs) represents an interesting setting where potential benefits deriving from the introduction of IoT technologies can give best results in terms of operational performances. In this paper we present main results of an ERFD funded project aimed to redesign BBs as smart environments. First, we summarize main results of a multiple case study among Italian banking groups aimed to characterize the problem. Second, we propose main characteristics of a cyber-physical-social space (CPSS) specifically designed to facilitate the rise of a smart BB. Third, we introduce the architecture of a cognitive protection system designed to manage a network of BB CPSSs belonging to a banking group in order to improve both the degree of security and safety inside the branch environment, and the operational performances of security management processes.

Investigating the self-reported professional development activities of school leaders in Ghanaian rural basic schools

Abstract In Ghana, research has shown that educational reforms over the years have ignored the importance of school leadership development, and there are currently very few reform initiatives that address the need to develop the leadership proficiencies and skills of school leaders. This study sought to investigate how school leaders, who include headteachers, assistant headteachers, and form masters, in such contexts develop their leadership skills following their appointment into their new roles. A mixed-methods approach was employed in gathering both quantitative and qualitative data concurrently from three groups of leaders in the basic schools of one rural educational district in Ghana. Results from the study showed that the professional development activities (PDAs) that the leaders employed for their development were mostly informal and self-directed learning methods. There were only limited formal leadership development programmes for the leaders working within any of the rural district basic schools represented in the study. The study concludes that to strengthen school leadership in basic schools in the selected district, educational authorities would need to learn from international best practice to initiate sustainable PDAs to strengthen the leadership capacities of leaders to promote effective teaching and learning in schools.