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This article discusses two examples of higher education teaching interventions with evidence of high levels of student engagement resulting from experiential authenticity – the Prison: Learning Together module and an intergenerational module about ageing (NUAGE). The article outlines the aims and objectives of the two programmes and discusses the core findings from the module evaluations. The findings demonstrate that creating communities of practice using experiential authenticity enhances the learning journey for students, resulting in greater participation. Experiential authenticity has been identified as distinct from other forms of experiential learning with common features thought to result in sustained student engagement included collaboration with peers, an authentic experience of working with learners from outside the university, and reciprocal respect between members of diverse groups. We make suggestions as to how these engagement themes could be applied to other higher education settings whilst acknowledging the challenges involved.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of how identification process is associated with development of organizational commitment. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach incorporating surveys and interviews was employed. Data were obtained from a manufacturing organization in Australia. A clustering method was employed to identify commitment profiles. Respondents belonging to the clusters representing commitment profiles associated with desirable organizational outcomes were identified for the qualitative stage of the research. Findings The results showed that both organizational identity and professional/occupational identity are positively linked to the development of organizational commitment. An in-depth analysis of the qualitative data demonstrated that engagement of personal/individual level of self in identification process enhances the development of organizational commitment. Practical implications The findings suggest that human resource managers can build an effective identification process by strengthening feelings of organizational identity and creating a positive organizational image. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to employ a mixed-method approach to explore the relationship between organizational commitment and identification process. A mixed-method approach, on the one hand, enabled us to build on the existing objectivist commitment literature and explore commitment profiles, and on the other hand, it allowed us to provide a more complete and contextual portrayal of organizational commitment and identification process through qualitative interpretive strategies.

The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of the role of social capital in increasing psychological resilience and reducing job burnout. We collected data through a survey distribut...

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice teachers’ beliefs about retention. In spite of evidence that grade retention has negative effects on students’ academic and socio-emotional outco...

This article offers an important contribution to understanding students’ perceptions of lectures based on different formats of lecture delivery. The growth in the use of blended, flipped, synchronous and asynchronous learning for lecture delivery raises questions as to whether students prefer these innovative modes of delivery over the traditional face-to-face lectures. Furthermore, the contemporary debates over recording lectures and whether this impacts on student attendance requires further exploration by comparing recorded face-to-face lectures with other methods of lecturing. This article draws on data that explored students’ preferences for lectures by comparing students’ experiences on three different types of lectures. The main findings demonstrate that there is no one preferred method of lectures, with student feedback reporting positive experiences with all three. However, the strengths and limitations of each mode of delivery are provided by the students which indicate that flexibility, interaction and choice enhance participation in lectures. The data indicates that student attendance is only slightly affected by lecture recordings and that other factors need to be considered if lecturers are concerned about attendance. This paper suggests that courses ought to offer a range of different lectures to meet the needs of varied populations of learners and that ensuring the delivery is student-focused will empower students and increase their participation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence police officers’ decision making when dealing with young women considered violent. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were carried out with frontline police officers in Scotland on their experiences of responding to incidents where young women displayed violence. Findings – The police officers clearly distinguished encounters with women using violence from those with young men, portraying young women as irrational, unpredictable and uncontrollable. The research found that while gender alone was not a determining factor for arrest, police officers did stereotype young women according to gender norms and these norms could have a bearing on decision making. The findings show that police officers prefer to respond to situations with male perpetrators due to their own difficulties effectively communicating with young women, who are often under the influence of alcohol. Research limitations/implications – The research indicates that police officers, regardless of their gender, have difficulties handling violent incidents that involve young women. This provides scope for further analysis of police training to ascertain whether sufficient guidance is provided to fully equip police officers when faced with aggressive young women. This study focused on police officers’ own views and experiences but future research could consider a more ethnographic approach to observe police decision making in practice to determine whether the stereotypes portrayed were a true reflection of their experiences. Originality/value – This is one of only a very few studies that has explored the relation between gender and arrest decision making. It enhances the understanding of how young women come to be arrested and indicates how police officers are currently ill equipped to effectively respond to young women considered violent.

In this chapter, the authors distinguish between blended and online learning settings, discuss a variety of types of learner assessment, describe contemporary trends, challenges, and recommendations for the effective assessment of learning in blended and online courses, and offer several recommendations for future research. The content targets teachers, instructional designers, administrators, and program managers of K-12 blended and online learning settings. Suggestions are offered for using web-based communication tools for feedback and assessment in blended settings. The authors conclude with a discussion of implementation topics associated with assessment in these learning environments that deserve additional attention and consideration.

PurposeEffective change management is important for organizational development, but without knowing what features of change situations impact on employee behavior it is difficult to manage change successfully. Considering the changing age demographic of the Australian workforce and the shortage of skilled labor, the purpose of this study is to examine the important age group of young professionals and its perceptions toward organizational change.Design/methodology/approachBased on Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive phenomenological model of stress and coping, a framework of change perceptions was used to analyze young professionals' experience of change. A confirmatory factor analysis has been conducted surveying a sample of 261 young professionals from a diverse set of Australian organizations.FindingsThe analysis found that frequency of change and planning for change are significantly related to uncertainty, and in turn, that uncertainty is significantly related to job satisfaction and behavioral stress. Interestingly, it was found that although frequency of change is positively related to uncertainty, it is also positively related to job satisfaction. Findings indicate which features of change situations are related to poor well‐being outcomes and are therefore important for managers implementing change and working with young professionals.Originality/valueThe present study clarifies the relationship between young professionals and their perceptions of change. Practical implications of the findings for managers are discussed. Some recommendations for future research are provided.

The intent of this study was to assess the perceptions and actions of Wyoming principals concerning their role in supervising and evaluating teachers. A survey was sent to all 286 principals in the state of Wyoming, of which, 143 returned surveys, a response rate of 50%. Findings suggested that principals utilized supervisory behaviors more often than evaluative behaviors. Elementary principals perceived their evaluative practices as significantly more prevalent than secondary principals. Furthermore, principals indicated that their greatest frustrations in supervising teachers were time, the evaluation instrument, and teachers’ unwillingness to change. Additionally, findings suggested that Wyoming principals utilized classroom walkthroughs because they provided a snapshot of teaching and provided a medium for providing feedback. In regards to developmental supervision, principals indicated that novice teachers received much more supervision than veteran teachers. However, their reported use of differentiated supervision only applied to teacher autonomy concerning professional development goals. Principals reported that teachers had little input concerning the methods by which they were supervised. Finally, a majority of the Wyoming principals felt that improvement plans were effective at changing mediocre teaching behaviors, but 40% were speculative that such plans truly remediated poor teachers.

This paper reports the findings of case study research exploring the strength of the HR system in three Australian public hospitals from the perspective of senior, middle and line managers, and HR practitioners. The study explored how HRM is understood, interpreted, and operationalized across the management hierarchy. The findings suggest that the role of the CEO is crucial in providing HR legitimacy, leadership and resources that create a distinctive HR system, and in nurturing within group agreement and consensus among the senior executive team on the role of HR. In turn, senior managers need to translate consistent HR messages throughout the management hierarchy and provide lower level managers with the formal and informal direction, support and empowerment to operationalize HR strategy.

The authors investigated the effectiveness of the Triad Training Model (P. Pedersen, 1994a, 1994b, 2000a, 2000b) on influencing counselor empathy, intolerance for ambiguity, and multicultural competency by using a quasi-experimental treatment group comparison design. No significant differences among the triad training group and two comparison groups were found. However, the changes in multicultural competency scores within the treatment group were found to be significant. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Background This paper describes the evaluation of a group program designed specifically to meet the anger management needs of a group of individuals with various levels of intellectual disability a...

This study was conducted to understand students’ perceptions of the usefulness of on-line discussion for a nursing seminar. The interpretative approach was selected to explore the students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the on-line discussion. The participants were recruited from maternity nursing courses on two rural campuses in Nebraska. A convenience sample of 31 participated in the study with a purposive sample of 10 representing extreme views selected for in-depth interviews. Eight patterns emerged as a plausible interpretation of the on-line experience. These patterns were exemplified by the themes of engagement theory (relate, create, and donate). The pattern that was identified as relational was learner-to-learner learning without face-to-face communication. However, isolation was found to inhibit relating. Creating, the second theme, was exemplified by multiperspective opinions, however, frustration with the technology and anxiety/information overload inhibited the creative aspects. Finally, the third theme, donate, was represented by having time for critical thinking/reflection while participating in the on-line discussions. The findings of this research support the need for more studies to explore students’ perception of the usefulness of on-line discussion.

(2003). Factors Affecting Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 177-192.

(1999). Profiles of Effective College and University Teachers. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 70, No. 6, pp. 670-686.

In 2006, the Wyoming state government allocated monies for the Department of Education to fund the work of Instructional Facilitators, or coaches, in schools across the state (Wyoming Department of Education, 2008). In Spring 2009, after the program had been in place for two years, an ex-post facto study was designed to examine the impact of the program on teacher practice. An online survey was used to collect data from classroom teachers throughout Wyoming’s public schools. Teachers answered questions about the extent of their work with Instructional Facilitators, the activities that they worked on with Instructional Facilitators, and the impact of their work with Instructional Facilitators on their practice. Results indicate that while a large number of teachers reported spending a small amount of time working with Instructional Facilitators, a small number of teachers reported spending a great deal of time working with Instructional Facilitators. Although differences by teaching level were apparent, the majority of respondents indicated they wished to continue working with an Instructional Facilitator and that Wyoming is spending its money wisely on the program. Discussion of these findings includes implications for Instructional Facilitator workloads and the need to focus their work on specific outcomes.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the attitudes of managers and employees to high performance work practices (HPWS) in a medium sized rural Australian hospital.Design/methodology/approachThe study consists of two stages. Stage one involved a qualitative investigation consisting of interviews and focus group sessions with senior, middle and line management at the hospital. Bowen and Ostroff's framework was used to examine how strategic HRM was understood, interpreted and operationalised across the management hierarchy. Stage one investigates the views of managers concerning the implementation of strategic HRM/ HPWS. Stage two consisted of a questionnaire administered to all hospital employees. The mediation effects of social identification on the relationship between high performance work systems and affective commitment and job satisfaction are examined. The purpose of stage two was to investigate the views and effects of SHRM/HPWS on employees. It should be noted that HPWS and strategic HRM are used inter‐changeably in this paper.FindingsAt the management level the importance of distinctiveness, consistency and consensus in the interpretation of strategic HRM/HPWS practices across the organization was discovered. Findings indicate that social identification mediates the relationship between HPWS and affective commitment and also mediates the relationship between HPWS and job satisfaction.Practical implicationsHigh performance work systems may play a crucial role facilitating social identification at the unit level. Such practices and management support is likely to provide benefits in terms of high performing committed employees.Originality/valueThe paper argues that team leaders and managers play a key role in building social identification within the team and that organizations need to understand this role and provide recognition, reward, education and support to their middle and lower managers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the gender bias in student ratings of effective teaching. Students in five colleges were invited to rate instructors on three factors: inte rpersonal characteristics, pedagogical characteristics, and course content characteristics. We analyzed group differences based on student gender, instructor gender, and student level. Ratings of pedagogical characteristics and course content characteristics yielded significant interactions between student gender and instructor gender, but no differences were found among groups on interpersonal characteristics. We concluded that gender bias plays a role in students’ views of effective teaching in terms of how students evaluate pedagog ical and content characteristics and that this bias generalizes across student levels.