Dynamic Nature Of Relationship Research Articles

Market mirages and the state’s role in professional learning: the case of English mathematics education

ABSTRACT Using a theoretical framework of policy assemblage, we analyse current primary mathematics teacher professional development in England, in the context of a transnational policy of mastery in mathematics influenced by East Asian practices. As well as the increased discourse of marketisation, and school and teacher autonomy, there has also been a paradoxical process of greater state influence over the content and form of professional learning. This paper maps the mathematics mastery market to show how marketisation and competition form a mirage that masks state-market assemblage. An analysis of these assemblages illuminates the state’s role in fostering a market whilst also operating as an actor in this market, in this case in mastery professional development. Within the mastery market, tensions arise between the phenomena of replication and isomorphism and differentiation of ‘offers’ that develop affinity groups and networks. Thus, we extend previous descriptions of the hierarchy, markets, and networks, and the roles of state funded actors within teacher professional development by identifying the importance of multiplicity of logics, assemblage as a process of labour, and the dynamic nature of relationships and activity. Resources to support teacher professional learning are mobilised in competitive processes with apparent choice hiding state direction.

Relationship between Weight Status and Health-Related Quality of Life in a Sample of Early Adolescents from Central and Northern Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study of the AVATAR Project Participants.

Among the various factors that could influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescence, body mass index (BMI) seems to play a key role as a main anthropometric parameter. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine, in a sample of Italian adolescents, whether HRQoL is associated with the different weight status categories (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese), according to BMI cut-off points for children, even considering sex differences. Data were collected from 1707 adolescents (n = 828 males) in seven schools. HRQoL was analyzed using the Italian version of KIDSCREEN-52. Males were more overweight and obese than females (13% vs. 10% and 4% vs. 2%, p < 0.05, respectively). In females, BMI categories are associated with physical well-being (p < 0.05), emotion/mood (p < 0.05), self-perception (p < 0.001), financial resources (p < 0.05), and bullying behavior (p < 0.05). In males, weight status is linked to physical well-being dimension (p < 0.001) and perception of self (p < 0.05). Our results may suggest that there is an association between weight status categories and HRQoL, more pronounced in females than in males. Interestingly, the weight status correlated more with the psychological dimension mainly in females, whereas in males, a stronger association between weight and physical status was observed, suggesting that given the complex, multifaceted, and dynamic nature of relationship between health-related quality of life and weight status in adolescents, multiple factors must be considered.

Consumer demand information as a re-balancing tool for power asymmetry between food retailers and suppliers

This conceptual paper presents a model that may be used to redress the power balance between retailers and suppliers in the supply chain through better information symmetry and mutual dependence. It explores power dependence and resource dependence theories to conceptualise the use of demand information, by drawing on the diverse viewpoints within the extant literature on the effect of supply chain power asymmetry on exchange relationships and mutual dependence.Co-optation adds stability and reduces uncertainty through the exchange of resources. The dynamic nature of relationships and power between retailers and suppliers requires a multi-theory approach to identify a robust understanding of the interplay of different influence factors. This study has both operational and strategic implications for the food supply chain, as power asymmetry in relationships affects sustainability, especially in sales promotions periods for both retailers and suppliers.Improving power equilibrium between the buyer and supplier through information symmetry with the integration of power and resource dependence theory is novel.

Spanning leader–subordinate relationships through negative interactions: An examination of leader–member exchange breaches

The study aims to discover the dynamic and processual nature of a supervisory relationship (here a leader–member exchange) through a novel, theoretical concept termed leader–member exchange breach, and by examining the characteristics of negative exchange interactions within the leader–member exchange relationship. The notion of the leader–member exchange breach is empirically defined through data on 336 responses to open-ended questions on negative interactions between leaders and subordinates, analyzed through qualitative analysis methods. The results of the study raise questions about the complexity of leader–member exchange relationships and show that breaches of the leader–member exchange relationship might lead to a reassessment of the dyadic relationship between leaders and their subordinates, spanning or even breaking the exchange relationships. This study extends current knowledge on leader–member exchange relationships by providing a viewpoint on the leader–member exchange breach that helps explain the processual and dynamic nature of those relationships through interpersonal interactions and exchanges.

Antifa, Street Gangs, and the Importance of Group Processes

This essay reviews David Pyrooz and James Densley’s “On Public Protest, Violence, and Street Gangs” and raises new questions about the ways in which Antifa is similar to and different from social movements; the processes by which “factions within Antifa” become gangs; and the dynamic nature of relationships and interactions between and among violent and non-violent segments. It concludes with a note about the everchanging nature of social life and importance of flexibility in the design and execution of research in capturing this reality.

Impact of R&amp;D on profitability in the pharma sector: an empirical study from India

PurposeThe purpose of the current paper is to examine the nature of profit persistence and to estimate the dynamic relationship between research and development (R&amp;D) intensity and firm profitability in the Indian pharmaceutical industry.Design/methodology/approachA dynamic panel data model with generalized methods of moments (GMMs) technique has been deployed to estimate the relationship between R&amp;D intensity and performance. Arellano and Bond (1991) estimation methodology has been used to generate the estimates. A sample of 55 publicly listed firms operating in the Indian pharmaceutical industry for the period 2005-2014 has been considered.FindingsThe study finds moderate to heavy profit persistence in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The study also finds that there exists a positive relationship between R&amp;D intensity and performance for the Indian pharmaceutical Industry. The results hold even after considering two separate measures of profitability – return on assets and return on sales. The results also hint at a possible non-linear relationship between R&amp;D intensity and profitability.Research limitations/implicationsThe results highlight positive profit persistence among pharmaceutical firms. The results also highlight the need for a sustained investment in R&amp;D, as its benefits are driven in the long run. Thus, managers should devise proper policies R&amp;D investments. Also, prospective entrants should properly study the existing entry barriers before deciding upon the mode and timing of entry.Originality/valueThe degree of profit persistence and the dynamic nature of relationship between R&amp;D intensity and firm performance in the Indian pharmaceutical sector has not been studied. Thus, this paper fills this gap and also highlights the impact of certain firm- and industry-specific variables on profitability.

Sons of problem-drinking fathers: Narratives on the father–son relationship

While family relations can at best offer attachment, love, and nurture, at worst they can be enervating, neglectful, and oppressive. In this article, narratives on the father–son relationship in the context of the father’s alcohol problems are identified and discussed. Adult sons who have lived with problem-drinking fathers are given a voice through interviews, and their life stories explored. What kinds of narratives are found in sons’ life stories that deal with the father–son relationship? How has the relationship evolved, including emotionally, during the son’s life? The study data comprise life story interviews (N = 21) with men aged 21–42 years. The narrative analysis yielded four types of story about the father–son relationship during the son’s life course: Narrative of Fondness, Narrative of Irritation, Narrative of Melancholy, and Narrative of Hatred. The study reveals the centrality of different emotions and the dynamic nature of relationships in these narratives on challenging family relations.

Meleis's theory of nursing transitions and relatives’ experiences of nursing home entry

This paper explores the extent to which Meleis's mid-range theory of nursing transitions is supported by the findings of a study exploring relatives' experiences of the move to a nursing home. Mid-range nursing theories are useful tools in helping to understand the scope of nursing practice in a range of contexts and situations. However, as yet, many formal mid-range theories have not been adequately tested. Findings from a constructivist study of relatives' experiences of nursing home entry were re-analysed in relation to the extent to which they reflected the domains of the theory of nursing transitions. Data for the original study were generated during 37 qualitative interviews involving 48 close family members of older people who had recently moved to a nursing home, and in observational case studies in three nursing homes. All domains of the theory of nursing transition were supported by the data generated within the study. However, the model failed to represent adequately the interactive and dynamic nature of relationships between formal and informal caregivers in the nursing home context. The theory of nursing transitions has the potential to assist nurses in identifying appropriate strategies for supporting relatives throughout the period of an older person's relocation to a nursing home. However, in order to reflect fully the experiences of relatives at this time, the theory requires adjustment to recognize the contribution made by relatives themselves to positive outcomes. This therefore raises questions as to whether the relative absence of this reciprocal and interactive dimension is an element of Meleis's theory that requires further exploration in relation to other forms of transition.

As You Like It, Rosalynde, and Mutuality

Over years, critics have noted a variety of thematic oppositions in As You Like It: fortune versus nature, country versus court, a view of time medium of decay versus time medium of fulfillment, contrary notions of identity, the conspicuous narrative artifice of opening scenes versus equally prominent theatrical artifice in forest scenes, two different manipulative modes, and, most recently, concerns of a generally privileged versus the concerns of wage laborers, servants, and clowns.' Even play's title seems to refer to an opposition between audience and author, leading George Bernard Shaw, for one, to read it as a snub of audience's taste: here is what you, spectators, like (but I, playwright, do not).2 Are oppositions placed in a kind of balance by end of play (at least in character of Rosalind), dissolved by play's skeptical treatment of seemingly clear-cut distinctions, or are they necessarily partial and constrained gestures toward recognizing value of what might have seemed to Shakespeare and his audience to be culturally subversive attitudes?3 It all appears to hinge on whether we think Shakespearean comedy creates harmony among discordant elements, acts like a solvent on social constructions of difference, or serves to contain (though not always completely) threats to dominant social and cultural order its characters might sometimes express or embody. None of these formulations, however, addresses what I would argue is most important aspect of drama: dynamic nature of relationship between audience and play, spectator

An Interaction Model of Business Service Production and Consumption

SUMMARYThis paper develops a conceptual framework and model of the production and consumption of a business service. The model captures the interacting and dynamic nature of relationships between individuals both within and between client and supplier firms. The role played by the client during the different phases of production of the service will influence the degree to which the final service delivered meets the customer's specifications and the probability of implementation. Some empirical evidence of the complex interactions that occur in the creation of business services is presented and is used to suggest a modified typology of business services.