Gain Ownership Research Articles

Help Committee Members Gain Ownership

Help Committee Members Gain Ownership

LEARNING ENGLISH IN TODAY’S GLOBAL WORLD

AbstractIn comparative studies focusing on context of learning, the main contexts under investigation have been study abroad (SA), at-home formal instruction (AH), and domestic immersion (IM). With the global status of English and its burgeoning popularity as a medium of instruction in countries where English only holds the status of a lingua franca, a new SA context has emerged. This study compares the L2 learning of English in this new English as a lingua franca study abroad (ELFSA) context to Anglophone SA and AH in terms of oral and written complexity, accuracy, and fluency gains. Participants’ perceptions of contextual differences concerning the amount of language contact, use, development, and their views toward English are also explored qualitatively. Apart from indicating equal development on most CAF measures after a semester, the qualitative findings highlight ELFSA as providing a low-anxiety atmosphere that helps sojourners gain ownership of English. Thus, ELFSA emerges as an appealing study abroad context for future sojourners.

Identifying and Addressing the Underlying Core Problems in Healthcare Environments: An Illustration Using an Emergency Department Game.

The emergency department (ED) crowding is a critical healthcare issue worldwide that leads to long waits and poorer healthcare outcomes. Goldratt’s theory of constraints (TOC) has been used effectively to improve such problematic environments for more than three decades. While most TOC solutions are simple, with many viewing them as purely common sense, they represent paradigm shifts in how to manage complex, uncertain, and silo environments. Goldratt used a simple dice game with a straight flow (I-shape) to illustrate the impact of dependent resources and statistical fluctuations in managing resources. Additionally, games help to overcome resistance to change and gain ownership by having participants develop their solutions. This new cooperative game illustrates an ED environment where patients may follow different care pathways according to their clinical needs, timeliness of care is measured in minutes, the demand is highly uncertain, and treatment must frequently start almost immediately. A Monte Carlo simulation validated the TOC solution to this ED game, achieving results similar to the real TOC’s implementations. Moreover, this article provides a thorough process to Socratically introduce TOC to healthcare professionals and others to recognize that the EDs’ (like other healthcare systems’) core problem is the traditional approach to managing them.

The attitude of Vietnamese feudal intellectual class towards scientific and technological western knowledge from the 17th century to the first half of the 19th century

During the period from the 17th century to the first half of the 19th century, Vietnam and Western countries exchanged knowledge and interacted with each other in many different fields, which is considered the first Western and Oriental cultural exchanges by scholars. These cultural exchanges with Western intellectuals facilitated easy entry of scientific and technological Western knowledge into Vietnam. In fact, Vietnamese feudal intellectual class gained easy access to scientific and technological Western knowledge. What were the attitude and actions of Vietnamese feudal intellectual class towards scientific and technological Western knowledge? What did the consequences result from their perceptions and actions towards scientific and technological Western knowledge? Through the answers to these questions, by historical and logical methods and the method of collecting, comparing the writings of the Vietnamese feudal intellectual class on Western, the article contributes another perspective to learn about the attitudes of the Vietnamese scholar class towards the Western science and technology. Therefore, finding out about this point will help us understand and clarify many issues in a more evident way, including the question why Vietnam couldn’t acculturate and gain ownership of Western knowledge in a successive way in order to develop and protect the country, thus, suffering from severe consequences.

Co-constructing Writing Rubrics to Enhance Students’ Autonomy and Collaboration

Many L2 learners show low motivation when it comes to writing. The intervention of this study focuses on the idea of engaging L2 students and their teacher in co-constructing writing rubrics to help them develop a better understanding and awareness of the writing criteria in order to enhance autonomy and collaboration and gain ownership and responsibility for developing their writing skills. This study aimed to investigate the impact of co-constructed rubrics on L2 learners’ writing skills and their perceptions towards writing; it also examined to what extent co-constructed rubrics can be used as a learning and assessment tool to help teachers generate feedback conducive to learning and competency development in writing.This mixed methods study integrates both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools and analysis, including pre and post writing assessments for intervention and comparison groups, classroom observations, pre and post interviews with the teacher and L2 students, and a pre and post questionnaire. Results revealed that the intervention class’s mean average increased significantly in the post writing assessment, while the comparison class’s mean average decreased but with no statistical significance. Moreover, the survey showed that co-constructing the rubrics with the intervention students enhanced their attitudes towards writing. Class observations noted positive changes in the class dynamics and an improvement in the levels of students’ interaction and engagement. Co-constructing rubrics has emphasized the fact that writing is a skill that can be taught effectively and can be a solution for those who claim that ‘writing is a universal problem’.

Help Committee Members Gain Ownership

The Volunteer Management ReportVolume 25, Issue 12 p. 8-8 Articles Help Committee Members Gain Ownership First published: 03 November 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/vmr.31588Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume25, Issue12December 2020Pages 8-8 RelatedInformation

The experience of the Italian Global Burden of Disease Initiative

Abstract In 2007, two groups of Italian researchers started collaborating with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) to contribute to the generation of the first GBD 2010 estimates, published in 2012 in The Lancet. Early 2016, the Italian GBD collaborators, 12 at that time, decided to work together, to strengthen the exchange with IHME and gain ownership on the Italian estimates. The group aimed to: 1) exchange experiences, and coordinate activities related to the production and revision of Italian GBD estimates and for specific areas of expertise; 2) disseminate GBD estimates at national and regional level, and foster the active participation of health planners; 3) intensify the sharing of data and information with IHME and reach an agreement for the production of sub-national estimates; and 4) elaborate joint research projects to cover data gaps. In October 2018, IHME agreed to generate sub-national estimates for Italy, which are now being reviewed and will be officially published in May 2021. A thorough analysis of the epidemiological situation in Italy, using GBD 2017, was published in November 2019 in The Lancet Public Health. Other articles are currently being submitted. Researchers are structured in thematic working groups (Core Groups) while Regional Health Authorities are gradually becoming involved, gaining confidence in the use of GBD metrics and contributing to the sub-national revisions. The Italian GBD Initiative held a two-day meeting in Rome in January 2020, to discuss preliminary sub-national estimates. The Core Groups revised the estimates and identified data sources that could further improve the estimates. The results were then discussed with IHME in March 2020. The Italian group can now count on 75 collaborators from 30 research institutes. The Italian bottom-up approach, involving researchers and research institutes without a national political mandate, has shown both positive and negative aspects, as will be discussed during the workshop.

Governance costs and the problems of large traditional co-operatives

During recent decades, there have been many failures among large and complex agricultural co-operatives with a traditional organizational structure, that is, with mainly collective governance and collective ownership. Many co-operatives have been converted into the so-called hybrid co-operatives, owned together with external financiers. This article applies governance cost theory to explain this development. The results show that members are not able to govern a collectively owned firm that is large and complex; members are thus reluctant to invest in co-operatives; and members do not perceive that co-operatives benefit them economically. Thus, strong leaders take control and non-member investors gain ownership and influence.

Gains for women from farmland redistribution in South Africa and sustainable pathways out of poverty – insights from recent evidence

abstractEquitable access to land and other natural resources aimed at significant rural poverty reduction are at the forefront of ambitious goals entrenched in post-1994 land and agrarian policies. Among other targets, redistributive land policies promise that women should make up at least one-third of all land reform beneficiaries. After two decades of farmland redistribution, disputes persist as to whether these outcomes have been achieved.This focus piece systematically reviews evidence from a micro-level study based on blended information-gathering strategies in three provinces that vary in terms of their agrarian structures and agro-ecology. The study uniquely overlays farmland transfer data with provisioning of agricultural development support information.The analysis embeds the gender equity-land reform puzzle in the traditional poverty-land reform nexus. Its main question explores the extent to which land and agrarian reform interventions have produced an altered livelihood dynamic for land reform beneficiaries and more importantly to measure how this has translated into gendered sustainable livelihood impacts at household level. The study draws on the sustainable livelihoods framework as the lens for making sense of gender inequalities in the countryside and the extent to which there has been equitable redress in the interests of rural women.The findings summarise trends in respect of access, ownership and control of land assets and the related livelihood outcomes by gender. Evidence suggests that shrinking numbers of black farmers gain ownership of land and enjoy access to Government-financed support for on-farm production and participation in agricultural value chains beyond the farm gate. This finding is more pronounced for women farmers. More importantly, it points to important design features of such interventions which can and do impact on promoting sustainable livelihoods, particularly for female headed households.

Formalization of the informal venture capital market - Business angel networks and syndicates

Business angels are natural persons who provide equity financing for young enterprises and gain ownership in them. They are usually anonym investors and they operate in the background of the companies. Their important feature is that over the funding of the enterprises based on their business experiences they can contribute to the success of the companies with their special expertise and with strategic support. As a result of the asymmetric information between the angels and the companies their matching is difficult (Becsky-Nagy – Fazekas 2015), and the fact, that angel investors prefer anonymity makes it harder for entrepreneurs to obtain informal venture capital. The primary aim of the different type of business angel organizations and networks is to alleviate this matching process with intermediation between the two parties. The role of these organizations is increasing in the informal venture capital market compared to the individually operating angels. The recognition of their economic importance led many governments to support them. There were also public initiations that aimed the establishment of these intermediary organizations that led to the institutionalization of business angels. This study via the characterization of business angels focuses on the progress of these informational intermediaries and their ways of development with regards to the international trends and the current situation of Hungarian business angels and angel networks.

Teaching Managing Sustainability to Non-business Undergraduates

This paper reviews the challenges and opportunities facing business and environmental management education while outlining pedagogies recommended for creating an environment which encourages transformational education. This approach, deemed ‘fluidity teaching’ is used to teach managing sustainability to non-business majors with the objective of promoting critical thinking and heightened problem solving skills. The course positively impacted student’s awareness of sustainable management complexities and solutions. Techniques utilized help students gain ownership of their learning process and knowledge gathering thus allowing them to make multidisciplinary linkages and offer complex suggestions across boundaries. Finally, students’ assessments indicated they felt they developed critical thinking skills which lead to rich discussions and ‘thinking for themselves’ in determining viable solutions in sustainability issues.

Fostering Spaces of Student Ownership in Middle School Science

A critical challenge in urban science education is determining how to provide empowering science learning experiences for all students. In an effort to address the achievement gap in science education, I have focused on the concept of ownership, specifically when and how students gain ownership in science learning. This paper presents a teacher action research study with data collected over three school years and six 7th grade science classes in an urban middle school in New York City. The study addresses two questions: (1) Is it possible to foster student ownership in the context of school science and does this support students’ engagement in science class? and (2) What are the classroom structures (physical, curricular, and pedagogical) that support students’ cultivation of ownership? Two vignettes are used to illustrate how students fostered student ownership in the school science setting, how this supported students’ engagement in science class, and how specific “ownership structures” supported students’ cultivation of ownership. These vignettes make evident that it is possible to foster spaces of student ownership within the context of the formal science classroom that lead to increased and deeper student engagement. In addition, there are multiple dimensions to what students “own” within the context of the science classroom.

Governance Patterns in Value Chains and their Development Impact

Production by order of a lead firm that ‘governs’ its value chain by defining and enforcing standards without aspiring to gain ownership control of its suppliers is becoming a dominant form of industrial organisation. This trend has far-reaching consequences for developing countries, among others, affecting the degree of inclusion of poor producers, their income earning opportunities, the allocation of risks, and consumer prices. This paper serves a triple purpose. First, it tries to disentangle the multiple factors that determine the concrete form of value chain governance; second, it proposes a framework for the analysis of the developmental impacts of these different forms of value chain governance; and, third, it derives policy conclusions from this analysis. La production d'une entreprise chef de file qui « gouverne » sa chaine de valeur en definissant et imposant des normes sans aspirer a prendre le controle de ses fournisseurs devient une forme dominante d'organisation industrielle. Cette tendance ...

Biographical work and returning to employment following a spinal cord injury

The question of returning to work after the onset of severe impairment is inseparable from the biographical work that disabled people need to achieve. Qualitative analysis of interviews I carried out among people who had become paraplegic and among rehabilitation professionals offered the following insights: * During a period extending beyond rehabilitation, interviewees were absorbed by the work of coming to terms with their impairment and delegated the question of occupation to the professionals. At a later date, some of them manage to recast their biographies and gain ownership of their occupations and activities for themselves. An open environment, which offers negotiable opportunities and space for relationships to form, encourages the development of biographical work. Nowadays, the question of exclusion would appear to dominate the domain of rehabilitation. The belief that prolonged inactivity engenders marginalisation has led professionals to develop a doctrine whereby they encourage their patients to plan for their professional activities from a very early stage. Struggling with different time demands (for example, lengthy administrative procedures and reduced rehabilitation time) professionals organise their work around a new time frame which conflicts with their expertise and is difficult to reconcile with the trajectories of disabled people.

Adaptive strategies of territory formation

How do territorial animals gain ownership of an area? Early modelling has considered the evolution of fighting when the winner can claim the right to the resource. Recently, alternative hypotheses have been offered where repeated interactions lead to division of space through 'nagging' instead of one decisive fight. However, these models assume that animals avoid areas in which they have taken part in aggressive interactions, but do not consider whether avoidance itself is adaptive. We aim to bridge this gap between mechanistic and adaptive explanations, by presenting a game-theory model where individuals choose whether to return to an area after a fight with a specific outcome (win, loss, draw). We show that avoidance of areas where fights have occurred can be adaptive, but only if benefits of access to the area are low compared to costs of fighting. Otherwise, one individual (typically the winner) responds by returning to the area, and the other (loser) avoids it. In such cases, space is gained by winning fights. We also consider the role of conventions. If responses to fights were purely conventional, paradoxical strategies where losers of fights gain ownership would be equally logical as common-sense ones where winners claim ownership. Paradoxical solutions can be stable but only when there is little difference in fighting ability between the competitors, when individuals adhere very strictly to a behavioural rule without much random variation, and when the population in its ancient state used a paradoxical strategy.

Guaranteeing Individual Accounts

Global aging is prompting workers and taxpayers everywhere to recognize their vulnerability to the inherent uncertainty of unfunded social-security systems. This has generated an international wave of social-security reforms over the last two decades, prompting more than 20 countries to establish Individual Account (IA) plans. In the United States, the idea of Individual Accounts has attracted recent interest with the release of the Final Report of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security (CSSS): here, voluntary individual accounts were proposed as a key element of a reformed national old-age system (see Commission to Strengthen Social Security, 2001; John F. Cogan and Mitchell, 2003). Strengths of IA's include the fact that participants gain ownership in their accounts and diversify their pension investments; nevertheless, IA participants also must bear capital-market risk. Recent market volatility has reminded investors of the importance of capital-market fluctuations and their potential impact on retirement income. In response, some policymakers have suggested that be designed to help protect IA investments. Abroad, such guarantees have been adopted in several Latin American countries undergoing reform, and most recently, in Japan and Germany (Mitchell and Kent Smetters, 2003). Sensible public policy recommending the adoption of guarantees must identify their costs and who will pay for them. In this paper, we discuss how to evaluate such costs in the context of a social-security reform that includes IA's, along with ways to finance them.

Understanding Individual Account Guarantees

Demographic aging renders workers vulnerable to the inherent uncertainty of unfunded social security systems. This realization has set off a global wave of social security reforms, and numerous countries have now set up Individual Accounts (IA) plans in response. Strengths of IAs are that participants gain ownership in their accounts, and they also may diversify their pension investments; additionally, they produce a capitalized, funded system that enhances old-age economic security. While IAs reduce the risk participants face due to unfunded social security systems, participants holding capital market investments in IAs are exposed to fluctuations in the value of their pension assets. Concern over market volatility has prompted some to emphasize the need for guarantees' of pension accumulations. This paper offers a way to think about guarantees in the context of a social security reform that includes Individual Accounts. When a pension guarantee has economic value to participants, it will have economic costs. We illustrate how these costs can be important and vary significantly with time horizon, investment mix, and guarantee design. Our findings indicate that plan designers and budget analysts would do well to recognize such costs and identify how they can be financed.

The Biological Images Project

Abstract The Biological Images Project is the culmination of the four summers I have spent at Apple Computer. In short is is a software package which allows students to manipulate and explore biological images (i.e. micrographs, CTs, MRIs, etc.), Consisting of four sections - interface, biological images, image processing, and communication software - this package can serve as a powerful educational medium. The interface supports the more traditional forms of teaching - textual notes and brief lectures. The collection of biological images allows students to visualize biological structures in ways they never have before and exposes them to a variety of scientific techniques and tools. Image processing lets the student interact with the images, to manipulate, explore, discover and in some ways gain ownership of the image. Finally the communication package will provide the students a medium to share their discoveries in an interactive manner and submit them to peer review.