Mechanisms of Innovation Diffusion Under Information Abundance and Information Scarcity—On the Contribution of Social Networks in Group Vs. Individual Extension Approaches in Semi-Arid Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: Training transfer has been examined for formal industrial and service organizations in developed countries but rarely for rural organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. This study sought to identify transfer system factors that best explain the transfer of governance-facilitation skills provided to leaders of farmers' marketing organizations (FMOs) in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach: Face to face interviews using interview schedules containing selected elements of the Learning Transfer System Inventory were conducted with 99 FMO leaders to collect data on the factors that could affect transfer of governance-facilitation skills. Findings: Hierarchical regression revealed that personal capacity to transfer, transfer design, supervisor support and feedback on performance were significant predictors of perceived transfer of governance-facilitation skills.

Practical implications: Results point to the need for extension organizations that work with rural farmers' organizations to design effective training methods and transfer approaches that enhance training transfer, as well as promote leadership that values and supports training transfer to FMOs.

Originality/value: The focus on member owned, participatorily run rural farmers' organizations to test factors affecting transfer of critical skills adds value to the training transfer discourse. Additionally, the role of trainee characteristics, transfer design and work environment factors in enhancing training transfer within developing country local organizations in rural Africa is confirmed.     

Dealing with an aging workforce: Locating threats and opportunities in corporate media

ABSTRACT

Although workforce aging is among the major challenges facing developed countries, organizational communication about this issue has received little scholarly attention. Drawing on a content analysis of corporate media, we reconstruct how Dutch organizations (N = 50) framed older workers’ employability during the period 2006–2013 in diagnostic (problem-definitions) and prognostic (solution-definitions) terms, and we trace the influence of corporate media types and organizational characteristics on these frames. Results reveal that organizations frequently highlight problems on the macrolevel (societal) and the mesolevel (organizational), while most solutions are located on the microlevel (individual). Using multilevel modelling, we found support for the expectation that the issue is more strongly problematized in internal compared to external corporate media, and that problems related to individual older employees are most pronounced in public sector organizations’ communication. Our findings highlight diverse ways in which organizations can communicatively address factors that hamper older workers’ employability.     

Correlates of student stress in secondary education

Background

Educational differentiation, or the allocation of students to different types of school or different locations within schools, is a common feature of modern education systems. In most countries, student outcomes vary considerably, both by school and academic location within schools.

Purpose

The purpose is to ascertain the extent that between- and within-school differences in student performance can be attributed to students' socio-economic background and their home resources.

Sample

The samples are from the OECD's 2000 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) study of 15-year-old students' performance in reading, mathematics and science. Data from 30 countries were analysed. The student samples ranged between 2500 (USA) and 30,000 (Canada) students. The samples are representative of the populations of 15-year-old school students in each country.

Design and methods

Multiple regression analysis was used to ascertain the extent to which between-school differences (measured by intra-class correlations) and within-school differences (measured by the effects of the composite variable ‘academic location’ which comprised grade and school programme) declined when taking into consideration students' socio-economic background and home environment.

Results

In most countries the intra-class correlations and the effects of academic location declined only marginally. This was especially the case in countries with large between-school differences such as the tracked systems of continental Europe.

Conclusions

Differences in student performance between and within schools cannot be accounted for by socio-economic background. The study lends some support to the official rational for tracking and other forms of educational differentiation, that the allocation of students to different school types and academic locations within schools is largely based on student ability.     

Brokering educational opportunity for homeless students and their families

This qualitative study in a Midwestern US city examines how school and community-based organizations support homeless students’ connections to education-related resources and relationships. Drawing from organizational brokerage theory, which delineates how individuals’ chances to thrive are shaped by the organizations in which they participate, the study finds that brokerage practice unfolds and is affected by variables at three specific levels. First, social workers, teachers, and principals at the individual school level arranged for registration, enrollment, and other immediate connections for students. Second, school district-level actors played key roles in orchestrating homeless students’ transportation and educators’ professional development across the city. Third, a range of neighborhood factors – including immigration and housing trends – affected the ways and extents to which organizations identified and supported homeless students. The study concludes by presenting several implications for research and practice.     

Adapting an Interprofessional Training Model for Social Work Field Placements: An Answer for Better Mental Health Care Outreach for Older Adults in Primary Care

Professional shortages of geriatrically trained social workers pose a barrier to mental health care for older adults. Integrating graduate social work interns into primary care settings may increase the availability of trained social workers. However, few studies provide guidance on how to develop an interprofessional healthcare placement focused on the needs of older adults. This article discusses a model training program created by a psychology department (with input from social work faculty) that can be adapted by schools of social work. Client outcomes (n = 47) indicate significant improvement when using this model.     

The Effect of Age and Task Difficulty

Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM) is a common technique used to record employee performance. EPM may include counting computer keystrokes, monitoring employees' phone calls or internet activity, or documenting time spent on work activities. Despite EPM's prevalence, no studies have examined how this management tool affects older workers–a steadily increasing labor pool. In the current interdisciplinary study, 85 older (M=46.9 years) and 77 younger participants (M=22.1 years) were randomly assigned to perform a simple or difficult computer data‐entry task under two conditions: monitored or not monitored. ANCOVA results indicated that EPM decreased performance and induced higher stress levels compared to non‐monitored conditions when computer experience levels were controlled. Additionally, older adults showed a trend of being more impacted by EPM when compared with younger adults. Results are discussed in terms of how EPM might be most effectively used by organizations while minimizing employee stress levels.     

Human Performance Technology and Knowledge Management: A Case Study

ABSTRACT As organizations respond to competitive environments and strive to enhance performance, knowledge management (KM) has increasingly become a strategic activity. A KM strategy entails consciously helping people share and put knowledge into action. A key challenge is how to develop and implement KM solutions that provide performance support to knowledge workers and seamlessly integrate KM into business processes. We propose that human performance technology (HPT) provides a systematic framework to help guide KM initiatives. Specifically, HPT provides a holistic view of a knowledge worker's performance environment by considering the complex interdependencies between the organizational context, business processes, and individual performers. Via a case study, we describe and illustrate how HPT guided one organization in its journey to identify the content and structure to best support performance and manage knowledge in a core business process. Based on the case study, we offer lessons for other firms on how HPT can be used to guide KM initiatives.     

Campus climate: The role of teacher support and cultural issues

ABSTRACT

The literature on campus climate has mainly focused on diversity and demographic variables within single or multiple university campuses from one country. There is a need to investigate campus climate further with regard to cultural issues and the role of teachers. This study thus proposed to examine perceived teacher support as a mediator of the relation between institutional and psychosocial variables of the campus climate of two universities from two culturally distinct countries. To achieve this goal, 980 Brazilian and Portuguese university students answered the Institutional and Psychosocial Campus Climate Inventory. Findings showed significant differences in how students from two different countries described their campus climate and how both Brazilian and Portuguese students described their institutional climate more accurately than their psychosocial climate. Moreover, results from a mediation analysis revealed that perceived teacher support mediated the relationship between students’ perceptions of the institutional readiness of their university and their sense of well-being, as well as newcomer adjustment. A moderation analysis showed that the country of origin moderated the relationship between students’ perceived teacher support and newcomer adjustment. Implications for developing a positive campus climate are discussed.     

Factors Affecting Performance of Agricultural Extension: Evidence from Democratic Republic of Congo

Purpose: As part of the institutional reforms and agricultural restructuring in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this paper provides an assessment of the performance of the agricultural extension system as well as factors explaining it.

Method: This paper involves key informants’ interviews and surveys of 107 extension organizations and 162 extension agents in randomly selected 156 villages, analyzed using qualitative and logistic regression methods.

Findings and Practical Implications: Results show that despite having one of the highest extension agent-to-farmer ratio and a pluralistic extension system, DRC fails to deliver knowledge and technologies to rural areas due to lack of coordination, no unified and clear policy and mandate, lack of funding, aging and low competencies of agents, and lack of mobility and interactions of agents with key actors. This paper complements findings by other studies that number of agents is not a sufficient indication of performance, but an effective system needs to focus on the enabling environment for agents to be motivated to work as mandated. In this paper, enabling conditions that are found to be statistically significant are external funding, enforcement of performance targets, systems of rewards and sanctions, mobility to foster linkages, and skills development.

Originality: This paper contributes by: (1) analyzing a cross-section of various organizations and agents to identify factors that explain variations in performance in a statistical and systematic approach; (2) providing insights on how to prioritize investments and options for a fragile state like DRC, with weak infrastructure and institutional capacity and with a long history of neglect for their national extension system; and (3) illustrating how a rich and well-cited conceptual framework can be implemented empirically to provide policy options for a country like DRC.     

Multimedia Effect in Problem Solving: A Meta-Analysis

Pictures are commonly used to represent problems. However, it is unclear how the addition of pictures affects students’ problem-solving performance. The multimedia effect in problem solving describes the phenomenon whereby an individual’s problem-solving performance is enhanced when equivalent pictures are added to illustrate or replace part of the problem text. Using meta-analytic techniques, this study sought to determine the overall size of the multimedia effect in problem solving and the possible boundary conditions (k = 51; N = 38,987; Range n = 10 – 31,842; Median n = 63). The results showed a significant small-to-medium multimedia effect size on response accuracy (Hedges’s g = 0.32) and a significant medium-to-large multimedia effect size on students’ response certainty (Hedges’s g = 0.74), but no significant multimedia effect on response time. The results for the effects of decorative pictures were not sufficient for a reliable interpretation. Representational (Hedges’s g = 0.24) and organizational (Hedges’s g = 0.52) pictures had a significant and positive impact on response accuracy, but informational or multiple pictures across studies did not have a significant aggregate effect on an individual’s response accuracy. These findings suggest that the multimedia effect in problem solving is diverse and limited by multiple boundary conditions. Further primary studies are needed to further investigate the multimedia effect in problem solving.

     

Structural Conditions for Collaboration and Learning in Innovation Networks: Using an Innovation System Performance Lens to Analyse Agricultural Knowledge Systems

ABSTRACT

Purpose: We investigate how the structural conditions of eight different European agricultural innovation systems can facilitate or hinder collaboration and social learning in multidisciplinary innovation networks.

Methodology: We have adapted the Innovation System Failure Matrix to investigate the main barriers and enablers eight countries (England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands and Switzerland).

Findings: Results show some of the recent trends the AKS actors in these countries have experienced and how these have affected their potential to act as collaborators in multidisciplinary innovation networks. Lack of funds, combined with horizontal and vertical fragmentation and the lack of proper evaluation criteria for collaborative innovation networks are among the most important threats we found.

Practical Implications: This study shows that each national AIS has some unique features. This means that the implementation of policies promoting collaboration and social learning (e.g. the European Innovation Partnerships and Operational Groups) should depend on a critical reflection of the existing structural elements of the AIS in each country and whether there is a need for inclusion of new actors, or whether certain innovations for collective goods should be promoted.

Originality: The paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation System.     

Corporate learning: A knowledge management perspective

This paper provides a point of view on the relationship between learning and knowledge management in corporate training. This relationship forms the framework for the development of an effective learning management system (LMS). It comprises four sections: (1) a theoretical analysis of the relationship between training and knowledge management. In today's corporate environment, characterized by rapid change and restructuring, organizations need to become “learning organizations”; (2) some examples are provided of how training issues are intertwined with other processes, such as sales, communication, research and development (R&D), external network management; (3) corporate universities are the means for achieving those goals. They are efficient as long as they become strategy-supportive organizations. Such a structure is in need of the appropriate technology tool, an LMS; (4) it is possible to underline which functionalities are needed in order to have an efficient LMS. These are the kinds of considerations that led ID Technology in developing LiveLearning. Thus, an LMS for corporate training should take into account the relationship between knowledge management and training. An LMS should allow the integration of training with company processes and should assist in meeting corporate university goals. The same considerations also guide decision makers when choosing an LMS.     

Sequential pattern learning and its associations with inattentive and hyperactive concerns in college students

College students frequently experience inattentive and hyperactive concerns. In multiple independent samples and three randomised experiments, we examined multiple versions of a short performance‐based measure translated from basic research on how organisms learn sequential stimuli patterns when such patterns are interleaved with information that is irrelevant to the pattern being learned. In one experiment, performance was uniquely related to self‐reported inattentive and hyperactive concerns, taking into account performance on a widely used inhibitory control task (Study 1, n = 20). In the two other experiments, randomly assigned variants of this measure demonstrated that: (a) relations among performance and inattentive and hyperactive concerns could be identified regardless of irrelevant stimuli positioning (Study 2, n = 60), and (b) one could reverse the relation between performance and inattentive and hyperactive concerns by visually enhancing distinguishing features of irrelevant stimuli (Study 3, n = 20). The findings have significant implications for multi‐method assessments of inattentive and hyperactive concerns in college settings.     

Measurement Characteristics of the lEA Reading Literacy Scales for 9- and 10-Year-Olds at Country and Individual Levels

This article presents an approach for studying measurement characteristics of instruments designed for comparative studies of educational achievement. It presents a reanalysis of data from 22 countries and 73,818 9- and 10-year-old students from the IEA reading literacy study. Using 2-level confirmatory factor analysis procedures derived by Muthén (1990, 1994), it is demonstrated how the overall variance in performance on items from 3 domains—-Documents, Narrative Prose, and Expository Text—may be decomposed into multiple latent sources of variance at country and individual levels. For the Documents items, a 1-factor model was fitted at both levels. For Narrative Prose and Expository Text items, 2 latent variables (a general dimension of reading performance and a factor capturing high versus low performance on passages towards the end of the tests) were fitted at both country and individual levels. For the Documents dimension, estimates of country scores were close to those of the original analysis; however, for performance in the Narrative Prose and Expository Text domains, differences between the original analysis and the reanalysis were noted for many countries.     

Training and Farmers' Organizations' Performance

Abstract

Purpose: This study sought to determine the influence of training transfer factors and actual application of training on organization level outcomes among farmer owned produce marketing organizations in Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach: Interviews based on the Learning Transfer Systems Inventory (LTSI) were conducted with 120 PMO leaders trained in partnership management skills by a four year extension project. Data were collected on training transfer factors, transferred training, and training related organization level outcomes. Data were analyzed by OLS hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings: The performance of the producer marketing organizations in terms of ‘improved inter-organization relations’ and ‘improved services’ was found to be significantly predicted by ‘personal capacity to transfer,’ ‘receiving feedback,’ and ‘resource availability.’

Practical implications: Rural service providers who build capacity of local organizations can use this knowledge to pursue certain strategic human level organizational outcomes by manipulating transfer system factors such as providing feedback and supportive resources to help trainees.

Originality/value: The LTSI model has been tested for its role in explaining human level organizational outcomes in a developing country setting. We have also seen that specific training transfer system factors will be responsible for certain elements of the multidimensional outcomes of training.     

Cross‐Cultural Differences in Children's Beliefs About the Objectivity of Social Categories

The present study compared 5‐ and 10‐year‐old North American and Israeli children's beliefs about the objectivity of different categories (n = 109). Children saw picture triads composed of two exemplars of the same category (e.g., two women) and an exemplar of a contrasting category (e.g., a man). Children were asked whether it would be acceptable or wrong for people in a different country to consider contrasting exemplars to be the same kind. It was found that children from both countries viewed gender as objectively correct and occupation as flexible. The findings regarding race and ethnicity differed in the two countries, revealing how an essentialist bias interacts with cultural input in directing children's conceptualization of social groups.     

Team performance improvement: Mediating roles of employee job autonomy and quality of team leader–member relations in supportive organizations in the Korean business context

The purpose of this research was to examine the mediating roles of job autonomy and the quality of the leader–member relationship to explain the impact of organizational support on team performance. A total of 228 cases collected from Korean business organizations were used for data analysis. Hierarchical multiple regression, Type 1 SS‐based general linear modeling, and structural equation modeling were used for analyses. All results were compared to examine the magnitude of the interactions of two mediating variables—job autonomy and leader–member relation quality—to predict the influence of organizational support on team performance. Results include (1) two mediating variables played partial mediating roles; (2) between the mediating variables, leader–member relations maximized the magnitude of job autonomy; (3) organizational support was the commanding predictor for team performance, while it was found to be a statistically nonsignificant factor, which did not directly influence team performance. Conclusions are described, followed by limitations and future research recommendations.     

Confucian philosophy and contemporary Chinese societal attitudes toward people with disabilities and inclusive education

This article focuses on the Chinese traditional culture, specifically Confucian philosophy, and analyses four core concepts of Confucianism which include ‘ren’ (Benevolence), ‘Jun zi’ (Superior man), ‘Tian ming’ (heaven’s mandate), and ‘Xiao ti’ (Filial piety and fraternal love). Based on these core concepts, this study explores how social attitudes in China (and among Chinese people living in other countries) toward people with disabilities are formed and influenced by Confucian philosophy, and how they impact the education of people with disabilities. It suggests that the related social attitudes of sympathy, rights awareness, and criteria of success, especially school performance in this case, can have both positive and negative impacts on inclusive education for children with disabilities. Strategies are suggested for encouraging attitude change, when appropriate, in order to facilitate special education and inclusion and how to do so in a manner that is culturally respectful of the core beliefs based on Confucianism.     

Internationalization of Canadian Agriculture: Policy and Governing Paradigms

Abstract

Purpose: To identify various organizational climatic factors responsible for role performances of veterinary officers in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Design/methodology/approach: Study was conducted in 11 selected districts. Data were collected from 220 respondents through a pretested interview schedule and subjected to correlation and multiple regression to draw valid inferences. Organizational climate was measured by using the index specially prepared for the study.

Findings: Around 76% of the respondents perceived that the organizational climate prevailing in the department of animal husbandry was favorable. Leadership, teamwork and trust had significant contribution towards perception of organizational climate. The respondents were least satisfied with motivation, decision-making and goal setting components of the organizational climate. The model with seven variables out of 16 independent variables was a good fit with R square of 85.59%. Work motivation, persistence disposition, participativeness, job satisfaction, physical facilities availability and timeliness of availability of facilities were found to have significant positive influence while job stress had significant negative influence on perceived organizational climate.

Practical implications: This investigation has an organizational and social significance for development of livestock organizations not only in India, but also to other SAARC countries as well.

Originality/value: No empirical evidence on inter-relation between organizational climate and job performance of veterinarians is available at present in Andhra Pradesh.     

Teamwork in secular and faith‐based organizations

The word teamwork has become a favorite of corporate leaders; however, many employees view teamwork as a word devoid of meaning. Part of the problem is that teamwork has an entirely different meaning to people at various levels in an organization, and this prevents individuals and different departments within a company from moving forward with a single vision. Another factor is the issue of fair compensation. Traditional managerial views emphasize individual incentives or piecework compensation as the key to employee motivation, while more modern managerial theory contends that giving workers autonomy and showing them appreciation is just as important as financial incentives. There is also a growing trend of mixing religion and business principles to create a harmonious work environment. This article examines research and best practices around key factors that contribute to a team‐based work environment and also explores whether employees at faith‐based organizations are more willing to embrace the team concept than their secular counterparts.