Staff responsiveness to transformation initiatives and diversity at a South African university

Abstract

South African organisations and particularly institutions of higher learning have been confronted with workforces that increasingly reflect the diversity of the South African population. This changing workforce composition implies that the multitude of individual and cultural differences and similarities become increasingly apparent among employees. These differences and similarities can be disruptive and may lead to disharmony, but if managed appropriately, they can also result in increased vigour, stimulation and energy. The importance of workforce diversity in especially a university environment cannot be over-emphasised, as these positive consequences are conducive and sustain universities in their role to expand knowledge that benefits the communities within which they operate. Various transformative initiatives to address diversity, have been devised and implemented, but the impact needs to be measured and assessed to enable leaders to manage diverse workforces more effectively. This article therefore aims to firstly, statistically identify the underlying dimensions of diversity within the largest university in Africa, namely the University of South Africa (Unisa). The responsiveness of university staff members who attended transformative diversity-training workshops are secondly investigated by comparing their responses to that of a matched sample of non-participating staff members. These workshops aimed to sensitise academic, administrative and professional staff at middle-management level to the new realities of an increasing diverse workforce. It is evident that the workshops had a positive impact and that they could be described as successful. The importance of noting that diversity interventions not only entail creating awareness of diversity issues, but also applying the principles of diversity management on a continuous basis, is underscored in this article.     

University governance in flux. The impact of external and internal pressures on the distribution of authority within British universities: A synoptic view

This article reviews changes in British university governance over a period of nearly a century. During this time there have been considerable changes in the way universities have distributed authority in governance although the legal frameworks, statutory and legislative, have remained largely unchanged. The article shows that there were distinct phases in the internal balances within governance structures and relates these to external pressures, mostly state driven. Critics of current trends in university governance tend to look back to a utopian traditional model but the evidence suggests that the internal balances were always to a considerable extent contingent on external conditions and fluctuated accordingly. There is no evidence that while the state applied pressure for change in various aspects of governance it substantially intervened to impose constitutional changes except in respect to the Higher Education corporation (HEC) structure for the former polytechnics in 1988 and that, in its most managerial details, was in response to demands from the polytechnic directors themselves. The changes in how authority is distributed were therefore decided by the institutions themselves albeit in response to external pressures. But the article suggests that institutions’ responses were variable and that where a strong research culture existed the accumulation of social capital was such that radical changes in the distribution of authority were resisted. One consequence is that there is now much greater diversity in institutional governance structures with some pre‐1992 universities leaning much more towards HEC models, some HECs edging towards more traditional models and some institutions preserving significant elements of authority which others would regard as utopian. In Britain, reputation, research success and brand image are closely associated with the latter.     

Examiner practices and culturally inflected doctoral theses

Increase in numbers of postgraduate students worldwide represent an opportunity and necessity for nurturing and recognising the diversity of culturally inflected research topics, methodologies and expression. However, there are tensions in the definitions, encouragement and recognition of diversity in theses, and in balances of power in supervisor, student and examiner relationships involved in doctoral achievement. We consider such tensions and opportunities using small-scale qualitative research with experienced examiners. We explore ways in which examiners perceive they take culturally aware approaches to responding to, enabling and rewarding the quality of culturally inflected doctoral theses.     

The Contextual Importance of Diversity: The Impact of Relational Demography and Team Diversity on Individual Performance and Satisfaction

ABSTRACT : Organizations are seeing an increase in the level and types of diversity among their employees. It is important that managers understand the myriad of ways that diversity influences employees. This study investigates the effect of being different on an individual's performance and satisfaction levels. Being different on visible characteristics (i.e., sex, age, race) predicted negative outcomes. Being different on informational characteristics (educational background, years of work experience) had both positive and negative effects on objective performance but no effect on satisfaction or perceived performance. The level of team diversity (the degree to which a team is heterogeneous and homogeneous) influenced the outcomes above and beyond that of being different. The results of this study have real consequences for the way diversity is managed in organizations.     

一辞故国十经秋每见秋瓜忆故丘——试论杜甫诗歌的家园意识

家园意识可以折射一个人的精神世界。杜甫诗歌的家园意识蕴涵了他对故乡的眷恋,对安宁、自由生活的向往。他直面不能回乡的残酷现实,积极调和现实与精神的矛盾,在自适旷达中消解乡愁,实现了对自我主体的超越。     

论现代大学内部治理的自治、控制与制衡

从大学的本质特征、大学的学术组织特性来看大学内部治理自治性具有合理性,而大学治理变异的多样性和大学内部治理的困境需要对大学内部治理进行控制。在自治与控制的冲突中,需要创新大学管理制度、重视学术力量的回归、借鉴西方大学内部治理的经验,以达成现代大学内部治理自治与控制的制衡。     

Discourse,power interplays and ‘disordered identities’: an intersectional framework for analysis and policy development

While acknowledging the discursive constitution of student identities through the interplay of unequal power relations and discriminatory processes, the article discusses the ways in which social, emotional and behaviour difficulties (SEBD) are ‘produced’ and ‘managed’ within current schooling. SEBD are routinely framed in terms of ‘psychopathologisation’ and managed through zero-tolerance policies and punitive interventions. In this way ‘difference’ is framed as a ‘behavioural problem’ in schools and used, as an ontological a priori, to legitimise the construction and management of subjectively defined ‘disordered identities’ through disciplinary procedures. Issues of power and identity politics are central to any attempt to analyse the complex and intersecting social and discursive factors which contribute to the construction, negotiation and definition of ‘disordered identities’. It is suggested that a human rights approach to difference and diversity requires that ‘challenging behaviour’ and ‘SEBD’ are understood and managed on the basis of an intersectionality-based policy analysis (IBPA) framework and that such an analysis should inform development of policies which take a holistic and socially just approach to understanding and managing students’ problem behaviour.     

对清末商办铁路几个问题的再认识

目前学界对清末商办铁路的认识存在四大误区,有必要加以辨正。商办铁路公司的集资活动取得了巨大的成绩,虽然这些资金与中国铁路的实际需求相距甚远,但外债是靠不住的;各省的商办铁路都是有规划的,都充分考虑到与邻省的联接;铁路商办时间不长,却取得了不俗的修路实绩,有些商办铁路的成绩不理想,恰恰是因为受到“官”的干扰;商办铁路公司的贪污腐败问题有必要加以澄清。     

对担保业现状的一点思考

市场经济的发展和经济体制改革的深化,迫切要求我国信用担保业的健康发展,我国信用担保业的发展趋势将逐步形成资金来源多元化、组织形式多样化、担保机构专业化、担保品种多样化的格局,这就要求信用担保机构尽快实现运行管理法制化、业务操作规范化、担保风险分散化和业务发展国际化,本文对此阐述一些观点及建议.     

浅析服装的结构平衡

服装的结构平衡决定了整件服装的外观穿着效果,结构平衡包括部位和部件两个方面,本文主要对这两个方面进行分析,找出不平衡现象的原因和改正的方法,以防止疵病的产生。     

Developing the characteristic spirit of publicly managed schools in a more secular and pluralist Ireland

This discussion paper considers the identification and definition of the ‘characteristic spirit’ of publicly managed schools in the Republic of Ireland. Some international approaches to values in publicly funded schools are introduced along with relevant contextual aspects of Irish education including the cultural diversity and secularisation of modern Irish society. The Irish Education Act (1998) gives ultimate responsibility for school values and ‘characteristic spirit’ to the school ‘patron’, a role legally separate from that of school ownership and school management. The underlying values of privately managed faith-based schools are well established. However, the ‘characteristic spirit’ of publicly managed Education and Training Board schools remains largely undeveloped. Appropriate responses to this challenge are identified and discussed.     

To a teacher (yes,you!)

This article reports on a qualitative research project that examined ways in which pedagogical discourses within an early childhood education college preparation program construct a universal identity of the “good early childhood educator.” Drawing upon theoretical explanations of the concept of difference in professional identification, a discursive analysis of the research participants' views indicates that the good early childhood educator is, on the whole, perceived as possessing a single, normative identity that is decontextualized from social relations. Cultural differences are simultaneously recognized, managed and denied through several discursive moves. If, however, diversity in the early childhood education (ECE) workforce is desired, then recognition of the value of difference needs to be integral and central to the construction of a professional early childhood educator identity, so that new social relations in the classroom can be structured.     

Introduction of Process Life Cycle Inventory in Environmental Engineering Education

Environmental issues are usually included in process design and operation. Once mass and energy balances have been completed, the life cycle inventory (LCI) can be carried out with an environmental load balance. This paper discusses a methodology for developing this balance, which can be taught at the same level of chemical engineering fundamentals at which basic mass and energy balances are dealt with. The LCIs of electricity and steam produced by a co-generation unit and conventional plants are compared to illustrate the method.     

The role of managed mental health care in counseling gifted children and families

This study examined the role of managed mental health care in the counseling of gifted children and families. When gifted children and their families experience difficulties resulting from giftedness, they have the option of choosing a private provider, although cost is often prohibitive. Moreover, when insurance is used to offset the cost, most mental health insurance policies have a managed care component. One requirement of managed care is that services be medically necessary to alleviate a recognized mental illness diagnosis. Problems resulting from giftedness may not be recognized as a mental illness. As a result, insurance may not pay for these counseling costs. However, this does not have to be the case because of the flexibility managed care case managers have to make judgments. 40 managed care case managers were surveyed to address this issue. 14 of the case managers consented to individual interviews. The results indicate that some case managers would approve reimbursement and others would not. The study describes criteria and conditions that need to be met for reimbursement.     

Getting In and Getting On? The Experiences of Young People with Visual Impairments and Hearing Impairments in Third-level Education

Young disabled people continue to be under-represented throughout further and higher education settings. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory of habitus, capital and field, this paper explores the practices of domination and oppression that have made it difficult for young people with visual impairments and hearing impairments to participate in third-level education on the same basis as non-disabled people. Twenty young people with hearing impairments and visual impairments were interviewed about their educational experiences. In addition, 31 interviews were conducted with third-level education providers, policy-makers and non-governmental organisations. This article has two aims: firstly, to critically examine the experiences of young people with hearing impairments and visual impairments in accessing and engaging with support provisions in further and higher education settings; and secondly, to identify and explore the diversity of ways in which these young people have managed and responded to the practices they have encountered. This article emphasises the journey from ability to dis-ability that young people with hearing and visual impairments experience in their quest for educational achievement. The ambiguities of “inclusion”, “widening participation” and “support” are highlighted and critiqued for their extensive failure to challenge taken-for-granted discourses.     

3D场景的树结构管理与实现

通过将场景元素详细分类,以及应用各种数据结构,实现大量数据的有序管理。场景节点通过坐标变换组织成为一个树结构。模型,材质和贴图等实际渲染数据通过链表,哈希表结构来管理,最后给出这些场景元素如何传递到绘制流水线中。     

FE and skills in Scotland: the implications of a policy led and ‘managed’ approach?

ABSTRACT

This article considers the implications of a ‘managed’ approach to skills policy in Scotland, in which Government policy and the role of national institutional frameworks can be seen to be influential, and which contrasts with the more marketised approach which has been a central aspect of policy in England. A number of themes within these national policies are discussed, and the continuing importance of balancing the skills agenda with social inclusion is noted. The ways in which these national policies and frameworks have shaped provision in a number of key areas including apprenticeship programmes, changing patterns of participation and relationships with employers are then examined. The strengths and limitations of the distinctive approaches taken in Scotland will be analysed in terms of their contribution to meeting the changing educational training needs of the workforce in the twenty-first century. This consideration of the distinctive policy led and ‘managed’ approach to the skills agenda will provide the context in which to consider the opportunities for policy learning within the UK.     

Child abuse in residential institutions and community programs for intervention and prevention

Needless to say, residential institutions for children vary in size, cost, quality, reason for placement, and many other factors. Even with this diversity, it is possible to find abuse in any institutional setting.Any decision to remove a child from his or her family must be made only after careful deliberation. Each case will have its own special challenge(s) and uniqueness, and improper decisions may be fatal at worst, or emotionally scarring at best. Strong efforts must be made to insure that the child is seen as a human being with special needs and problems, and not merely one more case to be managed within the system.     

关系数据库中近似查询的自动采样改进方法研究

海量数据的传统精确查询易导致负载过大,而通过改进数据库近似查询自动采样,预先运行样本查询,然后根据每一个元组在样本关系表中出现的次数,将每个元组需要的存储信息作为元组的属性添加进数据表中,并通过DBMS在整个自动抽样过程对它们进行管理,对所得的结果进行分类并统计,得出每次采样过程中某个元组出现的次数,实验表明方法是有效的。     

Managed moves: schools collaborating for collective gain

Government guidance in the United Kingdom encourages groups of schools to take collective responsibility for supporting and making provision for excluded pupils and those at risk of exclusion. Managed moves are one way that some schools and authorities are enacting such guidance. This article presents the results of an evaluation of one such scheme. The scheme, involving seven neighbouring secondary schools, was nearing its first year of completion. The article draws primarily on interview data with pupils, parents and school staff to describe a number of positive outcomes associated with the scheme and to explore how these were achieved. We found that while some of these could be attributed directly to the managed move, others arose from the more inclusive ethos and practices of particular schools. The concepts of tailored support, care and commitment emerged as strong themes that underpinned the various practical ways in which some schools in the cluster were able to re‐engage ‘at‐risk’ pupils. As managed moves become more widely practised it will be important to remember that it is how the move proceeds and develops rather than the move itself that will ultimately make the difference for troubled and troublesome pupils.