Weblogs for organizational knowledge sharing and creation: a comparative case study

The use of weblogs as an information and communication technology for knowledge sharing and creation is a novel social and organizational phenomenon. In this paper, we identify and explain contingency factors that influence the successful use of weblogs for knowledge sharing and creation. We start from the assumption that successful knowledge management requires the motivation of people to engage in knowledge-related communication. Based on a comparison of two antithetic cases, we identify and discuss four contingency factors that directly influence the motivational impact of weblogs on organizational knowledge sharing and creation.     

Embarking on an Educational Journey‐‐the Establishment of the First Foreign Full University Campus in Malaysia under the 1996 Education Acts: a Malaysian‐Australian Case Study

This article is a case study of the first foreign university invited to open a campus in Malaysia under the 1996 Education Acts: Monash University of Australia, in partnership with the Sunway Corporation. The authors provide some historical background leading to the July 1998 opening of the new campus‐‐Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia (MUSCM). Using MUSCM as a case study, they explore a number of issues that they argue must be addressed in such an international educational undertaking involving co‐operation among government, business, and a university. The article is structured under the following headings: why a foreign branch campus; nuts and bolts, operational structure and legislative requirements; quality assurance procedures; and some educational challenges.     

Managing Quality Assurance in Higher Education: a Scottish Example

This article outlines the principal parameters of the quality debate in higher education and considers issues and developments from the standpoint of the different key stakeholders. The analysis will be illustrated by the experiences of the University of Strathclyde in developing transnational policies and procedures for the quality assurance of awards and programmes which it provides or validates. Internally, the University of Strathclyde operates within an ethos of academic and financial devolution to its five Faculties. Central steering has been targeted primarily at negotiating understandings and agreements and at promoting reflection, evaluation, monitoring, and the dissemination of good practice. Applying that philosophy to transnational education has presented some interesting challenges. These are discussed, including the development of agreements to guide validated arrangements and modifications to evaluation and monitoring for programmes delivered at a distance. These developments are now an integral part of the approach taken by Strathclyde to the management of quality assurance of educational programmes.     

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.     

“I believe I will go out of this class actually knowing something”: Cooperative learning activities in physical chemistry

The purposes of this study were to describe the structure of events during cooperative learning activities—Friday discussion sessions—in a graduate-level thermodynamics course and to understand what these activities meant to the students. First, we describe the structure of Friday discussion sessions in our classroom, which were used to focus student attention on conceptual issues rather than algorithmic problem solving. Second, we delineate findings which emerge from the perspective of the students. We found that cooperative learning activities move students away from rote learning strategies and toward more meaningful strategies which allowed them to integrate concepts over the entire semester. In addition, we discovered that the sharing of insights and ideas between students leads to the development of interpersonal skills and communication skills which the students perceive as an important component of the Friday discussion sessions. Implications for further classroom use, low-status versus high-status students, and assessment are discussed. J Res Sci Teach 34: 819–835, 1997.     

Solving the Self-Transformation Puzzle: The Role of Aspiration

If the received views on self-transformation in philosophical literature are correct, then either self-transformation (1) is caused by forces beyond oneself and beyond one's control, (2) is not rational to pursue, or (3) does not ever really happen. In this essay, James Gordon highlights the philosophical puzzle known as the “self-transformation puzzle,” as raised by Ryan Kemp, who suggests that transformation of the sort educators are interested in cannot be self-caused: it is either something that happens to a person, or something that, if agent guided, is not full-fledged transformation. Next, Gordon turns to an alternative take on the puzzle that tries to recast the conceptual terrain and offer a new way of thinking about self-transformation, namely, the “aspirational” account of self-change offered by Agnes Callard. He argues that Callard's aspirational account of transformation shows that at least one of the premises of Kemp's argument is false. Finally, he suggests several ways that those interested in transformative education might appeal to the concept of aspiration to revise their educational practices.     

Marital conflict and finances among Filipinas in Australia

Differences in finance practices emerged as a major theme in interviews conducted by The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health among the Filipina community in Queensland. Women's decisions to migrate and marry Australian men are influenced by their perceptions of relative wealth of their future husband, and their presumed enhanced ability to provide support for Filipino kin. However, because of unrealised financial expectations, issues related to the remittance of money to family in The Philippines, the husband's disapproval of his wife's participation in the paid workforce, and financial practices such as the management of the household finances and roles with money, finance is a constant point of tension in many Filipina–Australian marriages. It seems that in migrating to Australia, many Filipinas exchange one type of money problem for another — one that they rarely foresee.     

Consultation and handicapped preschoolers: Priorities,goals, and models

A survey of 50 early childhood special educators was conducted regarding issues germane to school psychological consultation. Results indicated that behavioral and home-related problems were major concerns, and that goals in seeking consultation were primarily motivated by a lack of knowledge. A variety of service-delivery models was chosen, with a slight preference for an indirect, mental-health model.