Innovation studies—The emerging structure of a new scientific field

The scholarly literature on innovation was for a long time not very voluminous. But as shown in the paper, this is now rapidly changing. New journals, professional associations and organizational units within universities focusing on innovation have also been formed. This paper explores the cognitive and organizational characteristics of this emerging field of social science and considers its prospects and challenges. The research reported in this paper is based on a web-survey in which more than one thousand scholars worldwide took part.     

A social network perspective on the management of product development programs

Creativity is essential to the performance of product development programs (PDPs). Most PDPs are designed around teams that jointly work together according to the product decomposition into components, the design and development procedure, and the methods of the final integration. Since the creative product development task requires the teams to combine and integrate input from multiple other teams, the team's structure of interaction is an important determinant of their creativity. In research and practice, however, little is known about the social networks of the teams and their creativity within PDPs. In this study we investigate different structural aspects of social networks of such teams and their creativity within two multinational PDPs. The main results of our investigation imply that many direct network contacts around a weekly intensity stimulate the creativity of teams of PDPs, whereas very open networks with a high information variety minimizes the team's creativity.     

Is university internationalization bad for performance? Examining two different types of diversity

While most studies on diverse organizations have been directed at business organizations, the academic sector has also become increasingly international and heterogeneous. Few large-scale studies have investigated multicultural academic departments and none of those have dealt with diversity and group processes. Therefore, a survey was directed towards academics in 16 science departments in three large universities in Denmark. Results based on the response from 489 academics showed that cultural diversity, as a deep level heterogeneity, was positively related to performance and satisfaction, whereas gender diversity, as a surface level heterogeneity, was negatively associated with satisfaction. Implications of these findings are discussed in detail.     

Resource Provision in Primary Schools—An Australian Perspective

Abstract

This article gives an Australian perspective on resource provision in primary (elementary) schools. The overall current context is firstly outlined against the background of economic rationalism and devolution in schools. The conclusion reached is that primary schools regard themselves as a disadvantaged group in the area of resourcing, and supports the view that action should be taken to reverse this situation. A framework for conceptualizing resources as a partnership of human and non‐human factors with the supremacy of human resources is advanced. Finally, the notion of equality is explored and suggestions made for future developments, with a view to making resourcing more equitable in schools.     

Discrepancies in judging social inclusion and bullying of pupils with behaviour problems

This study focuses on the social position and the degree of being bullied of pupils with behaviour problems fully included in regular education and on their teachers’ assessments on social integration and bullying. The study sample consisted of 25 9–12‐year‐old pupils with behaviour problems and their peers without special needs participating in full‐time regular education in the north of The Netherlands. Data gathering was performed using pupil and teacher questionnaires and a sociometric test. Results indicate that compared to their peers without special educational needs (SEN), the pupils with behaviour problems in this study were included less socially. The study further shows that about half the teachers participating in the study have a too positive view on the social position of these pupils. These teachers tend to seriously underestimate both the frequency with which pupils are being bullied and the frequency with which these pupils actively bully their peers.