Interim Leadership

ABSTRACT

Leadership training tends to focus on development and performance of leadership skills with the implied understanding that the position is permanent or the appointment is formalized. Yet organizations require temporary leaders during leadership gaps but there is limited information on serving in an acting role or for a short period of time. Serving as an interim leader has unique challenges and opportunities but several considerations should be made to make this a positive experience providing smooth transitions for an organization.     

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Wading Through the Controversies on the Web

Autism is one of three developmental disorders in the group known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This spectrum of disorders has an estimated prevalence of one in 150 children. Increased awareness and diagnosis has led to an explosion of information available about the disorder. This explosion has made scientific research more readily available, along with inaccurate and spurious information. Autism is a disorder without a known cause or cure and few treatments with sufficient evidence to indicate effectiveness. Due to the variable presentation of autism, there is no single intervention that is effective for all individuals. The complexity of the disorder is addressed by research and practice across several disciplines, including education, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, genetics, and internal medicine. This resource guide will introduce the range of autism spectrum disorders, its various perspectives and treatments, and will point librarians and patrons to introductory resources to provide links for further learning.     

Performance Indicators and Widening Participation in UK Higher Education

We investigate the relationship between the widening participation performance indicators adopted in UK higher education (HE) and the government's objective of increasing overall HE participation rates. We critically assess the development of performance monitoring in HE and identify weaknesses in the current performance indicators from the perspective of the main stakeholders. We suggest the development of internal indicators and benchmarks by HE institutions together with extensions to the current national performance indicators that could improve their usefulness.     

At a Crossroads or Caught in the Crossfire?

This study of crime reporting shows that keeping crime records secret hurts democratic consolidation. While many reporters and journalism experts interviewed claimed to value the presumption of innocence, at the same time, many skirted legal restrictions and ethical codes. Police and prosecutors supplied leaks, and reporters sought further information from witnesses. This porous secrecy leads to publication of rumors and unreliable eye-witness accounts. Four exacerbating factors affect this reporting method: widespread “clientelism,” a partisan news media, an alternative definition of “public interest,” and weak professionalism.     

"I Hardly Cried When I Got My Shot!" Influencing Children's Reports about a Visit to Their Pediatrician

We examined, in 2 phases, the influence of postevent suggestions on children's reports of their visits to a pediatrician. Phase 1 examined the effect of giving one of 3 types of feedback to 5-year-old children immediately following their Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus (DPT) inoculation. Children were given pain-affirming feedback (the shot hurt), pain-denying feedback (the shot did not hurt), or neutral feedback (the shot is over). 1 week later, they did not differ in their reports concerning how much the shot hurt or how much they cried. In Phase 2, the same children were visited approximately 1 year after their inoculation. During 3 separate visits, they were either given additional pain-denying or neutral feedback. They were also given misleading or nonmisleading information about the actions of the pediatrician and the assistant. Children given pain-denying feedback reported that they cried less and that the shot hurt less than did children given neutral feedback. Those who were given misleading information about the actions of the assistant and the pediatrician made more false allegations about their actions than did children who were not given this information. These results challenge the view that suggestibility effects are confined to peripheral, nonaction events; in this study children's reports about salient actions involving their own bodies in stressful conditions were influenced.     

Contemporary perspectives on the Australian doctorate: framing insights to guide development

ABSTRACT

The growth of the doctorate in recent decades has spawned concerns about programme quality and external relevance. This article reports findings from research conducted in Australia that was shaped by the view that the doctorate remains in need of educational clarification and design. The research generated insights that can be used to modernise and realign the doctorate. First, this article discusses the development of a doctoral education framework. Next, it presents results from a questionnaire developed using the framework and administered in a national survey to both five-year-out doctoral graduates and to doctoral experts. This identifies the need to design programmes that better orient and align research training with students’ professional aspirations, incorporate more real-world forms of learning, enhance traditional aspects of research training and provide structured reports of doctoral outcomes, experiences and preparations. The results underpin the need for more specific analyses of outcomes and assessment, the nature and distribution of doctoral experiences and the design and management of the resources that go into doctoral education.     

Does domain matter? Monitoring accuracy across domains

Metacognition and Learning - Confidence and its accuracy have been most commonly examined in domains such as general knowledge and learning, with less study of other domains, such as applied...     

Implementation Lessons from Six Early Head Start - Child Care Partnerships

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This study examined the development and implementation of six Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCPs), unique collaborations between EHS grantees and community-based child care partners that expand access to high-quality child care and comprehensive services for low-income infants, toddlers, and their families. Interviews and focus groups with 111 key informants identified similarities across the six EHS-CCPs in initial outreach to community partners for establishing partnerships and approaches to developing partnership agreements but variation in approaches to monitoring quality improvement activities. Benefits and challenges to partnerships for programs and families were noted. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest a need for additional guidance for EHS-CCPs on key components of implementation, including the partnership agreement process, monitoring quality improvement plans, offering support for meeting program requirements, and providing comprehensive services. For example, five of the six partnerships reported the EHS grantee led the development of their partnership agreements. While this approach was attributed to child care partners’ lack of prior experience in developing agreements, further guidance on how to engage partners collaboratively in an agreement process that better emulates the principles of authenticity and equality from the conceptual framework for collaborations in early care and education would be useful.