Applying the Collective Causal Mapping Methodology to Operations Management Curriculum Development*

Although the field of operations management has come a long way since its beginnings in scientific management, the field still appears somewhat amorphous and unstructured to many. Introductory operations management textbooks usually include a number of largely disjointed topics, which leave many students (and their instructors) without a coherent framework for understanding the field. As a result, the importance and sequencing of topics varies widely between courses and instructors, even within the same university. This article applies the newly developed Collective Causal Mapping Methodology to create a causal map for the entire field of operations management. The causal map is built on expert opinions collected from over 250 academics and practitioners representing many areas of expertise, schools, organizations, and countries. This collective causal map is then used to create a new framework for understanding and teaching operations management. This framework can aid instructors in determining which topics should be taught in an operations management course, how these topics might be grouped and sequenced, and the important interrelationships among the topics that should be stressed to students.     

Unfolding narrative meaning over time: The contributions of mother–daughter conversations of difficulty on daughter narrative sense-making and well-being

Recent narrative theorizing suggests that humans process their difficult experiences by not only creating stories—called individual narrative sense-making (NSM)—but also by telling those stories with others—called communicated narrative sense-making (CNSM). The present study investigated the relationship between individual and communicated NSM to understand the effects of interpersonal communication on intrapersonal meaning-making and well-being. In this longitudinal, laboratory-based study, 62 mother–daughter pairs wrote and discussed stories of daughters’ difficulty. Findings revealed that CNSM—particularly turn-taking, coherence, and daughters’ perspective-taking—predicted increased positivity in daughters’ stories over time, suggesting that CNSM contributes to “re-authoring” of individual stories. Limited effects emerged for CNSM and well-being. Findings expanded knowledge about the interconnections between intrapersonal and interpersonal communication, and well-being.     

Nurse managers’ perceptions of barriers to the mentoring of early career nurses

ABSTRACT

Mentoring is a unique educative workplace relationship which holds the potential to support the skill, knowledge, social and emotional needs of both new and experienced staff members. As promotion of mentoring in the nursing workplace can improve workforce retention and cohesion, understanding of nurse managers’ perceptions of the barriers to the mentoring of early career researchers in hospitals can offer insights that enhance the efficacy of mentoring in these dynamic contexts. In-depth interviews with 20 nurse managers were conducted to identify these barriers, with interpersonal conflict, competing priorities for time and financial resources, and lack of training emerging as recurring themes raised by participants. We explore how these barriers can be mitigated to strengthen the contemporary mentoring quality and opportunity in acute care hospitals.     

Advocacy Counseling for Female Survivors of Partner Abuse: Implications for Counselor Education

This article outlines ways by which counselor educators may prepare counselors and counselor trainees to be advocates for survivors of partner abuse. Advocacy strategies for counselors and counselor trainees working with survivors of partner abuse are provided, integrating the 5 components of collaboration, context, competence, critical consciousness, and community (E. McWhirter, 1998) within an ecological framework.     

Portraying Science as Humanism – A Historical Case Study of Cultural Boundary Work from the Dawn of the ‘Atomic Age’

In the late 1950s, when a new curriculum for the Danish upper secondary school was under construction, the reform debates on science were strongly concerned with the scarcity of technologically and scientifically educated labour, and thus relations between science, technology and welfare were stressed. Simultaneously however, the relationship between science and humanism was likewise emphasised and discussed. It is this latter issue that is the subject of analysis here. I argue that describing science as a form of humanism served a number of different purposes both within and without a narrow school context. It was far from clear what the practical consequences of this rhetorical figure was to be, although some attempts were made within the new curriculum plan to break down the boundaries between the sciences and the humanities. However, picturing science as humanism also served legitimising functions both with regards to the new science curriculum and with regards to a general political program of progress and welfare through support of science and education. Thus, the curriculum debates on science education were part of a much broader cultural and political debate in which the image of science was negotiated and transformed. Such curriculum debates can, I argue, be understood as cultural boundary work in Thomas Gieryn’s sense.     

Case study: using MOOCs for conventional college coursework

In Spring 2013 San José State University (SJSU) launched SJSU Plus: three college courses required for most students to graduate, which used massive open online course provider Udacity’s platform, attracting over 15,000 students. Retention and success (pass/fail) and online support were tested using an augmented online learning environment (AOLE) on a subset of 213 students; about one-half matriculated. SJSU faculty created the course content, collaborating with Udacity to develop video instruction, quizzes, and interactive elements. Course log-ins and progression data were combined with surveys and focus groups, with students, faculty, support staff, coordinators, and program leaders as subjects. Logit models used contingency table-tested potential success predictors on all students and five subgroups. Student effort was the strongest success indicator, suggesting criticality of early and consistent student engagement. No statistically significant relationships with student characteristics were found. AOLE support effectiveness was compromised with staff time consumed by the least prepared students.     

A test of a model for predicting strategy choice

Fishbein and Ajzen's model for Reasoned Action was applied to the context of message‐strategy choice. It was felt that the cognitive process described by the model would be useful in predicting which message‐strategy a person would use in conflict. Three propositions were derived from the literature on strategy choice and the theory. First, it was proposed that the use of a particular message‐strategy could be predicted from a person's intentions. Second, it was proposed that attitudes about outcomes, and attitudes based in social norms would predict intentions. Third, it was proposed that after an opponent had not complied with a person on a previous influence attempt, the social norm component would, no longer contribute to the prediction of intentions. The first two propositions were supported. The third proposition, however, was not supported.     

Coaching under pressure: a study of Olympic coaches

The Olympic environment has been identified as particularly stressful and unlike any other in terms of the media attention and focus placed on the competition. While the potential negative consequences of stress for coaches and their athletes have been explored, relatively little is known about the factors underpinning successful Olympic coaching performance. We explored elite coaches' perceptions of the factors that enable them to coach in a stressful Olympic environment. Eight coaches from one of Great Britain's most successful Olympic teams (i.e. consistent medal winners in the previous three Olympics) were interviewed. Inductive content analysis indicated that psychological attributes (e.g. emotional control), preparation (e.g. strategic approach), and coping at the event (e.g. team support) were factors that coaches perceived as important for successful Olympic coaching. In addition, coaches offered specific suggestions for training and development. Key themes included coach interaction (e.g. mentoring, formalizing contact) and simulating Olympic pressure. These findings offer suggestions for the education of developing coaches on the pathway to elite sports coaching.     

The dynamics of bilateral intellectual property negotiations: Taiwan and the United States

This study analyzes the progress of copyright enforcement in Taiwan in the period from 1985 to 2000. As a rapidly industrializing region, Taiwan has faced significant pressure from its international trade partners to improve intellectual property protection. This pressure has been strongest from the United States, Taiwan's largest partner. Analysis of the progress of intellectual property protection in Taiwan provides an opportunity to learn more about the dynamics of intellectual property policy development in developing countries, and the impact of U.S. actions on internal IP politics and cultural development. The paper will survey the significant milestones in Taiwanese copyright policy development over the last two decades and conclude with a conceptual model that can be tested by analysis of other case studies of cross-jurisdiction intellectual property relationships.     

Understanding and Responding to the Career Counseling Needs of International College Students on U.S. Campuses

The authors believe that international students, increasingly visible on U.S. campuses, tend to confront unique career development challenges and often experience heightened vocational difficulty. In this article, the authors present 3 themes regarding international students' career needs derived from the current literature: career placement needs, individual factors mediating international student career needs and barriers, and help‐seeking behaviors. Implications for college counseling professionals and suggested future research directions are discussed.