The evolution of innovation capability in multinational enterprise subsidiaries: Dual network embeddedness and the divergence of subsidiary specialisation in Taiwan

This paper examines how innovation-related capabilities for production, design and marketing develop at the subsidiary level within multinational enterprises (MNEs). We focus on how subsidiary autonomy and changing opportunities to access external (host country) sources of capability contribute to the accumulation of specialist capabilities in five Taiwan-based MNE subsidiaries in the semiconductor industry. Longitudinal analysis shows how the accumulation process is subject to discontinuities, as functional divisions are (re)opened and closed during the lifetime of the subsidiary. A composite set of innovation output measures also shows significant variations in within-function levels of capability across our sample. We conclude that subsidiary specialisation and unique subsidiary-specific advantages have evolved in a way that is strongly influenced by the above factors.     

The Teacher,the Schools Council and the Task of Management

Performance indicators are currently a vogue concept. In this paper some national and international perspectives on the term are described and an analysis made of recent Government publications on the topic. Two current attempts to use performance indicators in TVEI are discussed and a methodology for linking performance indicators to school development is described. The paper concludes that, in order to contribute to quality in education, performance indicators need to be linked to school development plans and to focus on student outcomes and the internal conditions of schools.     

Effects of a Cooperative Learning Program on the Elaborations of Students Working in Dyads

In this study, the effects of a school improvement program on cooperative learning (CL) with respect to the elaborations of 6th-grade students working in mixed-ability and mixed-sex dyads on 2 cooperative tasks were examined. A posttest-only design with a control group was used to investigate the provision and receipt of elaborations within the dyads and the performance of the dyads working on cooperative mathematics and language tasks. Treatment dyads were found to exchange significantly more high-level elaborations during the language task than the control dyads. The treatment dyads also tended to produce higher performance scores on the 2 tasks.     

The Coaching of Teachers: Results of Five Training Studies

In this study, the results of five training studies evaluating the effects of a coaching program for use in Dutch primary and secondary schools are described. The coaches involved in these studies were: (1) school counsellors, (2) school principals, (3) mentors of beginning teachers, (4) mentors of teachers-in-training and (5) secondary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in-class support to provide (novice) teachers with feedback on their functioning and thereby stimulate the self-reflection and self-analysis needed to improve instructional effectiveness. Based on the pre- and post-training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback and business-like attitude. The pre- and post-training ratings from the coached teachers themselves showed a significant treatment effect for the coaching skills concerned with the planning of observational data collection. In addition, the teachers coached by trained coaches valued the coaching skills demonstrated significantly more than those teachers coached by untrained coaches. Inspection of the interactions for the adjusted post-test scores revealed different training effects for the five studies.     

Lenguaje y rendimiento escolar: Un estudio predictivo

La incidencia de las competencias lingüistícas del escolar sobre las adquisiciones escolares en las demás áreas del currículum es una realidad que todos los maestros pueden comprobar día a día. En este trabajo se investiga esa incidencia, medida a través de la variable fracaso escolar, y sus resultados podrían permitir extraer algunos principios de intervención educativa precoz en algunos aspectos del lenguaje cruciales para la escolaridad posterior.     

Spelling,Reading Abilities and Speech Perception in Deaf Children with a Cochlear Implant

ABSTRACT

This study aims to compare word spelling outcomes for French-speaking deaf children with a cochlear implant (CI) with hearing children who matched for age, level of education and gender. A picture written naming task controlling for word frequency, word length, and phoneme-to-grapheme predictability was designed to analyze spelling productions. A generalized linear mixed model on the percentage of correct spelling revealed an effect of participant’s reading abilities, but no effect of hearing status. Word frequency and word length, but not phoneme-to-grapheme predictability, contributed to explaining the spelling variance. Deaf children with a CI made significantly less phonologically plausible errors and more phonologically unacceptable errors when compared to their hearing peers. Age at implantation and speech perception scores were related to deaf children’s errors. A good word spelling level can be achieved by deaf children with a CI, who nonetheless use less efficiently the phoneme-to-grapheme strategy than do hearing children.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relations Among Professional Development,Educators’ Beliefs and Perceived Skills,and Response-to-Intervention Implementation

ABSTRACT

Professional development is a critical systems-level intervention thought to facilitate Response-to-Intervention (RtI) implementation. The current study examined the relations between professional development, educator outcomes, and problem-solving implementation within an RtI framework using growth curve modeling. School leadership teams from pilot schools (n = 34) participated in 3 years of training. Pilot schools also received job-embedded coaching. Comparison schools (n = 27) provided a referent group. Results indicated that problem-solving implementation increased faster at pilot schools (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, t = 2.03, p < .05). In addition, beliefs regarding data-based decision-making (β = 0.36, SE = 0.17, t = 2.13, p < .05) and perceived problem-solving skills applied to academics (β = 0.30, SE = 0.10, t = 3.07, p < .01) positively related to implementation. Implications include the needs to further explore professional development activities and for consultants to utilize evidence-based professional development principles when supporting RtI implementation.     

Why Do We Really Get Tattoos?

A theory. It is the first morning of our vacation.I wake up bright and early and trot down to the 0cean where I make a shocking and bone-chilling discovery:I am the only personae on the beach whose epidermis is unadorned with tattoos.Everyone is inked up except moi.According to the FDA,more than 45 million Americans are now tatted up.This past weekend,they all hit