Good practice guide in learning and teaching

Once again this publication is produced to celebrate and promote good teaching and learning support and to offer encouragement to those imaginative and innovative staff who continue to wish to challenge students to learn to maximum effect. It is hoped that others will pick up some good ideas from the articles contained in this volume. We have again changed our approach for this 2007/08 edition (our fifth) of the Aston Business School Good Practice Guide. As before, some contributions were selected from those identifying interesting best practice on their Annual Module Reflection Forms in 2006/2007. Brookes? contribution this year is directly from her annual reflection. Other contributors received HELM (Research Centre in Higher Education Learning and Management) small research grants in 2006/2007. Part of the conditions were for them to write an article for this publication. We have also been less tight on the length of the articles this year. Some contributions are, therefore, on the way to being journal articles. HELM will be working with these authors to help develop these for publication. Looking back over the last five years it is brilliant to see how many different people have contributed over the years and, therefore, how much innovative learning and teaching work has been taking place in ABS over this time. In the first edition we were just pleased for people to write a few pages on their teaching. Now things have changed dramatically. The majority of the articles are grounded in empirical research (some funded by HELM small research grants) and Palmer?s article was produced as part of the University?s Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching. Most encouraging of all, four of this year?s articles have since been developed further and submitted to refereed journals. We await news of publication as we go to press. It is not surprising that how to manage large groups still remains a central theme of the articles, ABS has a large and still growing student body. Essex and Simpson have looked at trying to encourage students to attend taught sessions, on the basis that there is a strong correlation between attendance and higher performance. Their findings are forming the platform of a further study currently being carried out in the Undergraduate Programme. A number of the other articles concentrate on trying to encourage students to engage with study in an innovative way. This is particularly obvious in Shaw?s work. Everyone who has been around campus lately has had evidence that the students on Duncan?s modules have clearly been inspired. I found myself, for example, playing golf in the student dining room as part of this initiative! The articles by Jarzabkowski & Guilietti and Ho involved much larger surveys. This is another first for the Good Practice Guide and marks the first step on what will clearly be larger research efforts for these authors in this area. We look forward to the journal publications which will result from this work. The last articles are the result of HELM?s hosting of the national conference of the Higher Education Academy?s Business, Management, Accounting and Finance (BMAF) Subject Centre Conference in May 2007. Belal and Foster have written about their impressions of the Conference and Andrews has included the paper she gave. The papers on employability and widening participation are the centre of HELM?s current work. In the second volume we mentioned the launch of the School?s Research Centre in Higher Education Learning and Management (HELM). Since then HELM has stimulated a lot of activity across the School (and University) particularly linking research and teaching. A list of the HELM seminars for 2007/2008 is listed as Appendix 1 of this publication. Further details can be obtained from Catherine Foster (c.s.foster@aston.ac.uk), who coordinates the HELM seminars. We have also been working on a list of target journals to guide ABS staff who wish to publish in this area. These are included as Appendix 2 of this publication. May I thank the contributors for taking time out of their busy schedules to write the articles and to Julie Green, the Quality Manager, for putting the varying diverse approaches into a coherent and publishable form and for agreeing to fund the printing of this volume.

Is there a special kind of "reading" for translation? An empirical investigation of reading in the translation process

The role of reading in translation is rarely discussed in the literature. Translation has mainly been discussed within a product-oriented framework. The more process-oriented approaches of recent years have taken notice of reading as a component activity of the translation process. However, few empirical studies have been completed which address the role of reading in translation. The way a person reads, and the result of that reading (some sort of mental representation of the text or text segment), will depend on the reader's purposes and motivations. The present empirical study indicates that while the translator's reading of a text may be to some extent more thorough and deliberate than that of an ordinary reader, it is not likely to be markedly so. The study also indicates a significant variability in the way translators "read for translation". This suggests the existence of alternate strategies in this kind of reading.

Managing software engineers and their knowledge

This chapter begins by reviewing the history of software engineering as a profession, especially the so-called software crisis and responses to it, to help focus on what it is that software engineers do. This leads into a discussion of the areas in software engineering that are problematic as a basis for considering knowledge management issues. Some of the previous work on knowledge management in software engineering is then examined, much of it not actually going under a knowledge management title, but rather ���learning��� or ���expertise���. The chapter goes on to consider the potential for knowledge management in software engineering and the different types of knowledge management solutions and strategies that might be adopted, and it touches on the crucial importance of cultural issues. It concludes with a list of challenges that knowledge management in software engineering needs to address.

Response:Ideas are ten a penny - It's team implementation not idea generation that counts

Cet article pr��sente une synth��se des recherches et th��ories qui ��clairent notre compr��hension de la cr��ativit�� et de la mise en oeuvre de l���innovation dans les groupes de travail. Il semble que la cr��ativit�� apparaisse essentiellement au cours des premi��res ��tapes du processus, avant la mise en oeuvre. On ��tudie l���influence des caract��ristiques de la t��che, des capacit��s et de l�����ventail des connaissances du groupe, des demandes externes, des m��canismes d���int��gration et de coh��rence de groupe. La perception d���une menace, l���incertitude ou de fortes exigences entravent la cr��ativit��, mais favorisent l���innovation. La diversit�� des connaissances et des capacit��s est un bon pr��dicteur de l���innovation, mais l���int��gration du groupe et les comp��tences sont indispensables pour r��colter les fruits de la diversit��. On examine aussi les implications th��oriques et pratiques de ces consid��rations. In this article I synthesise research and theory that advance our understanding of creativity and innovation implementation in groups at work. It is suggested that creativity occurs primarily at the early stages of innovation processes with innovation implementation later. The influences of task characteristics, group knowledge diversity and skill, external demands, integrating group processes and intragroup safety are explored. Creativity, it is proposed, is hindered whereas perceived threat, uncertainty or other high levels of demands aid the implementation of innovation. Diversity of knowledge and skills is a powerful predictor of innovation, but integrating group processes and competencies are needed to enable the fruits of this diversity to be harvested. The implications for theory and practice are also explored.

It's what you do and the way that you do it:team task, team size, and innovation-related group processes

This article describes a study of the relationships between team inputs (task type and team size) and team processes in 87 cross industry Portuguese teams, some of which had high and some low requirements to innovate. Team processes were measured using the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), which focuses on clarity of and commitment to team objectives, levels of participation, support for innovation, and quality emphases. Three hypotheses were tested. The first proposed that teams carrying out tasks with a high innovation requirement would have high scores on a measure of team processes. This was supported insofar as such teams reported higher levels of participation and support for innovation. The second hypothesis proposed that large teams would have poorer team processes. This hypothesis was confirmed. The third hypothesis concerned the interaction between size and innovation. The results suggested that large teams operating under a relatively high pressure to innovate have poorer team processes than large teams that do not have a high requirement to innovate.

Weight loss in tumour-bearing mice is not associated with changes in resistin gene expression in white adipose tissue

Resistin, a product of white adipose tissue, is postulated to induce insulin resistance in obesity and regulate adipocyte differentiation. The aim of this study was to examine resistin gene expression in adipose tissue from mice bearing the MAC16 adenocarcinoma, which induces cancer cachexia with marked wasting of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle mass. MAC16-bearing mice lost weight progressively over the period following tumour transplantation, while the weight of control mice remained stable. Leptin mRNA in gonadal fat was 50% lower in MAC16 mice than in controls (p<0.05). Plasma insulin concentrations were also significantly lower in the MAC16 group (p<0.05). However, resistin mRNA level in gonadal fat in MAC16 mice was similar to controls (94% of controls). Thus, despite severe weight loss and significant falls in leptin expression and insulin concentration, resistin gene expression appears unchanged in white adipose tissue of mice with MAC16 tumour. Maintenance of resistin production may help inhibit the formation of new adipocytes in cancer cachexia.

Getting diversity at work to work:what we know and what we still don���t know

Diversity has the potential to significantly benefit organizations by leading to positive work outcomes when diversity ���works���. Unfortunately, not only is our knowledge limited as to the necessary conditions and the mechanisms by which diversity affects individual, work performance and organizational outcomes, but we still know very little about which diversity management practices are most effective in promoting positive outcomes. We analyse the literature on diversity and its management, and describe how the seven papers included in this section advance our understanding of what organizations can do to get diversity at work to work. Our discussion points to the need for more research on how diversity at multiple levels affects work and organizational outcomes; the development of integrative theory which takes into account that diversity might not only engender separation and variety but also disparity; as well as to the need for more empirical attention to the climates or cultures that facilitate the positive effects of diversity on work and organizational outcomes. We suggest that future research should also identify those people management practices that are most powerful in the creation of a positive diversity climate, and the factors that moderate and underlie its effects on work and organizational outcomes. We conclude with proposals about how this might be achieved. �� 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Business as usual is not an option

It���s just not an option Sustainability literacy should by now be woven into the fabric of our educational culture. Our present ignorance and lack of engagement is nothing short of shameful, says John Blewitt.

Negative brand personality:the construct, its antecedents and outcome variables

By evolving brands and building on the importance of self-expression, Aaker (1997) developed the brand personality framework as a means to understand brand-consumer relationships. The brand personality framework captures the core values and characteristics described in human personality research in an attempt to humanize brands. Although influential across many streams of brand personality research, the current conceptualization of brand personality only offers a positively-framed approach. To date, no research, both conceptually and empirically, has thoroughly incorporated factors reflective of Negative Brand Personality, despite the fact that almost all researchers in personality are in agreement that factors akin to Extraversion (positive) and Neuroticism (negative) should be in a comprehensive personality scale to accommodate consumers��� expressions. As a result, the study of brand personality is only half complete since the current research trend is to position brand personality under brand image. However, with the brand personality concept being confused with brand identity at the empirical stage, factors reflective of Negative Brand Personality have been neglected. Accordingly, this thesis extends the current conceptualization of brand personality by demarcating the existing typologies of desirable brand personality and incorporating the characteristics reflective of consumers��� discrepant self-meaning to provide a more complete understanding of brand personality. However, it is not enough to interpret negative factors as the absence of positive factors. Negative factors reflect consumers��� anxious and frustrated feelings. Therefore, this thesis contributes to the current conceptualization of brand personality by, firstly, presenting a conceptual definition of Negative Brand Personality in order to provide a theoretical basis for the development of a Negative Brand Personality scale, then, secondly, identifying what constitutes Negative Brand Personality and to what extent consumers��� cognitive dissonance explains the nature of Negative Brand Personality, and, thirdly, ascertaining the impact Negative Brand Personality has on attitudinal constructs, namely: Negative Attitude, Detachment, Brand Loyalty and Satisfaction, which have proven to predict behaviors such as choice and (re-)purchasing. In order to deliver on the three main contributions, two comprehensive studies were conducted to a) develop a valid, parsimonious, yet relatively short measure of Negative Brand Personality, and b) ascertain how the Negative Brand Personality measure behaves within a network of related constructs. The mixed methods approach, grounded in theoretical and empirical development, provides evidence to suggest that there are four factors to Negative Brand Personality and, tested through use of a structural equation modeling technique, that these are influenced by Brand Confusion, Price Unfairness, Self- Incongruence and Corporate Hypocrisy. Negative Brand Personality factors mainly determined Consumers Negative Attitudes and Brand Detachment. The research contributes to the literature on brand personality by improving the consumer-brand relationship by means of engaging in a brandconsumer conversation in order to reduce consumers��� cognitive strain. The study concludes with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, its limitations, and potential directions for future research.

NITL : what the transport and logistics industry needs going forward

The transport industry - particularly in road transport - is under serious competitive pressure. Rising costs - evident but not limited to fuel and insurance - combined with a market place that has become more demanding in relation to price and service, has resulted in a situation where companies have had to seriously reassess the nature of their competitive advantage. The competitive strategies of companies in the sector are being reviewed in light of the effective commoditisation of transport as a direct result of the traditional strong emphasis on cost and price reductions.

We know what you want to buy:a demographic-based system for product recommendation on microblogs

Product recommender systems are often deployed by e-commerce websites to improve user experience and increase sales. However, recommendation is limited by the product information hosted in those e-commerce sites and is only triggered when users are performing e-commerce activities. In this paper, we develop a novel product recommender system called METIS, a MErchanT Intelligence recommender System, which detects users' purchase intents from their microblogs in near real-time and makes product recommendation based on matching the users' demographic information extracted from their public profiles with product demographics learned from microblogs and online reviews. METIS distinguishes itself from traditional product recommender systems in the following aspects: 1) METIS was developed based on a microblogging service platform. As such, it is not limited by the information available in any specific e-commerce website. In addition, METIS is able to track users' purchase intents in near real-time and make recommendations accordingly. 2) In METIS, product recommendation is framed as a learning to rank problem. Users' characteristics extracted from their public profiles in microblogs and products' demographics learned from both online product reviews and microblogs are fed into learning to rank algorithms for product recommendation. We have evaluated our system in a large dataset crawled from Sina Weibo. The experimental results have verified the feasibility and effectiveness of our system. We have also made a demo version of our system publicly available and have implemented a live system which allows registered users to receive recommendations in real time. �� 2014 ACM.

Co-constructed caring research and intellectual disability:an exploration of friendship, intimacy and being human

For this paper, emotional and socio-political questions lie at the heart of relationships in understanding intellectual disability and what it is to be a human. While the sexual and intimate is more often than not based on a private and personal relationship with the self and (an)other, the sexual and intimate life of intellectually disabled people is more often a ���public��� affair governed by parents and/or carers, destabilizing what we might consider ethical and caring practices. In the socio-political sphere, as an all-encompassing ���care space���, social intolerance and aversion to difficult differences are played out, impacting upon the intimate lives of intellectually disabled people. As co-researchers (one intellectually disabled and one ���non-disabled���), we discuss narratives from a small scale research project and our personal reflections. In sociological research and more specifically within disability research it is clear that we need to keep sex and intimacy on the agenda, yet also find ways of doing research in a meaningful, caring and co-constructed way.