The 4th Knowledge Cities World Summit Proceedings

FROM KCWS 2011 CHAIRS AND SUMMIT PROCEEDING EDITORS In recent years, with the impact of global knowledge economy, a more comprehensive development approach has gained significant popularity. This new development approach, so called ‘knowledgebased development’, is different from its traditional predecessor. With a much more balanced focus on all of the four key development domains – economic, enviro-urban, institutional, and sociocultural – this contemporary approach, aims to bring economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and local institutional competence with a just socio-spatial order to our cities and regions. The ultimate goal of knowledge-based development is to produce a city purposefully designed to encourage the continuous production, circulation and commercialisation of social and scientific knowledge – this will in turn establish a ‘knowledge city’. A city following the ‘knowledge city’ concept embarks on a strategic mission to firmly encourage and nurture locally focussed innovation, science and creativity within the context of an expanding knowledge economy and society. In this regard a ‘knowledge city’ can be seen as an integrated city, which physically and institutionally combines the functions of a science and technology park with civic and residential functions and urban amenities. It also offers one of the effective paradigms for the sustainable cities of our time. This fourth edition of KCWS – The 4th Knowledge Cities World Summit 2011 – makes an important reminder that the 'knowledge city' concept is a key notion in the 21st Century development. Considering this notion, the Summit sheds light on the multi-faceted dimensions and various scales of building a ‘knowledge city’ via 'knowledge-based development' paradigm by particularly focusing on the overall Summit theme of ‘Knowledge Cities for Future Generations’. At this summit, the theoretical and practical maturing of knowledge-based development paradigms are advanced through the interplay between the world’s leading academics’ theories and the practical models and strategies of practitioners’ and policy makers’ drawn from around the world. This summit proceeding is compiled in order to disseminate the knowledge generated and shared in KCWS 2011 with the wider research, governance, and practice communities the knowledge cocreated in this summit. All papers of this proceeding have gone through a double-blind peer review process and been reviewed by our summit editorial review and advisory board members. We, organisers of the summit, cordially thank the members of the Summit Proceeding Editorial Review and Advisory Board for their diligent work in the review of the papers. We hope the papers in this proceeding will inspire and make a significant contribution to the research, governance, and practice circles.

Performance Measurement in Perspective: An exploratory study of Australian foundations’ approaches to performance measurement

Performance measurement in Australian philanthropic foundations is a hot topic. Foundation staff and board members are concerned with striking the right balance between their need for information with which to assess the effectiveness of their grant-making programs, and the costs in both time and money for grantees. Influenced by normative pressures, the increasing size and professionalism of the Australian philanthropic sector, and trends from the U.S.A and the U.K, foundations are talking amongst themselves, seeking expert advice and training, consulting with grantees and trying different approaches. Many resources examine methods of data collection, measurement or analysis. Our study instead treads into less charted but important territory: the motivations and values that are shaping the debate about performance measurement. In a series of 40 interviews with foundations from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, we asked whether they felt under pressure to measure performance and if so, why. We queried whether everyone in the foundation shared the same views on the purposes of performance measurement; and the ways in which the act of performance measurement changed their grant-making, their attitude to risk, their relationship with grantees and their collaborations with other funders. Unsurprisingly, a very diverse set of approaches to performance measurement were revealed.

Power and paradigms : the Dutch response to pressures for shareholder value

In recent years, research aimed at identifying and relating the antecedents and consequences of diffusing organizational practices/ideas has turned its attention to debating the international adoption and implementation of the Anglo-American model of corporate governance, i.e., a shareholder-value-orientation (SVO). While financial economists characterize the adoption of an SVO as necessary and performance-enhancing, behavioral scientists have disputed such claims, invoking institutional contingencies in the appropriateness of an SVO. Our study seeks to provide some resolution to the debate by developing an overarching socio-political perspective that links the antecedents and consequences of the adoption of the contested practice of SVO. We test our framework using extensive longitudinal data from 1992-2006 from the largest listed corporations in the Netherlands, and we find a negative relationship between SVO adoption and subsequent firm performance, although this effect is attenuated when accompanied by greater SVO-alignment among major owners and a firm’s visible commitment to an SVO. This study extends prior research on the diffusion of contested organizational practices that has taken a socio-political perspective by offering an original contingency perspective that addresses how and why the misaligned preferences of corporate owners will affect (i) a company’s inclination to espouse an SVO, and (ii) the performance consequences of such misalignment.This study suggests when board members are considering the adoption of new ideas/practices (e.g., SVO), they should consider the contextual fitness of the idea/practice with the firm’s owners and their interests.

The importance of group-fit in new director selection

Purpose Director selection is an important yet under-researched topic. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to extant literature by gaining a greater understanding into how and why new board members are recruited. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study uses in-depth interviews with Australian non-executive directors to identify what selection criteria are deemed most important when selecting new director candidates and how selection practices vary between organisations. Findings The findings indicate that appointments to the board are based on two key attributes: first, the candidates’ ability to contribute complementary skills and second, the candidates’ ability to work well with the existing board. Despite commonality in these broad criteria, board selection approaches vary considerably between organisations. As a result, some boards do not adequately assess both criteria when appointing a new director hence increasing the chance of a mis-fit between the position and the appointed director. Research limitations/implications The study highlights the importance of both individual technical capabilities and social compatibility in director selections. The authors introduce a new perspective through which future research may consider director selection: fit. Originality/value The in-depth analysis of the director selection process highlights some less obvious and more nuanced issues surrounding directors’ appointment to the board. Recurrent patterns indicate the need for both technical and social considerations. Hence the study is a first step in synthesising the current literature and illustrates the need for a multi-theoretical approach in future director selection research.

Mind the Gap!: Fundraisers and their nonprofit organisational leaders do think differently and this difference matters

Australian fundraisers and their organisational leaders (CEOs and board members) diverge sometimes in how they think about fundraising. In fact, eight key differences emerged in the recent Australian study that sparked this paper. A strong fundraising/leadership accord in attitudes toward fundraising would seem to be important, especially in tightened funding regimes. Both demand and competition for funding beyond the government dollar is growing. Many organisations are moving into community fundraising for the first time due to imperilled government funding. The sophistication of all donation sources is likewise on the rise. These factors add complexity to the fundraising role and to the task of boards and CEOs in managing fundraising strategy and activity. Some variances in professional outlook might be predictable between fundraisers and fundraising organisation leaders. However, the differences found in our study are in areas that potentially affect the organisation’s ability to fill its mission. It is advisable then to ‘mind the gap’ and also to explore it.

Fundraising and boards: be a leader and a meddler!

The old board maxim says, ‘Be a leader not a meddler’! However, in the case of board members and fundraising, meddling is wise. Why? Because the board has a responsibility and a unique opportunity to guide and support its organisation’s fundraising. Indeed, in successful nonprofit organisations (NPOs) fundraising is an attitude, not a department.

Comite National de Secours Aux Refugies 1933-1934

Materials on the founding and organizational structure of the Comite. Lists of board members, reports, minutes of meetings. Correspondence and other materials from HIAS-JCA-EMIGDIRECT, Government of France. List of German Jewish students at Lucien de Hirsch school in Paris. List of German Jewish refugees.

Transitioning from university to the workplace: Stakeholder perceptions of academic and professional writing demands

This study provides a detailed insight into the changing writing demands from the last year of university study to the first year in the workforce of engineering and accounting professionals. The study relates these to the demands of the writing component of IELTS, which is increasingly used for exit testing. The number of international and local students whose first language is not English and who are studying in English-medium universities has increased significantly in the past decade. Many of these students aim to start working in the country they studied in; however, some employers have suggested that graduates seeking employment have insufficient language skills. This study provides a detailed insight into the changing writing demands from the last year of university study to the first year in the workforce of engineering and accounting professionals (our two case study professions). It relates these to the demands of the writing component of IELTS, which is increasingly used for exit or professional entry testing, although not expressly designed for this purpose. Data include interviews with final year students, lecturers, employers and new graduates in their first few years in the workforce, as well as professional board members. Employers also reviewed both final year assignments, as well as IELTS writing samples at different levels. Most stakeholders agreed that graduates entering the workforce are underprepared for the writing demands in their professions. When compared with the university writing tasks, the workplace writing expected of new graduates was perceived as different in terms of genre, the tailoring of a text for a specific audience, and processes of review and editing involved. Stakeholders expressed a range of views on the suitability of the use of academic proficiency tests (such as IELTS) as university exit tests and for entry into the professions. With regard to IELTS, while some saw the relevance of the two writing tasks, particularly in relation to academic writing, others questioned the extent to which two timed tasks representing limited genres could elicit a representative sample of the professional writing required, particularly in the context of engineering. The findings are discussed in relation to different test purposes, the intersection between academic and specific purpose testing and the role of domain experts in test validation.

Towards Explaining the Tasks and Roles of the Boards of Directors

While previous research has helped to improve our understanding of corporate governance and boards of directors, less is known about the factors that affect boards’ tasks and roles and directors’ motivation and engagement. This requires knowledge of how board decisions are being made and the internal and external factors that affect the decision-making process. Large inferential leaps have been made from board demographics to firm performance with equivocal results. This thesis concentrates on how the institutional, behavioral and social identification factors impact the enactment of board roles and tasks. Data used in this thesis were collected in 2009 through a mailed survey to Finnish large and middle-sized corporations. The findings suggest that firstly, the national context of an organization is reflected in board roles and shapes how and for what reasons the board roles are carried out; secondly, the directors’ human and external social capital invariably impacts their engagement in board tasks and that conflicts among directors moderate those relationships; finally, directors’ identification with the organization, its shareholders and its customers affect the directors’ involvement in board tasks. By addressing the impact of organisational context, board-internal behaviour and social identification of board members on board roles and tasks, this thesis firstly complements the shareholder supremacy view as the only reason for the board’s involvement with specific tasks; secondly questions the existence of the board as separate from its institutional context; and thirdly questions the view that a board is a ‘black box’, subject to a selection of input demographic variables and producing quantifiable results. The thesis demonstrates that boards are complex organisational bodies, which involve much interaction among board members. Director behaviour and its influence on board decision making is an important determinant of board tasks and boards are likely subjected to inter-group tensions and are susceptible to the influence of internal and external social forces.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE State Board of Health OF SOUTH CAROLINA FOR THE PERIOD BEGINNING JULY I, 1943, AND ENDING JUNE 30, 1944

This annual report from the South Carolina State Board of Health includes reports from its various divisions, statistical data concerning health issues and a list of board members.

Estratégias organizacionais : lógicas de ação na gestão do fénomeno da indisciplina de um agrupamento de escolas TEIP

Relatório de estágio de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Área de especialidade em Administração Educacional), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2015

Board attributes that increase firm risk - evidence from the UK

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to identify the board attributes that significantly increase firm risk. The study aims to find if board size, percentage of non-executive directors, women on the board, a powerful CEO, equity ownership amongst executive board directors and institutional investor ownership, are associated with firm risk. This is the first study that examines which board attributes increase firm risk using a UK based sample. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical study collected secondary data from Bloomberg and Morningstar databases. The data sample is an unbalanced panel of 260 companies’ secondary data on FTSE 350 index in the UK, from 2005 to 2010. The data was statistically analysed using STATA. Findings – The study establishes the board attributes that were significantly related to firm risk. The results show that a board which can increase firm risk is one that is small in size,has high equity ownership amongst executive board directors and has high institutional investor ownership. Research limitations/implications – The governance culture and regulatory system in the UK is different from other countries. Since the data is a UK based sample, the results can lack generalisability. Practical implications – The results are useful for investors who invest in large firms, to have the knowledge about the board attributes that can increase firm risk. Regulators can also use the results to strengthen regulatory guidelines. Originality/value – This study fills the gap in knowledge in UK governance literature on the board attributes that can increase firm risk.

The relationship between self-serving cognitive distortions and bullying behaviours among elementary school children /

The purpose ofthe study was to examine the relationshq) between self-serving cognitive distortions and involvement in bullying behaviours. While relationships were e}q)k)red for both bullies and victims, the bully represented the main focus ofthis research. The participants ofthis study were 206 elementary school children in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 from a school board in South Western Ontario. Participants conq>leted a 2- part self-report questionnaire within a 1-week time period. Part I aimed to measure self-serving cognitive distortions, while Part II was designed to assess selfreports of bullying behaviours. Analyses revealed that a significant direct relationship existed between children's self-serving cognitive distortions and bullying others. More specifically, children's self-serving cognitive distortions were moderately correlated with bullying others (r = .50, p< 0.01). This finding was consistent for both male and female participants. In addition, significant moderate correlations also existed between each ofthe 9 subscales ofself-serving cognitive distortions and bullying others. In regard to the relationship between children's self-serving cognitive distortions and victimization, a low significant direct relationshq) was found (r = .22 p<0.01). This finding was consistent for both male and female participants. The results ofthis study are discussed in terms oftheir theoretical, as well as applied implications.

A study of ethical decision-making in hypothetical scenarios by secondary school principals /

The purpose of the study,was to investigate the ways in which secondary school principals make decisions that have an ethical dimension, and the reasons they use to justify their choices. The ethical principles and concepts, as well as the scenarios, were adapted from The Ethics ofSchool Administration by Strike, Haller, and Soltis (1998). In this study, 32 secondary principals from a school board in Ontario were asked to complete a descriptive survey which was designed to have principals make administrative decisions in response to 5 hypothetical scenarios. The open-ended questions were expected to elicit responses that were reflective of the principals' actual decision-making strategies. The survey also required them to justify and explain their reasons for each decision. The data were analyzed and 4 major categories ofjustifications emerged: pedagogy, legalism, moral code, and democracy. The results indicate that the decisions made by principals are grounded in various perspectives. While the data did not indicate any explicit knowledge of ethical principles and concepts, the principals' responses suggest sound and valid reasoning for their decision making, addressing the principles and concepts from a variety of viewpoints and using diverse justifications.