Learning to collaborate:a study of individual and organizational learning, and interorganizational relationships

This paper examines learning to collaborate in the context of industrial supply relationships. Evidence of collaboration, and individual and organizational learning, from an in-depth case study of a large organization and its relations with two key suppliers is discussed. Analytic methods developed to elicit such evidence and provide insights into learning processes and outcomes are presented. It is argued that it is possible for an organization and individuals to learn to develop resilient collaborative relationships, but this requires a more thorough consideration and understanding of issues such as trust, commitment and teamwork than has been typical to date. Suggestions for future practice and research are presented.

Negotiating access and establishing expertise

This book is concerned with the day-to-day realities of doing social science research. It is based upon the reflections and experiences of a wide range of established social researchers, the majority of whom undertake research in the field of health care. By drawing upon their anecdotal accounts of setting up research projects, negotiating access, collecting and analysing data, and disseminating findings, the book highlights a multitude of practical and ethical complexities involved in the conduct of empirically based research. It delineates the emotional, social and cultural factors involved at all stages of the research process, and sets this delineation in the context of wider debates about the relationship between research methods and research ethics.

Communication in investigative and legal settings:introduction and contexts

Communication in investigative and legal settings is a vitally important area of practice and research. This chapter outlines the significant paradigm shift in interviewing practices, highlighting various studies that have been conducted that have demarked this change. We examine the role of linguistics in this paradigm shift and the importance of training across England and Wales and the Nordic countries in maintaining the professionalization of communication in forensic contexts. The authors outline the significance of maintaining international links across disciplines and summarize the details of each chapter within the book.

Sex talk:discussion and meaning-making among religious young adults

Where does discussion about sex and sexuality take place for religious young adults? How well do religious young people feel they know the perspectives and debates within their religious tradition regarding sexuality? This chapter, based on a project which studied 18-25 year olds from a variety of religious traditions, will examine the context in which sexuality was discussed, giving particular attention to religious spaces, significant individuals (e.g. parents and friends) and popular media. The concluding section will also highlight some points for good practice, based on the perspectives of young people.

Variation in carotenoid content of kale and other vegetables:a review of pre- and post-harvest effects

Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids that are selectively taken up into the macula of the eye, where they are thought to protect against the development of age-related macular degeneration. They are obtained from dietary sources, with the highest concentrations found in dark green leafy vegetables, such as kale and spinach. In this Review, compositional variations due to variety/cultivar, stage of maturity, climate or season, farming practice, storage, and processing effects are highlighted. Only data from studies which report on lutein and zeaxanthin content in foods are reported. The main focus is kale; however, other predominantly xanthophyll containing vegetables such as spinach and broccoli are included. A small amount of data about exotic fruits is also referenced for comparison. The qualitative and quantitative composition of carotenoids in fruits and vegetables is known to vary with multiple factors. In kale, lutein and zeaxanthin levels are affected by pre-harvest effects such as maturity, climate, and farming practice. Further research is needed to determine the post-harvest processing and storage effects of lutein and zeaxanthin in kale; this will enable precise suggestions for increasing retinal levels of these nutrients.

Pregnancy complications in hyperemesis-affected pregnancy:a large hospital database study

Objective: Vomiting in pregnancy is a common condition affecting 80% of pregnant women. Hyperemesis is at one end of the spectrum, seen in 0.5–2% of the pregnant population. Known factors such as nulliparity, younger age and high body mass indexare associated with an increased risk of this condition in the first trimester. Late pregnancy complications attributable to hyperemesis, the pathogenesis of which is poorly understood, have not been studied in large population-based studies in the United Kingdom. The objective of this study was to determine a plausible association between hyperemesis and pregnancy complications,such as pregnancy-related hypertension, gestational diabetes and liver problems in pregnancy, and the rates of elective (ElCS) and emergency caesarean section (EmCS). Methods: Using a database based on ICD-10 classification, anonymised data of admissions to a large multi-ethnic hospital in Manchester, UK between 2000 and 2012 were examined.Notwithstanding the obvious limitations with hospital database-based research, this large volume of datasets allows powerful studies of disease trends and complications.Results Between 2000 and 2012, 156 507 women aged 45 or under were admitted to hospital. Of these, 1111 women were coded for hyperemesis (0.4%). A greater proportion of women with hyperemesis than without hyperemesis were coded forhypertensive disorders in pregnancy such as pregnancy-induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (2.7% vs 1.5%;P=0.001). The proportion of gestational diabetes and liver disorders in pregnancy was similar for both groups (diabetes:0.5% vs. 0.4%; P=0.945, liver disorders: 0.2% vs. 0.1%;P=0.662). Hyperemesis patients had a higher proportion of elective and emergency caesarean sections compared with the non-hyperemesis group (ElCS: 3.3% vs. 2%; P=0.002, EmCS: 5% vs.3%; P=0.00). Conclusions: There was a higher rate of emergency and elective caesarean section in women with hyperemesis, which could reflect the higher prevalence of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders(but not diabetes or liver disorders) in this group. The factors contributing to the higher prevalence of hypertensive disorders arenot known, but these findings lead us to question whether there is a similar pathogenesis in the development of both the conditions and hence whether further study in this area is warranted.

Students' recollections of participating in a first year residential learning community experience

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of what participation in a first year residential learning community meant to students 2–3 years after their involvement in the program. Various theories including environmental, student involvement, psychosocial and intellectual, were used as a framework for this case study. Each of the ten participants was a junior or senior level student at the time of the study, but had previously participated in a first year residential learning community at Florida International University. The researcher held two semi-structured interviews with each participant, and collected data sheets from each. ^ The narrative data produced from the interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed to gain insights into the experiences and perspectives of the participants. Member checking was used after the interview process. A peer reviewer offered feedback during the data analysis. The resulting data was coded into categories, with a final selection of four themes and 15 sub-themes, which captured the essence of the participants' experiences. The four major themes included: (a) community, (b) involvement, (c) identity, and (d) academics. The community theme is used to describe how students perceived the environment to be. The involvement theme is used to describe the students' participation in campus life and their interaction with other members of the university community. The identity theme is used to describe the students' process of development, and the personal growth they underwent as a result of their experiences. The academics theme refers to the intellectual development of students and their interaction around academic issues. ^ The results of this study showed that the participants valued greatly their involvement in the First Year Residents Succeeding Together program (FYRST) and can articulate how it helped them succeed as students. In describing their experience, they most recall the sense of community that existed, the personal growth they experienced, the academic development process they went through, and their involvement, both with other people and with activities in their community. Recommendations are provided for practice and research, including several related to enhancing the academic culture, integrating faculty, utilizing peer influence and providing further opportunities to create a seamless learning environment. ^

"You can trust me": An examination of trust -in -the -brand advertising appeals

Using trust-in-the-brand appeals in advertising has been a very common practice However, research has yet to examine the effectiveness of such appeals. Can the use of trust appeals in advertising enhance a product's trustworthiness and help the advertiser gain consumers' trust? Might such appeals lead to more favorable attitudes toward the advertised brand? Given the absence of research that speaks to these questions, this dissertation attempts to fill this void by exploring persuasion outcomes of using trust appeals. Specifically, this research aims to assess whether the use of trust appeals affects persuasion; explicate how such appeals may work; anticipate when an ad containing trust appeals may be more or less effective; and finally conduct and report the results of preliminary empirical tests. ^ A conceptual model is offered in the dissertation describing how trust appeals may affect persuasion outcomes. It is proposed that using trust advertising appeals will result in more trust-related thinking, enhance the perceived trustworthiness of the advertised brand, and finally lead to more favorable brand attitudes and trial intentions. This dissertation also examines the differential effectiveness of alternative trust appeals. Elaborate trust appeals that provide substantiation for trust are expected to perform better than simple trust appeals. An implicit elaborate trust appeal is anticipated to outperform an explicit elaborate appeal. ^ Two experiments were conducted. Including a trust appeal in an ad enhanced the perceived trustworthiness of the advertised brand which, in turn, led to more favorable brand attitudes and greater trial intentions compared to a similar ad without the trust appeal. The results also support the proposed mediating role of perceived trust. The empirical test speaking to the hypothesized differential effect of alternative trust appeals provides support for marketing practitioners' efforts in seeking the most effective use of such appeals. Evidence was obtained in the second study demonstrating that an elaborate trust appeal worked more effectively than a simple trust appeal. Contrary to the expectation, this persuasion advantage held regardless of whether the elaborate appeal was in an explicit form or an implicit form. ^

On the developmental continuity /discontinuity of early adolescent patterns of racial identity salience: Relations with later identities and psychosocial adjustment

Given the significant amount of attention placed upon race within our society, racial identity long has been nominated as a meaningful influence upon human development (Cross, 1971; Sellers et al., 1998). Scholars investigating aspects of racial identity have largely pursued one of two lines of research: (a) describing factors and processes that contribute to the development of racial identities, or (b) empirically documenting associations between particular racial identities and key adjustment outcomes. However, few studies have integrated these two approaches to simultaneously evaluate developmental and related adjustment aspects of racial identity among minority youth. Consequently, relations between early racial identity developmental processes and correlated adjustment outcomes remain ambiguous. Even less is known regarding the direction and function of these relationships during adolescence. To address this gap, the present study examined key multivariate associations between (a) distinct profiles of racial identity salience and (b) adjustment outcomes within a community sample of African-American youth. Specifically, a person-centered analytic approach (i.e., cluster analysis) was employed to conduct a secondary analysis of two archived databases containing longitudinal data measuring levels of racial identity salience and indices of psychosocial adjustment among youth at four different measurement occasions.^ Four separate groups of analyses were conducted to investigate (a) the existence of within-group differences in levels of racial identity salience, (b) shifts among distinct racial identity types between contiguous times of measurement, (c) adjustment correlates of racial identity types at each time of measurement, and (d) predictive relations between racial identity clusters and adjustment outcomes, respectively. Results indicated significant heterogeneity in patterns of racial identity salience among these African-American youth as well as significant discontinuity in the patterns of shifts among identity profiles between contiguous measurement occasions. In addition, within developmental stages, levels of racial identity salience were associated with several adjustment outcomes, suggesting the protective value of high levels of endorsement or internalization of racial identity among the sampled youth. Collectively, these results illustrated the significance of racial identity salience as a meaningful developmental construct in the lives of African-American adolescents, the implications of which are discussed for racial identity and practice-related research literatures. ^

Examining the validity of the GRE General Test scores and undergraduate GPA for predicting success in graduate school at a large racially and ethnically diverse public university in Southeast Florida

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among GRE scores, undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and success in graduate school, as measured by first year graduate GPA (FGPA), cumulative graduate GPA, and degree attainment status. A second aim of the study was to determine whether the relationships between the composite predictor (GRE scores and UGPA) and the three success measures differed by race/ethnicity and sex. A total of 7,367 graduate student records (masters, 5,990; doctoral: 1,377) from 2000 to 2010 were used to evaluate the relationships among GRE scores, UGPA and the three success measures. Pearson's correlation, multiple linear and logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results of the correlational analyses differed by degree level. For master's students, the ETS proposed prediction that GRE scores are valid predictors of first year graduate GPA was supported by the findings from the present study; however, for doctoral students, the proposed prediction was only partially supported. Regression and correlational analyses indicated that UGPA was the variable that consistently predicted all three success measures for both degree levels. The hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that at master's degree level, White students with higher GRE Quantitative Reasoning Test scores were more likely to attain a degree than Asian Americans, while International students with higher UGPA were more likely to attain a degree than White students. The relationships between the three predictors and the three success measures were not significantly different between men and women for either degree level. Findings have implications both for practice and research. They will provide graduate school administrators with institution-specific validity data for UGPA and the GRE scores, which can be referenced in making admission decisions, while they will provide empirical and professionally defensible evidence to support the current practice of using UGPA and GRE scores for admission considerations. In addition, new evidence relating to differential predictions will be useful as a resource reference for future GRE validation researchers.

Students' recollections of participating in a first year residential learning community experience

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of what participation in a first year residential learning community meant to students 2-3 years after their involvement in the program. Various theories including environmental, student involvement, psychosocial and intellectual, were used as a framework for this case study. Each of the ten participants was a junior or senior level student at the time of the study, but had previously participated in a first year residential learning community at Florida International University. The researcher held two semi-structured interviews with each participant, and collected data sheets from each. The narrative data produced from the interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed to gain insights into the experiences and perspectives of the participants. Member checking was used after the interview process. A peer reviewer offered feedback during the data analysis. The resulting data was coded into categories, with a final selection of four themes and 15 sub-themes, which captured the essence of the participants' experiences. The four major themes included: (a) community, (b) involvement, (c) identity, and (d) academics. The community theme is used to describe how students perceived the environment to be. The involvement theme is used to describe the students' participation in campus life and their interaction with other members of the university community. The identity theme is used to describe the students' process of development, and the personal growth they underwent as a result of their experiences. The academics theme refers to the intellectual development of students and their interaction around academic issues. The results of this study showed that the participants valued greatly their involvement in the First Year Residents Succeeding Together program (FYRST) and can articulate how it helped them succeed as students. In describing their experience, they most recall the sense of community that existed, the personal growth they experienced, the academic development process they went through, and their involvement, both with other people and with activities in their community. Recommendations are provided for practice and research, including several related to enhancing the academic culture, integrating faculty, utilizing peer influence and providing further opportunities to create a seamless learning environment.

A pilot study of orthopaedic resident self-assessment using a milestones' survey just prior to milestones implementation.

OBJECTIVE: To pilot test if Orthopaedic Surgery residents could self-assess their performance using newly created milestones, as defined by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. METHODS: In June 2012, an email was sent to Program Directors and administrative coordinators of the 154 accredited Orthopaedic Surgery Programs, asking them to send their residents a link to an online survey. The survey was adapted from the Orthopaedic Surgery Milestone Project. Completed surveys were aggregated in an anonymous, confidential database. SAS 9.3 was used to perform the analyses. RESULTS: Responses from 71 residents were analyzed. First and second year residents indicated through self-assessment that they had substantially achieved Level 1 and Level 2 milestones. Third year residents reported they had substantially achieved 30/41, and fourth year residents, all Level 3 milestones. Fifth year, graduating residents, reported they had substantially achieved 17 Level 4 milestones, and were extremely close on another 15. No milestone was rated at Level 5, the maximum possible. Earlier in training, Patient Care and Medical Knowledge milestones were rated lower than the milestones reflecting the other four competencies of Practice Based Learning and Improvement, Systems Based Practice, Professionalism, and Interpersonal Communication. The gap was closed by the fourth year. CONCLUSIONS: Residents were able to successfully self-assess using the 41 Orthopaedic Surgery milestones. Respondents' rate improved proficiency over time. Graduating residents report they have substantially, or close to substantially, achieved all Level 4 milestones. Milestone self-assessment may be a useful tool as one component of a program's overall performance assessment strategy.

Global Value Chain Analysis: A Primer, 2nd Edition

The first edition of Global Value Chain Analysis: A Primer was released five years ago (May 2011) in order to provide an overview of the key concepts and methodological tools used by Duke University’s Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (Duke CGGC) a university-based research center that focuses on innovative applications of the GVC framework, which was developed by Duke CGGC’s founding director, Gary Gereffi. The Second Edition of Global Value Chain Analysis: A Primer (July 2016) retains a simple, expository style and use of recent research examples in order to offer an entry point for those wishing to better understand and use the GVC framework as a tool to analyze how local actors (firms, communities, workers) are linked to and affected by major transformations in the global economy. The GVC framework focuses on structural shifts in global industries, anchored by the core concepts of governance and upgrading. This Second Edition highlights some of the refinements in these concepts, and introduces a number of new illustrations drawing from recent Duke CGGC research. The bibliography offers a sampling of the broad array of studies available on the Duke CGGC website and in related academic publications. We hope this work stimulates continued interest in and use of the GVC framework as a tool to promote more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable development outcomes for all economies and the local actors within them.

"On our way": identities and representations of African women seeking asylum in Ireland

This thesis provides the first explicit Postcolonial study of asylum in the Irish context that integrates Black Feminist analyses of intersectional identity with Postcolonial Feminist theories of representation. African women seeking asylum in the Republic of Ireland were key political instruments used by the state to re-draw racial lines. The study examines how, for a group of African women “On their Way” through asylum, identity and representation work hand in hand to force identities, subaltern spaces and bodies to occupy them. Rich biographical data is gathered through mixed art and drama methods over two intensive participatory research projects conducted in a small Irish city. Data analysis critically examines the poetics (practices that signify) and politics (the powers that govern these practices) and affective economies of global and local NGO visual representations, exposing how they consume, fragment, and appropriate African women’s identities and bodies. Though hypervisible, the women themselves “cannot speak”. The women in the study reported feeling “tired” and “used”. Asking “What work are they doing as they do asylum?” the study finds that black female identities and bodies are forced to perform political, cultural, emotional and material labour on their way through this context of Irish asylum. The author argues that Postcolonial Asylum is a performative encounter that re-scripts colonial race/class/gender discourse through a humanitarian alibi to naturalize European/white supremacy, reinscribe patriarchal power and justify racialised incarceration of bodies seeking asylum in the North. This study takes an interdisciplinary approach that centralizes Black and Postcolonial Feminist theory and innovates Participatory Art-Based Action methodology. Black and Postcolonial feminisms can recognize, theorize and replenish black female political and intellectual agency. Participatory Action research, if grounded in Black feminist epistemology and ethics, can allow participants to “speak back” to what is already said about them in spaces of convivial self-representation.