Developing an integrative model for understanding innovation adoption

We develop and test a theoretically-based integrative model of organizational innovation adoption. Confirmatory factor analyses using responses from 134 organizations showed that the hypothesized second-order model was a better fit to the data than the traditional model of independent factors. Furthermore, although not all elements were significant, the hypothesized model fit adoption better than the traditional model.

Developing mathematics understanding and abstraction : the case of equivalence in the elementary years

Generalising arithmetic structures is seen as a key to developing algebraic understanding. Many adolescent students begin secondary school with a poor understanding of the structure of arithmetic. This paper presents a theory for a teaching/learning trajectory designed to build mathematical understanding and abstraction in the elementary school context. The particular focus is on the use of models and representations to construct an understanding of equivalence. The results of a longitudinal intervention study with five elementary schools, following 220 students as they progressed from Year 2 to Year 6, informed the development of this theory. Data were gathered from multiple sources including interviews, videos of classroom teaching, and pre-and post-tests. Data reduction resulted in the development of nine conjectures representing a growth in integration of models and representations. These conjectures formed the basis of the theory.

Adjusting building thermostats for environmental gains : understanding the issues

There has been increasing reliance on mechanical heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to achieve thermal comfort in office buildings. The use of universal standards for thermal comfort adopted in air-conditioned spaces often results in a large disparity between mean daily external summer temperatures and temperatures experienced indoors. The extensive overuse of air-conditioning in warm climates not only isolates us from the vagaries of the external environment, but is generally dependent on non-renewable energy. A pilot study conducted at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) involved altering the thermostat set-points to two or three degrees above the normal summer setting in two air-conditioned buildings during the subtropical summer. This paper presents the findings of the research that led to the formulation of the test study. The findings of the test study are printed in the companion paper DES 72: Adjusting Building Thermastats for Environmental Gains – a Pilot Study.

Listening, sharing understanding and facilitating consumer, family and community empowerment through a priority driven partnership in Far North Queensland

Objectives: This paper provides an example of a mental health research partnership underpinned by empowerment principles that seeks to foster strength among community organizations to support better outcomes for consumers, families and communities. It aims to raise awareness among researchers and service providers that empowerment approaches to assist communities to address mental health problems are not too difficult to be practical but require long-term commitment and appropriate support. Methods: A collaborative research strategy that has become known as the Priority Driven Research (PDR) Partnership emerged through literature review,consultations, Family Wellbeing Program delivery with community groups and activities in two discrete Indigenous communities. Progress to date on three of the four components of the strategy is described. Results: The following key needs were identified in a pilot study and are now being addressed in a research-based implementation phase: (i) gaining two-way understanding of perspectives on mental health and promoting universal awareness; (ii) supporting the empowerment of carers, families, consumers and at-risk groups through existing community organizations to gain greater understanding and control of their situation; (iii) developing pathways of care at the primary health centre level to enable support of social and emotional wellbeing as well as more integrated mental health care; (iv) accessing data to enable an ongoing process of analysis/sharing/planning and monitoring to inform future activity. Conclusion: One of the key learnings to emerge in this project so far is that empowerment through partnership becomes possible when there is a concerted effort to strengthen grassroots community organizations. These include social health teams and men’s and women’s groups that can engage local people in an action orientation. Key words: Aboriginal, empowerment, Indigenous, mental health.

Seeing is understanding : the effect of visualisation in understanding programming concepts

How and why visualisations support learning was the subject of this qualitative instrumental collective case study. Five computer programming languages (PHP, Visual Basic, Alice, GameMaker, and RoboLab) supporting differing degrees of visualisation were used as cases to explore the effectiveness of software visualisation to develop fundamental computer programming concepts (sequence, iteration, selection, and modularity). Cognitive theories of visual and auditory processing, cognitive load, and mental models provided a framework in which student cognitive development was tracked and measured by thirty-one 15-17 year old students drawn from a Queensland metropolitan secondary private girls’ school, as active participants in the research. Seventeen findings in three sections increase our understanding of the effects of visualisation on the learning process. The study extended the use of mental model theory to track the learning process, and demonstrated application of student research based metacognitive analysis on individual and peer cognitive development as a means to support research and as an approach to teaching. The findings also forward an explanation for failures in previous software visualisation studies, in particular the study has demonstrated that for the cases examined, where complex concepts are being developed, the mixing of auditory (or text) and visual elements can result in excessive cognitive load and impede learning. This finding provides a framework for selecting the most appropriate instructional programming language based on the cognitive complexity of the concepts under study.

Spaces of care in the third sector : Understanding the effects of professionalization

Increasingly the health and welfare needs of individuals and communities are being met by third sector, or not-for-profit, organizations. Since the 1980s third sector organizations have been subject to significant, sector-wide changes, such as the development of contractual funding and an increasing need to collaborate with governments and other sectors. In particular, the processes of ‘professionalization’ and ‘bureaucratization’ have received significant attention and are now well documented in third sector literature. These processes are often understood to create barriers between organizations and their community groups and neutralize alternative forms of service provision. In this article we provide a case study of an Australian third sector organization undergoing professionalization. The case study draws on ethnographic and qualitative interviews with staff and volunteers at a health-based third sector organization involved in service provision to marginalized community groups. We examine how professionalization alters organizational spaces and dynamics and conclude that professionalized third sector spaces may still be ‘community’ spaces where individuals may give and receive care and services. Moreover, we suggest that these community spaces hold potential for resisting the neutralizing effects of contracting.

Nonlinear pedagogy : implications for teaching games for understanding (TGfU)

Nonlinear Dynamics, provides a framework for understanding how teaching and learning processes function in Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU). In Nonlinear Pedagogy, emergent movement behaviors in learners arise as a consequence of intrinsic self-adjusted processes shaped by interacting constraints in the learning environment. In a TGfU setting, representative, conditioned games provide ideal opportunities for pedagogists to manipulate key constraints so that self-adjusted processes by players lead to emergent behaviors as they explore functional movement solutions. The implication is that, during skill learning, functional movement variability is necessary as players explore different motor patterns for effective skill execution in the context of the game. Learning progressions in TGfU take into account learners’ development through learning stages and have important implications for organisation of practices, instructions and feedback. A practical application of Nonlinear Pedagogy in a national sports institute is shared to exemplify its relevance for TGfU practitioners.

Deepening our understanding about school leadership : learning from educators and non-educators

Increasingly, leadership is argued as a way forward to improve performance and practice in a variety of contexts. School leadership is no different. There is little doubt that in the current globalised world characterized by change and complexity, effective school leadership is a key requirement. The contribution of this chapter is framed around a synthesis of current research, writing and theoretical insights regarding leadership. It draws upon three bodies of writing, Firstly, it begins by distilling several key themes and trends regarding educational leadership from the current research and writing. Secondly, it reports on the findings of a current research project carried out by the authors that explored the leadership stories of ten outstanding leaders from non-educational settings in Australia. Finally, it concludes by referring to some of the paradoxes and tensions inherent in the work of school leaders. It is argued that understanding and endeavouring to reconcile these dilemmas is a pre-requisite for school leaders as they continue to operate in an environment fraught with change and complexity.

Understanding the psychosocial factors influencing the risky behaviour of young drivers

Young people aged 17–24 years are at high risk of being killed in road crashes around the world. Road safety interventions consider some influences upon young driver behaviour; for example, imposing passenger restrictions on young novice drivers indirectly minimises the potential negative social influences of peers as passengers. To change young driver risky behaviour, the multitude of psychosocial influences upon its initiation and maintenance must be identified. A study questionnaire was developed to investigate the relationships between risky driving and Akers’ social learning theory, social identity theory, and thrill seeking variables. The questionnaire was completed by 165 participants (105 women,60 men) residing in south-east Queensland, Australia. The sociodemographic variables of age, gender, and exposure explained 19% of the variance in self-reported risky driving behaviour, whilst Akers’ social learning variables explained an additional 42%. Thrill seeking and social identity variables did not explain any significant additional variance. Significant predictors of risky driving included imitation of the driving behaviours of, and anticipated rewards and punishments administered by, parents and peers. Road safety policy that directly considers and incorporates these factors in their design, implementation, and enforcement of young driver road safety interventions should prove more efficacious than current approaches.

Beyond the intercultural to the accented body : an Australian perspective

'Beyond the intercultural to the Accented Body’ foregrounds contemporary choreography as a multi-modal practice which is increasingly interdisciplinary and engages with interactive technologies. These concepts are explored in the context of intercultural dance and performance practices particularly in relation to issues of identity, hybridity, the diaspora and transformation. Four models of intercultural choreography are proposed: in-country immersion; collaborative international exchanges through sharing of culturally diverse practices; hybrid practices of diasporic artists; and implicit intercultural connections. The latter model is investigated via a case study of an interactive, multi-site and interdisciplinary collaboration Accented Body.

Social effects on coworker reliance and individual contributions to intercultural teams

Which social perceptions and structures shape coworker reliance and contributions to team products? When people form an intercultural team, they launch a set of working relationships that may be affected by social perceptions and social structures. Social perceptions include beliefs about interpersonal similarity and also expectations of behavior based on professional and national memberships. Social structures include dyadic relationships and the patterns they form. In this study, graduate students from three cohorts were consistently more likely to rely on others with whom they had a professional relationship, while structural equivalence in the professional network had no effect. In only one of the cohorts, people were more likely to rely on others who were professionally similar to themselves. Expectations regarding professional or national groups had no effect on willingness to rely on members of those groups, but expectations regarding teammates' nations positively influenced individual contributions. Willingness to rely on one's teammates did not significantly influence individual contributions to the team. Number of professional ties to teammates increased individual contributions, and number of external ties decreased contributions. Finally, people whose professional networks included a mixture of brokerage and closure (higher ego network variance) made greater contributions to their teams.

A Proposed Framework for Understanding Information Security Culture and Practices in the Saudi Context

An examination of Information Security (IS) and Information Security Management (ISM) research in Saudi Arabia has shown the need for more rigorous studies focusing on the implementation and adoption processes involved with IS culture and practices. Overall, there is a lack of academic and professional literature about ISM and more specifically IS culture in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the overall aim of this paper is to identify issues and factors that assist the implementation and the adoption of IS culture and practices within the Saudi environment. The goal of this paper is to identify the important conditions for creating an information security culture in Saudi Arabian organizations. We plan to use this framework to investigate whether security culture has emerged into practices in Saudi Arabian organizations.

Understanding how to enhance business creativity

This PhD study examines some of what happens in an individual’s mind regarding creativity during problem solving within an organisational context. It presents innovations related to creative motivation, cognitive style and framing effects that can be applied by managers to enhance individual employee creativity within the organisation and thereby assist organisations to become more innovative. The project delivers an understanding of how to leverage natural changes in creative motivation levels during problem solving. This pattern of response is called Creative Resolve Response (CRR). The project also presents evidence of how framing effects can be used to influence decisions involving creative options in order to enhance the potential for managers get employees to select creative options more often for implementation. The study’s objectives are to understand: • How creative motivation changes during problem solving • How cognitive style moderates these creative motivation changes • How framing effects apply to decisions involving creative options to solve problems • How cognitive style moderate these framing effects The thesis presents the findings from three controlled experiments based around self reports during contrived problem solving and decision making situations. The first experiment suggests that creative motivation varies in a predictable and systematic way during problem solving as a function of the problem solver’s perception of progress. The second experiment suggests that there are specific framing effects related to decisions involving creativity. It seems that simply describing an alternative as innovative may activate perceptual biases that overcome risk based framing effects. The third experiment suggests that cognitive style moderates decisions involving creativity in complex ways. It seems that in some contexts, decision makers will prefer a creative option, regardless of their cognitive style, if this option is both outside the bounds of what is officially allowed and yet ultimately safe. The thesis delivers innovation on three levels: theoretical, methodological and empirical. The highlights of these findings are outlined below: 1. Theoretical innovation with the conceptualisation of Creative Resolve Response based on an extension of Amabile’s research regarding creative motivation. 2. Theoretical innovation linking creative motivation and Kirton’s research on cognitive style. 3. Theoretical innovation linking both risk based and attribute framing effects to cognitive style. 4. Methodological innovation for defining and testing preferences for creative solution implementation in the form of operationalised creativity decision alternatives. 5. Methodological innovation to identify extreme decision options by applying Shafir’s findings regarding attribute framing effects in reverse to create a test. 6. Empirical innovation with statistically significant research findings which indicate creative motivation varies in a systematic way. 7. Empirical innovation with statistically significant research findings which identify innovation descriptor framing effects 8. Empirical innovation with statistically significant research findings which expand understanding of Kirton’s cognitive style descriptors including the importance of safe rule breaking. 9. Empirical innovation with statistically significant research findings which validate how framing effects do apply to decisions involving operationalised creativity. Drawing on previous research related to creative motivation, cognitive style, framing effects and supervisor interactions with employees, this study delivers insights which can assist managers to increase the production and implementation of creativity in organisations. Hopefully this will result in organisations which are more innovative. Such organisations have the potential to provide ongoing economic and social benefits.

A holistic understanding of web design elements

Web design elements are significantly important for web designers to understand target users in terms of effective communication design and to develop a successful web site. However, web design elements generally known are broad and various that are hardly conceived and classified, so many practitioners and design researchers approach to web design elements based on graphic and visual design that mainly focus on print media design. This paper discusses about web design elements in terms of online user experience, as web media certainly differs from print media. It aims to propose a fundamentally new concept, called 'UEDUs: User Experience Design Units' which enables web designers to define web design elements and conceptualise user experience depending on the purpose of web site development.