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Higher education has a dual responsibility, both to the academy and to society at large, to effectively confront racism on campus. And yet, in the United States and perhaps elsewhere, it fails to effectively confront racism as the result of systemic flaws, expressed as organizational intransigence, even as new "supportive and protective" structures are created. Thus, the central question raised by the anonymized, composite narrative case study at the core of this paper is as follows: To what extent, if any, do the familiar organizational structures of higher education, encompassing both leadership and management processes, reinforce or resist racism on campus? Consistent with other social science researchers, the authors believe that richly contextualized narrative cases help to bridge the world of ideas and conjecture and actual situations. We used an iterative process spanning three months for drawing our case, involving a back-and-forth communication of actual experiences involving campus racism. The resulting composite narrative provides a richly contextualized situation drawn from real life, while still preserving anonymity. We regarded this later aspect as crucial for making possible the close examination of an ethically challenging situation that might otherwise remain invisible due to sensitive information. Our analysis focused on campus responsiveness to the challenge of racism within a mechanistic organization, rooted in structuralism, versus an organic organization, rooted in post-structuralism. Four aspects of a more organic university design are identified as key to bringing about meaningful, ethically sound change within the academy: deep, reflective listening; a more horizontal, consensus-based leadership structure that empowers professionals at various ranks; freedom within a framework; and a broadly shared, continually reinforced focus on overarching principles, goals, and ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There has been much recent interest in synthesis algorithms that generate finite state machines from scenarios of intended system behavior. One of the uses of such algorithms is in the transition from requirements scenarios to design. Despite much theoretical work on the nature of these algorithms, there has been very little work on applying the algorithms to practical applications. In this paper, we apply the Whittle&Schumann synthesis algorithm [32] to a component of an air traffic advisory system under development at NASA Ames Research Center. We not only apply the algorithm to generate state machine designs from scenarios but also show how to generate code from the generated state machines using existing commercial code generation tools. The results demonstrate the possibility of generating application code directly from scenarios of system behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of Maker programs entails deep cultural and structural changes within schools. In this case study, we interviewed a principal and seven faculty members in a high school in the United States, after the first year of implementing making-centered curricula. We report how faculty members responded to the reform, their motivations and beliefs, and the concomitant shifts in power and status. We found that educators are required to make non-trivial adaptations to their skills, instructional approaches, and pedagogical beliefs, and that successful adaptation may lead them to gain status, resources, and support within the school. Those are gained on account of technical expertise and educators' efforts to promote the vision of the reform. The extent to which faculty members adapt to a reform, accommodate and support others in their process of adapting, or resist it, may determine whether the reform is successful or not. As such, school leaders face the challenge of encouraging faculty to buy into such reforms. The case study provides a unique perspective on Maker-centered reforms and outlines important implications for administrators seeking to implement similar programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to propose a regression-based new approach to pH control in open beck dyeing to improve its process quality. Specifically, we examine the current practice of adjusting pH of dye liquor at a large manufacturer of automotive carpets in the United States and point out several drawbacks that lead to substandard products. To properly address the issues, we theorize casual relationships among the key variables in the dyeing process and seek to identify them by using a multiple linear regression model based on the data gathered from actual production dyeings at the company. Our findings show that a dyer should set the pH of the solution in the beck before the dyes are added so that the dyebath pH after the addition of the dyes will be in the target range for best coloring results with minimum or no adjustment. The suggested approach enhances the quality of the dyed carpets, reduces laboratory work required to fix defective products, and renders the operations much more efficient. All of these translate into significant cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses and develops certain observable indices of the nature and effects of dumping and antidumping policy. The object is to analyze each antidumping procedure introduced by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) for the 1998–2001 period. Using conservative criteria, we find that 68.2% of the antidumping procedures introduced by the EU appear to have a questionable economic foundation, meaning that the identified factors suggest that the conduct challenged is unlikely to have any significantly anticompetitive effect. We similarly find a questionable economic foundation in 76% of the analyzed cases in the US. The recommendation that we propose is that it may be appropriate to modify the antidumping law to take into account at a preliminary stage the factors that may indicate the presence or absence of potential anticompetitive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established in 2009, Complete College America (CCA) has emerged as one of the leading single-issue intermediary organizations advocating policy solutions to improve college completion in the USA. Although other entities that influenced the policy conversation at that time have ceased operation, CCA has maintained and, in fact, expanded its role in US higher education policy. Through a collective case study developed from archival data and interviews with CCA officials and respondents from three member states (Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas), this study examines the evolution of CCA as an organization and investigates how it has been able to challenge other actors within the higher education field. Findings suggest that CCA created and strengthened its influence through strategic identification of members, pointed communication, and intentionally aligning themselves with power brokers in both the completion sphere and targeted states. This study highlights the growing role and influence of intermediary organizations in higher education policy conversations and offers insights into how these types of organizations influence decision-making in state and national strategic action fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we report our research into the concerns and other matters of significance for members of instructional design teams. Specifically we studied how members of a design team depicted the quality of their own motives while participating in team pursuits. This is a type of self-evaluation known as drawing distinctions of worth. Our research took the form of a case study, focusing on an instructional design team at a university in the United States. Based on interviews with team members and observations of their work, we developed an account of our research participant's distinctions of worth organized around three themes: (a) distinctions of worth could guide their decision-making more than did the goals of the project; (b) competing distinctions of worth could be difficult for them to reconcile; and (c) their distinctions of worth could be accompanied by unanticipated costs. Overall, these themes reflect that distinctions of worth were a real aspect of our participants' team involvement, and not merely their subjective responses to situational factors. This has implications for those managing teams or otherwise helping teams improve, which we discuss. We also discuss how research into instructional design teams that only focuses on external dynamics team members experience, and not on factors such as their distinctions of worth, cannot fully account for what it means for people to contribute towards team outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health systems worldwide are experiencing increasing cost-cutting pressures with more intense competition and rising customer requirements. We aimed to find out and compare the characteristics and successes of two different sustainable business cases in healthcare delivery from an innovation-driven, organizational perspective. Subject and methods: The data for the two cases were collected through structured literature research as well as personal interviews with the founders of the two healthcare business models. Data were analyzed using the business model canvas as a structured framework, as well as by cross-case analysis. Results: The two business models operate successfully, but pursue different approaches to healthcare innovation. We were able to show that one model pursues a very complex, network-based approach that is focused on one specific rural region, while the structure of the other is characterized by a scalable concept. In addition, we observed that the founders had a decisive influence on the development and success of the healthcare business models. Conclusion: Our study highlights the multitude of complex relationships required to build and establish innovative and successful business models for providing high-quality and cost-effective services in two of the world's largest healthcare systems. Moreover, it could be shown that the business model canvas offers a suitable methodological framework to compare and analyze in a structured manner the extent to which innovative care approaches also require an economically successful and sustainable business model. Results give a holistic, structured description of specific organizational features and environments, whch can then serve decision-makers in health and health economics as lessons learned and aid them in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The apprenticeship system in Germany is carried out both by companies and vocational schools (the Dual System). The question of whether the German Dual System is transferable is currently being asked in vocational education and training research. The analysis of current transfer discourses alludes to a research desideratum: the actual approaches consider either the input or the output of an educational transfer, but the transfer process in relation to its input and output has not been investigated to date. We focus on this desideratum. In the present case study, the processes emergence and implementation of dual apprenticeship structures is analysed in relation to its input and output in a German automotive transplant in the United States. Transplant organisations provide an ideal case to explore the transfer phenomenon because they have been transferred from a familiar context to a foreign context. The research questions are: firstly, why and how did the need emerge to implement dual apprenticeship structures in the German transplant in the United States (input); secondly, how and in which way have these structures been implemented (process); and thirdly, how can the implemented structures be characterised: as an imitation, adaptation or transformation of the original model (output)? The central findings of the case study are: firstly, that growing contradictions in the production system triggered the implementation process; secondly, that the original Dual System was transformed within the implementation process; and thirdly, that this transformation led to innovative solutions. These findings may not be valid for every transfer at any time, but they reflect that educational transfer of dual apprenticeship structures can be more than just a more or less successful imitation or adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how serious games improve knowledge and competencies management in the context of human resources management. The exploratory research, based on the conceptual framework of the SECI model from Nonaka, analyzes the performances of three serious games developed in 3 different financial companies, from France, USA and India. These three case studies will help to define a 7-step development process of a knowledge and competencies management serious game. The banking sector has interesting characteristics for this study, some of the associated knowledge being both very standardized and also highly heterogeneous. It will be shown that serious games contribute significantly to improve 'socialization', 'externalization', 'combination', and 'internalization' of knowledge and that they promote benchmarking throughout the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaches to African-American alumni outreach efforts will be explored to reveal the impact on participation and giving rates. Also, this article provides an authentic case study that will reveal how one institution through its outreach efforts connected with African-American alumni. In conclusion, recommendations are offered for both academic and student affairs administrators who seek to create outreach initiatives that will engage African-American alumni and encourage them to remain lifelong contributors to the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues for an extension to the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR) research to include a contemporary issue of importance to national and global security, critical infrastructure resilience. Rather than extending the multiple perspectives on CSR, this study aimed to identify a method of recognising CSR-related issues, before applying it to two dissimilar case studies on critical infrastructure resilience. One case study was of an international telecommunications company based in the US while the other was of the railway network in Britain during a period of privatisation. The method used was derived from Okoye's (J Bus Ethics 89(4):613-627, ) common reference core for CSR. Both case studies satisfied all the criteria sought which points to critical infrastructure resilience as being an emerging CSR issue. Because ongoing change characterises CSR, the method may have application for identifying future new CSR strands. As the findings suggest that some aspects of national and global security are CSR-related phenomena, the study demonstrates how CSR research may be significant at a societal, national and global level. Implications of the study include a broadening of the value and reach of contributions from CSR researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study provides qualitative analysis of data that answers the following research question: how college science faculty teach science and NOS and incorporate aspects of NOS and the history of science into their undergraduate courses? Study concentrates on four cases and more specifically on three introductory science classes and on four instructors who taught those courses. These instructors were chosen as case studies to explore in greater detail what occurs inside introductory science courses in one particular higher institution in the Northeastern United States. Participants’ teaching styles are presented through a combined and detailed presentation of interview data and classroom observations supported with examples from their classroom activities. Constant comparative approach was used in the process of organizing and analyzing data. Findings revealed that participants preferred to use the traditional teacher-centered lecturing as their teaching style and whose main concern was to cover more content, develop the problem solving skills of their students, and who wanted to teach the fundamental principles of their subjects without paying special importance to the NOS aspects. The study also revealed that other variables of teaching science, such as large class size, lack of management and organizational skills, teaching experience, and instructors’ concerns for students’ abilities and motivation are more important for these scientists then teaching for understanding of NOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]