Visiting borders in education: A creative approach with children in primary education

This study engages with children sharing experiences of belonging at school, of receiving access and of exploring complex relationalities along shifting borders in educational spaces. Their understandings offer a magnifying glass on normativity, difference and social positions in school spaces. Through ‘flattening and folding’ with material and theoretical concepts, the authors map how qualitative data images made by children and theory constitute one another to make sense of complex relationalities discussed by children. The project desires to make sense of blurry borders that exclude children in educational contexts and to push borders in methods and ethics in research with children.     

Teamworking and organizational performance: A review of survey‐based research

This paper presents a review of recent survey‐based research looking at the contribution of teamwork to organizational performance. In particular, it focuses on empirical studies in which both teamwork and performance are directly measured in a quantitative way. The paper begins by identifying four interrelated dimensions of teamwork effectiveness: attitudinal, behavioural, operational and financial. The first two represent transmission mechanisms by which organizational performance can be improved. The latter two provide direct measures of organizational outcomes. The review shows that teamworking has a positive impact on all four dimensions of performance. It also reveals that, when teamwork is combined with structural change, performance can be further enhanced. The paper concludes by highlighting some important research gaps that future studies could address.     

Transformation of non positive semidefinite correlation matrices

In multivariate statistics, estimation of the covariance or correlation matrix is of crucial importance. Computational and other arguments often lead to the use of coordinate-dependent estimators, yielding matrices that are symmetric but not positive semidefinite. We briefly discuss existing methods, based on shrinking, for transforming such matrices into positive semidefinite matrices, A simple method based on eigenvalues is also considered. Taking into account the geometric structure of correlation matrices, a new method is proposed which uses techniques similar to those of multidimensional scaling.     

Of Practicalities and Perspective: What Is Fair in Group Decision Making?

Establishing fair procedures to regulate intragroup disagreements should engender cooperation while inhibiting conflict . Yet what is a "fair" procedure might vary for members of different factions . To understand perceptions of fairness in group decision making , the present research developed and utilized the Fair Group Procedures Scale (FGPS). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a four-factor structure along two dimensions: the means of distributing decision-making power (proportionality to equality) and the normative value of the approach (desirable to undesirable) . Data suggest that deeming a particular decision-making procedure "fair" is predicted by one's majority/minority position within a group . Furthermore , experimental data suggest that social change (i . e ., reversals of majority/minority positions) reduces the discrepancies between factions . Results support the socially constructed nature of fairness and its potential role in intragroup conflict .     

A proposal for a new PhD level curriculum on quantitative methods for drug development

This paper provides an overview of “Improving Design, Evaluation and Analysis of early drug development Studies” (IDEAS), a European Commission–funded network bringing together leading academic institutions and small‐ to large‐sized pharmaceutical companies to train a cohort of graduate‐level medical statisticians. The network is composed of a diverse mix of public and private sector partners spread across Europe, which will host 14 early‐stage researchers for 36 months. IDEAS training activities are composed of a well‐rounded mixture of specialist methodological components and generic transferable skills. Particular attention is paid to fostering collaborations between researchers and supervisors, which span academia and the private sector. Within this paper, we review existing medical statistics programmes (MSc and PhD) and highlight the training they provide on skills relevant to drug development. Motivated by this review and our experiences with the IDEAS project, we propose a concept for a joint, harmonised European PhD programme to train statisticians in quantitative methods for drug development.     

Race, crime, and Republican strength: Minority politics in the post-civil rights era

This investigation assesses the relationships between racial threat and partisan dominance in state legislatures with tests of interactive hypotheses. The findings show that historically contingent expectations derived from racial threat theory, Republican law and order campaign appeals, and fundamentalist strength account for Republican strength in the legislatures. Two-way fixed-effects estimates based on pooled time-series analyses of 799 state-years in the post-civil rights era show that the percentage of Republicans in the state legislatures grew after increases in African American presence and the violent crime rates. The combined effects of a growth in African American and fundamentalist populations also account for increased Republican seats in these bodies. Statements by Republican campaign officials on how they deliberately used mass resentments against minorities to gain votes provide evidence about the intervening links between minority threat, the menace posed by high violent crime rates, and increased Republican strength in the state legislatures.     

On the right track? Islamic schools in the Netherlands after an era of turmoil

The Netherlands currently has 43 Islamic primary schools. Each is fully subsidised by the government. Yet since the first school was established in 1988 Islamic schools have been confronted with obstacles by the Ministry of Education, bad press and increasingly strict state supervision. Under pressure to improve their image, since 2008 Dutch Islamic primary schools have turned their attention away from expanding their numbers and instead focussed on improving school quality. In this article we describe the various developments and draw upon large scale empirical research to demonstrate the present state of affairs both in terms of cognitive and non-cognitive pupil achievements. We argue that the present results offer reasons to be cautiously optimistic.     

On the Determinants of Class Legislation: an Ecological Study of Political Struggles Between Workers and Management*

The state controls many matters of conflict between labor and management. This study attempts to identify the social conditions that lead to laws which favor either side in their ongoing struggle for influence. Using a cross-sectional ecological design I found that political systems with more blacks were least likely to have public policies in the interest of the working class. Other relevant factors which had less consistent effects were the type of enterprise and the level of resources in an area. Generally, the results are consistent with theories that racial antagonisms undermine the political efforts of workers.     

Performance Effects of Using the Balanced Scorecard: A Note on the Dutch Experience

This article aims to contribute to understanding how to use the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) effectively. The BSC lends itself to various interpretations. This article explores how the way in which the BSC is used affects performance. Empirical evidence from Dutch firms suggests BSC use will not automatically improve company performance, but that the manner of its use matters: BSC use that complements corporate strategy positively influences company performance, while BSC use that is not related to the strategy may decrease it. We discuss the findings and offer managers guidance for optimal use of the BSC.