Linking Managerial Cognition and Organizational Performance: A Preliminary Investigation Using Causal Maps

This paper considers the potential relationship between individual cognition and organizational performance. A series of causal maps are elicited from the owner-managers of retail businesses which are either growing or static and contracting. The maps are compared using a series of propositions to establish whether individual cognition is consistent with the contrasts which would be expected between relatively high and low performing businesses. When the general characteristics of the maps are compared no significant differences are found when the propositions are evaluated. However, a subsequent inductive phase of analysis suggests that more detailed insights can be gained through a focus on the relationships between specific types of concept within the individual maps. In contrast to the assumptions made in many mapping studies, this finding suggests that it is the idiosyncratic details of map content and structure which provide the basis for exploring the relationship between cognition and performance, rather than the overall characteristic of the maps.     

On the Road to Damascus: First Steps towards Changing the Relations of Disability Research Production

This paper distinguishes between participatory and emancipatory research, and discusses how both differ from other research practice. A further distinction is made between material and social relations of disability research production. It is argued that, although there are significant constraints imposed by the material relations of research production, genuine progress can still be made in changing the social relations of disability research. Based on the experience of doing research commissioned by organisations of disabled people and other work carried out within a framework of 'user's perspectives' on services and policy, the discussion focuses on the lessons we have learnt-and those we still need to learn-about how to change the relations of research production. Consultation between researchers and disabled people, subjecting research to critical scrutiny, and making researchers accountable to disabled people are suggested as key issues in the development of participatory research.     

Viewpoint: Place and space in sociological fieldwork

This brief note argues against the tendency in sociological fieldwork to limit observation and explanation to one medium of communication – speech. Against such ethnographic reductionism, it pleads for a reincorporation of a sense of place and space in fieldwork, and for attention to the multiple ways in which messages are communicated.     

Mark My Words! Service User and Carer Involvement in Social Work Academic Assessment

This paper discusses the involvement of service users in academic assessment as part of a second year module for social work undergraduate students at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. The three main tasks undertaken in partnership are detailed: designing an assessment form, assessment of student group presentations and assessment of a written reflective essay. The paper starts by identifying key questions raised by the assessor team before providing a critical commentary on the process, and identifying challenges and learning points. The experience emphasises the need for a more critical and searching approach towards service user involvement in social work education in academic assessment. Moreover, the team's experience suggests that such work is best achieved in the context of collaborative working relationships based on trust, with opportunities for team reflection and supported by training in academic assessment.     

地方治理研究:范式、理论与启示

20世纪90年代早期以来治理理论的兴起,可以看作是对当前世界各国在回应新的治理挑战中所采纳的不同于传统公共行政的公共管理方式的总结.治理理论的支撑性论点和概念包括:网络管理理论,即将治理的核心任务看成是管理网络;授权理论,认为有效治理的关键是恰当的授权机制;社会解释理论,以人们理解和解释世界的差异为研究起点并认为这种差异是治理所面临的最大挑战;侧重于合作如何达成的伙伴关系概念和社会资本概念.治理理论的启示在于:首先,治理要求扩大地方决策的范围并重新定义地方政府的角色;其次,面对新的挑战,公共管理者需要掌握新的管理技能;最后,治理理论及其对应的管理方式提供了全球比较的框架.