Agents of Change

The role of structure and agency in management accounting control change of a family owned firm: A Greek case study

Background: Teachers are responsible for curriculum implementation and transformation. Therefore, they are viewed as the primary agents of change in teaching and learning. As agents of change, they are responsible for being innovative and creative in their teaching and learning in their English First Additional Language (EFAL) class. Objectives: The study aimed to explore South African teachers as agents of change in teaching EFAL in their Grade 3 classes. Method: This study adopted a qualitative research approach with an interpretivist paradigm. The researcher wanted to explore teachers’ lived experience as agents of change in the Foundation Phase class. A case study design with purposive sampling was used. Results: The findings revealed that teachers understood their roles and responsibilities as change agents in their classrooms. They agreed they were responsible for implementing the curriculum to improve basic literacy skills among EFAL learners. Conclusion: The study found that teachers, as agents of change, needed support in continuous professional development to implement the curriculum. They also highlighted the need for help from their school management teams. Contribution: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of the EFAL teacher. They are no longer mediators of learning but agents of change in teaching, learning and curriculum adaptation. Their roles go beyond imparting knowledge to learners. They are developers and mediators of critical thinking, decision-making, communication, use of technology and relationship-building skills.

BackgroundPhysical activity recommendations are reached by only a small part of the population. A common problem is that research findings on public health-related topics such as physical activity promotion are oftentimes not translated into practice. The involvement of relevant stakeholders, such as change agents (role models, decision-makers, and/or knowledge mediators), is a common strategy to implement physical activity recommendations in specific settings, as they have the necessary knowledge of contextual factors. However, dissemination and implementation of physical activity recommendations are often prevented by focusing exclusively on the health sector and by underestimating the individual perceptions and needs of change agents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to address the problem of how physical activity recommendations can be translated into practice through comprehensive consideration of the situation and context of change agents from various sectors of society at different administrative levels. This allows for deriving recommendations for action on how a national dissemination strategy of physical activity recommendations should be designed.MethodsQualitative expert interviews were conducted with change agents from different sectors of society and administrative levels in Germany (N = 21). Case selection took place via a sampling plan. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed by two trained researchers using qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe change agents’ perceived relevance of physical activity and physical activity promotion and their knowledge of physical activity recommendations varied across different sectors. Nine themes were identified covering the change agents’ needs for the implementation of physical activity recommendations: strengthening of political will and cooperation, availability of public space for physical activity, change in awareness and health education, professional qualification, financial incentives, development of physical activity-promoting programmes and structures, provision of resources, bridging the theory–practice gap, and knowledge of physical activity recommendations.ConclusionsThis exploratory study contributes to the development of an evidence-based dissemination strategy of physical activity recommendations involving change agents from various sectors. Cross-sectoral needs and obstacles were identified indicating gaps that have to be addressed. Future research should choose practice-oriented approaches to develop dissemination strategies that are adapted to the needs of local contexts.

In the intricate world of financial data replication, conflicts are inevitable, especially in distributed environments where data is constantly moving across multiple systems. This article delves into the various strategies employed to tackle these conflicts, ensuring data integrity and consistency. We begin by exploring the common sources of conflict in financial data replication, such as network latency, system failures, and concurrent updates. Recognizing these challenges, we discuss the importance of establishing robust conflict resolution mechanisms. The article highlights several key strategies, including timestamp-based conflict resolution, where the most recent update prevails, and versioning, which maintains multiple versions of data to handle discrepancies. We also examine the use of consensus algorithms, such as Paxos and Raft, to achieve agreement among distributed nodes. These techniques are essential for maintaining the accuracy and reliability of financial data, which is crucial for decision-making and compliance. Additionally, we look at real-world examples and case studies that illustrate the successful implementation of these strategies in financial institutions. By understanding the practical applications, readers can better appreciate the complexities and solutions involved in financial data replication. Ultimately, this article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of conflict resolution strategies, offering valuable insights for professionals involved in managing financial data systems. By adopting these strategies, organizations can enhance their data replication processes, ensuring seamless operations and fostering trust in their financial systems.

Perception of volcanic eruption as agent of change on Merapi volcano, Central Java

Gastroenterology: A Field With Endless Career Opportunities for Physicians and Scientists

Teaching (Cooperative) Business: The “Bluefield Experiment” and the Future of Black Business Schools

The possibility of balancing career and family is meanwhile a central concern for most physicians when choosing a job. The aim of this study was to identify current barriers and opportunities for physician education and career planning. This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey between 11/2021 and 02/2022 and targeted physicians at all career levels in Germany who were members of a clinical professional association. Alternative and consent questions were used to assess experiences/attitudes toward various aspects of life and career planning, as well as alternative work and parental leave models, depending on gender, specialty, and hierarchical level. The majority of the 2060 participants were female (69%) and had children (66%). Many childless residents reported that they felt they had to choose between children and a career. The majority of female residents, specialists and attending physicians (Ø 55.5%) stated that they had experienced career losses as a result of taking parental leave, while most men did not share this experience (Ø 53.7%). 92% of all participants agreed with the statement that men and women have different career opportunities. Job-sharing models were considered feasible at all levels of the hierarchy by an average of 55.6% of all medical executives. Parenthood and the use of parental leave and part-time work appear to have a significant impact on the career paths of those surveyed. Although the majority of directors of medical training programs are open to job-sharing models, further measures are needed in order to equalize career opportunities for men and women.

Purpose: This study discusses the effects of transformative service in the financial sector. Unlike conventional research, it reports how business transformation can play a vital role in human well-being. The main objective is to reveal how financial services can affect the welfare of people, communities, regions, and worldwide perspectives. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling using SPSS (Amos). Findings: While appreciating the role of consumers as agents of service-driven business transformation, the study demonstrates how service transformation can promote an ecosystem that helps to accomplish rising sustainability goals. Originality: The main focus was to explain how social and environmental sustainability, responsible consumption and innovativeness are related to a firm’s attractiveness, value creation and customer satisfaction. Research Limitations: This study uses a cross-sectional survey design and it doesn’t have a holistic approach for all stakeholders. Predominantly, it considers the customer as a change agent in business transformation. Practical Implications: The study discusses a broader customer perspective instead of an extremely narrow and limiting traditional dyadic firm-customer perspective. It can enhance responsible production and consumption. It develops a comprehensive framework to help academicians, service leaders, and policymakers to recognize and solve service systems’ unsustainability. Social Implications: The research contributes to addressing, understanding, upgrading, and integrating the financial service system for business transformation, which can positively influence individuals and collectives.

This article focuses on the roles of two agents of change, Irène Senécal and Moniques Richard, in francophone Quebec between 1940 and 2015. During these decades, modernist and postmodernist art education replaced traditional drawing education. Our goal is to examine how these leaders succeeded in bringing changes to the school milieu and to the internal dynamics of the disciplinary field of art education. Through case studies, we raise a number of points about these agents, concerning their backgrounds, their located educational actions, their theoretical affiliations, their network of influence, and the cultural and social context of the period. We use the concept of the agent of change as an innovative and distributed leadership, and the metaphor of turbulence to situate the innovations in relation to important changes in Quebec’s school programmes and to better understand the turmoil that characterizes these changes. Senécal took part in the child-centred paradigm shift in the 1950s and introduced a modernist approach based on the principles of design in the 1960s while Richard contributed to an in-depth questioning of the limits of modernism in the 1990s, which led to an understanding of youth culture in the 2000s and a multimodal approach in the 2010s. Their paths lead in different ways to changes in the schools through rich networks of collaboration, creating turbulences between paces of stability and innovation.

This article describes a case study on a project to create cooperation between international (EU) and national governments, small and large enterprises, universities and non-governmental charitable and social organizations. It explains the nature of the project and investigates the implications of the project for the discourse concerning the Triple Helix. The project, still in progress at the time of writing, required the stimulation of large scale and pervasive innovative responses to the challenge of aging populations in European countries, particularly as regards the creation of appropriate homes and neighborhoods that will enable the new generation of older adults to live well, happily and healthily. People in this new generation is conventionally referred to as baby boomers, the largest, longest lived, healthiest, wealthiest, longest working older generation that Europe has ever seen. The paper describes the first stage of the project - the creation of an inclusive dialogue between the different parties. Then it presents a discussion of the learnings from the case study for organizers of other similar dialogues, based upon an in-depth interview with the initiator of the project, who is also one of this article’s co-authors. It also proposes a new configuration of Triple Helix model. We conclude this paper by presenting a question that Triple Helix participants as agents of change will have to answer in the future.

This chapter posits transmedia action research as a new methodological construct fusing transmedia storytelling with action research theory and practice. Transmedia action research can provide a coherent engagement strategy in which stakeholders and researchers share in the translation, composition, production, and distribution of storyworlds that bolster social change. The author explores three case studies from Albania, Greece and New Zealand where STEM students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute acted as ‘transmediary’ agents of change, co-generating transmedia action storyworlds with communities affected by climate change. Each case features facilitated climate games and other multi-modal approaches to support climate resilience. Fieldwork was assisted by WPI’s Global Lab, a center for creative scholarship in service of global engagement, where each year hundreds of students receive training in transmedia storytelling principles and practices. This progressive pedagogy involves developing participatory practices that support community engagement informed by a transmedia action research logic.

The benefits of working in a large company are better infrastructure, well-defined policies, training and learning opportunities, job security and gradual growth. Slow decision-making due to the bureaucratic structure is a major drawback. The unique character of small firms offers agile structure, quick response, family-like atmosphere, opportunity to wear many hats as advantages, and lower compensation and restricted growth as disincentives to joining. However, if employees get their human relationships to energize, the size of the firm will be inconsequential for their success. That is, small firms can only offer a congenial atmosphere as a big firm never. Therefore, understanding what gives us energy and how we utilize it is critical for the leaders in small firms. This case study focuses on the CEO of a small family-owned firm (Nishio Glass and Mirror) whose decision to usher in positive organizational scholarship with the help of consultants set the firm on a successful journey. Even though statistics show that most change efforts fail irrespective of the size of the firm, in this case, it succeeded. This case study informs us that workplaces can be a community for people to amplify positive energy unleashing virtuous circles of growth. Research Questions: What is positive organizational scholarship? How can it be implemented in a small firm? Theory: Positive organizational scholarship and agents of change. Type of the Case: Study of a phenomenon. Basis of the Case: Phenomenon. Protagonist: Present, the CEO of the firm. Findings for Phenomenon-based Research Case An organization is not a machine to transform resources into material properties. It is a community where people share the agentic roles with one another to let them transform. In a trustful community, people can examine the experience of ‘pregnant void’ to open a virtuous mindset; moreover, people can give suffering for others as an agent to embody the meaning of virtues. Discussions for Phenomenon-based Research Case To manage a chaotic situation, which approach should be applied: crisis management or a proper management system? In this case, even a management system failed and dumped the CEO in psychological chaos. Which is that process that an external OD consultant can adopt to transform an organization by setting its employees on the path of self-transformation? If we apply hedonic happiness to the case, it seems to be fit for the past situation where people in the case wanted to have materialistic and short-term success. Discuss the alternative that can be applied.

Parallel Private Health Insurance in Australia: A Cautionary Tale and Lessons for Canada

After the market domination are we facing a new era of State intervention? The crisis context clarifies the danger of globalization, the strength of the interactions between countries and institutions, fuels the discussion about the shapes and functions of the new Welfare Mix and demands the creation of new international systems of information: the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008), born in crisis, is the suitable model for analyzing and evaluating the performance of an economy. The European Union faces the appearance of hybrid modes of governance and opens the door of bailouts from the public sector to the financial system as a way of protecting - against the danger of the systemic crisis - the economic growth, the employment and the European Social Model. In fact, especially since 2007, the world is in face of strategies of financial sustainability and interventions in the “financial market failures”; it is the case of recapitalizations, loans, grants, acquisition of Assets, several actions conducted by special purpose entities (SPE) and both the command and supervision performed by public corporations and the general government over the financial system. All of these operations, affecting the public deficit, the public debt, the stock flow adjustment and the public finances, call the supra regulation of international bodies conducted by the follow up of several principles in the context of the systems of national accounts. Case studies of Belgium, Netherlands and Portugal were performed based on the information of the European System of Accounts (ESA95) and further analysis confirmed the new State functions, in a crisis context, and showed the repercussions of the interventionism on the public deficit and debt. This study supports the prediction of the danger of lack of sustainability of the public finances, in those countries and the EU, specially if the guarantees are requested, the loans not solved and the Assets bought by the government lost its value. In conclusion, we can say that all the countries need a strategic management of their Assets and Liabilities, mainly the financial ones, both in the public and in the financial sectors, using the state interventions in order to create value; in fact, the General Government acting as a share holder or as a creditor of the financial system, must always avoid the danger of an unsustainable public debt, the lost of wealth, the systemic risk and, above all, the unreliability of the State as the guarantor of the economic and financial system.