Defining goal terms in development and health

YesMost academic literature uses ‘goal’, ‘aim’, ‘objective’ and ‘target’ as synonymous terms, but development and healthcare sectors define them as distinct etymological entities with varied and confusing interpretations. This review sought to constructively harmonise and differentiate each definition using a thematic framework. An inductive synthesis of definitions of the goal terms collected from 22 literature sources selected through a systematic internet search. Thirty-three specific definitions were reduced through serial category-building to single general definitions, and a set of theoretical themes generated as characteristic framework of each goal. Seven conceptual themes evolved from the synthesis, including the object, scope, hierarchy, timeframe, measurability, significance and expression of each goal term. Two terms, ‘goal’ and ‘aim’ are thematically similar as broad objects of immeasurable terminal impact, with a long-term timeframe. They signify organisational success, expressed as general purpose statements. ‘Objective’ is differentiated as a specific object of measurable intermediate outcome, with short-term timeframe. It signifies intervention effectiveness, expressed as a SMART statement. ‘Target’ is simply a specific quantifiable level of an indicator. Goal, aim, objective and target are conceptually different. New frameworks for writing complete goal statements are proposed, including impact and timeframe; and outcome, indicator and timeframe frameworks for aim and objective respectivel

School bullying from a sociocultural perspective

School bullying is an important concern. Whilst there is growing knowledge about the nature, extent and effects of school bullying, areas of complexity in research findings remain. In this paper we develop our thinking on school bullying using a sociocultural theoretical framework. We review existing literature around three main themes: 1) The conceptualisation and interpretation of bullying; 2) The relational aspects of bullying 3) Bullying as part of someone’s life trajectory. For each theme, empirical findings are discussed to highlight key issues, and arguments presented from relevant sociocultural theories to provide insight in each case. During the paper, we show how varying strands of research into bullying can be integrated, and how areas of complexity can be explained. Adopting a sociocultural view of school bullying presents implications for both research and practice. Bullying is contextual, and attention should be given to the situated relationships and multiple settings surrounding the behaviour

Uneven development and the commercialisation of public utilities: a political ecology analysis of water reforms in Malaysia

Water policy reforms introduced in Peninsular Malaysia have yielded relatively positive improvements in the operational and financial performance of water utilities. This article analyses contemporary water governance in the context of the historical origins of uneven water development in Malaysia and national heterogeneity in the political economy of water provision. The investigation builds on political ecology scholarship in urban water policy and reaffirms postcolonial critiques of neoliberal inspired water reforms in developing countries. Our study analyses the impact of the ‘asset light policy’ – a policy introduced in 2008 with the aim of commercialising public water utilities and centralising water sector investment and ownership. It is found that notwithstanding evidence of improved financial health and technical efficiency in certain states, the asset light policy has accentuated uneven water development across the country. Thus despite the policy’s relatively narrow focus on technical and financial matters, it is shown to have a fundamentally political outcome. This in turn explains the current ‘policy impasse’ in five of the eleven states in Peninsular Malaysia. Furthermore, the omission of environmental considerations within the policy framework is argued to undermine the overall ambition of the policy. It is recommended that water policy makers give greater consideration to the embedded social, political and economic inequalities that characterize many former European colonies

A resource-advantage perspective on the orchestration of ambidexterity

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Service Industries Journal on 31 Jul 2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2014.942655Strategic resources are key inputs to strategy that can form the basis of superior service performance, yet there is scarce research on the strategic resources used by managers to realise ambidexterity: the simultaneous pursuit of alignment and adaptability. In this article, we draw on a qualitative case study of a leading European airline and examine the resource bundles used by managers in their orchestration of ambidexterity. Adopting a resource-advantage perspective, the study illustrates elements of human, organisational, and informational capital that are mobilised by managers in their incorporation of alignment-oriented and adaptability-oriented activities. By moving beyond a linear association between strategic resources and ambidextrous organisations, we argue that managers' orchestration of ambidexterity is central to how service organisations manage their strategic resources and enhance competitiveness. Overall, we highlight the micro managerial level as an important point of observation to extend current thinking on the ‘how’ of ambidexterity in service organisations

A snapshot of early childhood care and education in South Africa: institutional offerings, challenges and recommendations

This article draws from a research report on the Project for Inclusive Early Childhood Care and Education (PIECCE), which surveyed attitudes, training strategies, materials and entrance requirements across most relevant higher education institutions (HEIs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and technical and vocational education and training colleges (TVETs). The aim of this study was to identify what institutions were offering in terms of training teachers in the birth-to-four age group, to identify the challenges and provide recommendations based on the findings