Towards a pre-service technology teacher education resource for New Zealand

The Pre-service Technology Teacher Education Resource (PTTER) was developed as a cross-institutional resource to support the development of initial technology teacher education programmes in New Zealand. The PTTER was developed through collaboration involving representatives from each of the six New Zealand university teacher education providers, Massey University, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago, Victoria University and University of Waikato, working with the National Technology Professional Development Manager. The framework for PTTER is built on four key elements considered to be essential to the education of technology teachers. The four elements are: philosophy of technology, rationale for technology education, technology in the New Zealand curriculum, and teaching technology. The PTTER is a web-based resource aimed at assisting technology teacher educators in the development of their teacher education programmes. The framework is a statement of shared philosophy, purpose and intent and is located on the Techlink website (www.techlink.org.nz). PTTER contains a range of teaching resources and strategies located within an overall framework for initial technology teacher education programmes. This paper describes the rationale for the PTTER framework, the process through which it was developed, explanation of each of the framework’s elements, and concludes with discussion of the framework’s implementation and future development.     

Perspectives of authenticity: implementation in technology education

To meet the intentions of the New Zealand Curriculum 2007 teachers must critically reflect on their role and their idea of what defines ‘best practice’ for teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. The teacher’s role has changed considerably over time. There is now, more than ever, a need for much greater transparency, accountability and collaborative practice within education. Famous philosophers and theorists including Plato, Rousseau and Dewey have expounded ideals of authenticity and authentic engagement, but it is only with the spread of constructivism that authenticity has gained more favour. The authors will investigate perspectives of authenticity, authentic learning, and authentic activities (Kreber et al. in Adult Educ Q Am Assoc Adult Contin Educ 58(1):22–43, 2007; Newmann in Authentic achievement: restructuring schools for intellectual quality, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Fransisco, 1996; Newmann and Wehlage in Educ Leadersh 50(7):8–12, 1993; Reeves et al. in Quality conversations. Paper presented at the 25th HERDSA annual conference, 2002; Splitter in Stud Philos Educ 28(2):135–151, 2008). Through qualitative investigation they identify and summarise key viewpoints and demonstrate how these can be successfully implemented through programmes of technology education. A model of authentic technology for producing quality technological outcomes is presented. The authors show how an activity from an initial teacher education course in technology education uses identified aspects of authentic technological practice through the various dimensions of authenticity to develop enduring learning for students. They consider the role of context in developing learning and introduce some new ideas on successful student engagement in the field of conation (Riggs and Gholar in Strategies that promote student engagement, Corwin Press, California, 2009). Conation is defined as the will, drive and effort behind students’ engagement in learning and is increasingly seen as an integral part of authentic education.     

HRM and culture: History,ritual, and myth

The concept of organizational culture is here applied to the practice of human resource management. Reasons for the current emphasis on culture as an organizational metaphor are suggested. Cultural indicators which have diagnostic value for human resource professionals include organizational usage of symbols, rituals, ideologies, language, stories, myths, relationship, and humor. Examples of these indicators of culture are drawn from a variety of HRM practices and functions to explore the implications of each indicator. Alternative strategies are presented for improving the management of organizational change through sensitivity to cultural impact and better utilization of existing cultural realities.     

Behind the Mask: Revealing the True Face of Corporate Citizenship

This paper traces the development of corporate citizenship as a way of framing business and society relations, and critically examines the content of contemporary understandings of the term. These conventional views of corporate citizenship are argued to contribute little or nothing to existing notions of corporate social responsibility and corporate philanthropy. The paper then proposes a new direction, which particularly exposes the element of "citizenship". Being a political concept, citizenship can only be reasonably understood from that theoretical angle. This suggests that citizenship consists of a bundle of rights conventionally granted and protected by governments of states. However, the more that governmental power and sovereignty have come under threat, the more that relevant political functions have gradually shifted towards the corporate sphere – and it is at this point where "corporate" involvement into "citizenship" becomes an issue. Consequently, "corporate citizens" are substantially more than fellow members of the same community who cosily rub shoulders with other fellow citizens while bravely respecting those other citizens' rights and living up to their own responsibility as corporations – as the conventional rhetoric wants us to believe. Behind this relatively innocuous mask then, the true face of corporate citizenship suggests that the corporate role in contemporary citizenship is far more profound, and ultimately in need of urgent reappraisal.     

Interpreting the mind of multinational hotel investors: Future trends and implications in China

This study provides an updated outlook on the future of the investments proposed by multinational hotel corporations in China. Data were collected from secondary sources using keyword research to identify proposed new hotel developments and future trends in China. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that the decisions of multinational hotel groups with respect to business formats, the direction trends of investments, and the attractiveness of Chinese market are affected by the happening of mega-events, Chinese government policies, the presence of local entrepreneurs, and market potential.