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Social Sciences
Special Issues
Leadership, Learning and History in the Rail Industry
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Leadership, Learning and History in the Rail Industry

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 July 2015) | Viewed by 20560

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Janene Piip

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
JP Research & Consulting, PO Box 2614, Port Lincoln 5606, South Australia, Australia
Interests: leadership; talent management; adult learning; e-learning pedagogies; rail industry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The themes emerging in the papers highlight the global nature of the rail industry and the need for interoperability, standardization, and harmonization of systems, knowledge, and people, so as to create a level playing field for public and private sector players. In Europe, a number of initiatives are under way that integrate new policy initiatives into practice. Making better use of public assets is one theme, while other authors have identified that politicians, academics, and the industry have to work together to facilitate the desired outcomes for the image of a new rail industry. In developing countries, advancing a plan to grow the rail industry is important because the industry’s potential has not been fully realized to support growing economies.

For individuals, learning programs that assist with knowledge of the global rail industry are constantly being developed to incorporate up-to-date knowledge for new careers in a number of technical areas, including rail transport and cargo, electricity, mechanics, and signaling in railways. Some papers tell the story of rail industry learning evolving from the industrial age to the global era. Rail industry learning evolved as its own field of specialization. This development was driven by the necessity of preparing and developing skilled craftsmen for maintaining and repairing mechanical equipment. This necessity occurred within a context where apprenticeships were declining, while the rail industry was (and is) constantly evolving. Traditional ways of learning feature and discuss new methodologies, the consideration of pedagogy in adult learning, skill shortages, and the shortage of engineers. Such learning encompasses the recognition that both ‘hard’ (or technical) and ‘soft’ skills (or talents) are now required by leaders. The range of abstracts selected for this Special Issue will make for thought-provoking reading for rail industry specialists and others interested in such traditional industries.

Dr. Janene Piip
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


References:

Piip, Janene, and Roger Harris. “Leadership talent identification and management.” In Workforce Development: Perspectives and Issues. Edited by Roger Harris and Tom Short. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013.

Short, Tom, Janene Piip, and Roger Harris. “Using benchmark principles as a formative evaluation strategy to build a leadership development culture in the Australian rail industry.” Evaluation Journal of Australasia 13 (2013): 20–30.

Short, Tom, Janene Piip, Tom Stehlik, and Karen Becker. “A capability framework for rail leadership and management development.” CRC for Rail Innovation, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 2011.

Stehlik, Tom, Tom Short, and Janene Piip. “The challenges of leadership in the 21st century.” In Workforce Development: Perspectives and Issues. Edited by Roger Harris and Tom Short. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013.

Piip, Janene, and Roger Harris. “How to identify talented leaders.” In Innovations in Workplace Development: Strategies and Practices. Edited by Roger Harris and Tom Short. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014.

Keywords

  • education
  • learning
  • leadership
  • history

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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386 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Benefits to Young Rail Enthusiasts of Participating in Extracurricular Academic Activities
by Anna Fraszczyk, Joseph Dungworth and Marin Marinov
Soc. Sci. 2015, 4(4), 967-986; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4040967 - 05 Oct 2015
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5988
Abstract
The paper examines a number of positive academic outcomes achieved by university students who, as young rail enthusiasts representing over 10 European institutions, took part in extracurricular rail-related academic activities. Analyses presented in the paper are based on the evaluation of the responses [...] Read more.
The paper examines a number of positive academic outcomes achieved by university students who, as young rail enthusiasts representing over 10 European institutions, took part in extracurricular rail-related academic activities. Analyses presented in the paper are based on the evaluation of the responses to the questionnaire distributed amongst participants of three consecutive editions of an intensive program in rail and logistics which took place in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Also, quotes from follow-up one-to-one interviews with participants are used to support the results presented. The sample for each year varies in terms of numbers, nationalities, academic backgrounds, and male:female ratio. Academic benefits are specifically looked into, which includes teaching and learning activities throughout the three weeks of the program. The analysis of results revealed that young rail enthusiasts who participated in the program benefited from lectures delivered in Week 1, especially those focused on multimodal transport and rail infrastructure in 2013, which received positive mean ratings of 4.45 and 4.53, respectively, on a five-point Likert scale. Moreover, academic benefits were strongly supported by non-technical skills improvements in areas such as English language and communication, both reaching the mean ratings of 4.35 or above in 2014. A number of recommendations for improvements of next editions of similar rail-related programs as well as areas for future research are identified in the paper Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership, Learning and History in the Rail Industry)
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370 KiB  
Article
The Resurgence of Education in Railway and Metro Engineering in Brazil
by Yesid Asaff, Viviane V. F. Grubisic, Regis K. Scalice and Acires Dias
Soc. Sci. 2015, 4(3), 806-819; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4030806 - 17 Sep 2015
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4589
Abstract
In this paper, an overview of the history of education in railway and metro engineering in Brazil is presented, including its beginnings, its apogee, its near extinction, and its return at the beginning of the 21st century. The trajectory of the Brazilian professional [...] Read more.
In this paper, an overview of the history of education in railway and metro engineering in Brazil is presented, including its beginnings, its apogee, its near extinction, and its return at the beginning of the 21st century. The trajectory of the Brazilian professional education began with the implementation of small railway workshops located along the railway which were outside of the regular education system. At the end of the 20th century, the economic crisis, privatization, and drastic reduction of investment led to the scrapping and almost eradicating of the Brazilian rail network, followed by the death of railway education in Brazil. In recent years, the railway industry was stimulated, giving way to large investments, impacting and creating new opportunities for development in Brazil. This was one of the fundamental aspects for the development of new professional higher education programs in the railway and metro sector in Brazil. The first project to be implemented in Brazil was the course on railway and metro engineering of the Federal University of Santa Catarina. This course aims to provide structured training in four main areas: vehicle design, operation, maintenance, and train and metro management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership, Learning and History in the Rail Industry)
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472 KiB  
Article
A Successful Cooperation between Academia and Industry in Higher Rail Education: The Postgraduate Course in “Railway Infrastructure and Systems Engineering” at Sapienza
by Luca Rizzetto, Gabriele Malavasi, Stefano Ricci, Noemi Montaruli, Nicoletta Abbascià, Riccardo Risica, Giovanni Bocchetti, Federico Gherardi and Alessandra Raffone
Soc. Sci. 2015, 4(3), 646-654; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4030646 - 27 Aug 2015
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3926
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to describe the postgraduate course in “Railway Infrastructure and Systems Engineering” at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, funded by rail companies operating in Italy. It represents a successful example of cooperation between academia and industry in [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to describe the postgraduate course in “Railway Infrastructure and Systems Engineering” at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, funded by rail companies operating in Italy. It represents a successful example of cooperation between academia and industry in the field of railway transport. The success of the program is attested by its placement (the 90% of the graduates find an employment within six months in the companies which support the course; this percentage reached the 98% in the last three editions) and by the fact that every year it receives many more applications (almost 400 last year) than the maximum number of students that can attend the course (30). The main factors that make this course successful are its multidisciplinary training and the very close collaboration between the University and partner companies. In fact, the program of each module is designed both by academics and by managers of the companies in order to ensure an up-to-date teaching, which provides both the academic and the industrial point of view of any rail subject; this enables students to obtain a complete vision of the railway system, so to be able to work in any of the partner companies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership, Learning and History in the Rail Industry)
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Other

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794 KiB  
Case Report
Leadership Talent: A Study of the Potential of People in the Australian Rail Industry
by Janene Piip
Soc. Sci. 2015, 4(3), 718-741; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4030718 - 15 Sep 2015
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5606
Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of leadership talent in the rail industry in Australia. Like many other countries around the world, rail is troubled by its ability to attract new talent as older leaders with specialized knowledge retire. This study sought to identify [...] Read more.
This paper discusses the importance of leadership talent in the rail industry in Australia. Like many other countries around the world, rail is troubled by its ability to attract new talent as older leaders with specialized knowledge retire. This study sought to identify whether the sector is making the most of the talent already existing within, knowing the barriers faced in attracting new industry entrants, and questions what can be done to strengthen current approaches to developing leaders. In exploring the meaning of leadership talent, from a skills based perspective with three levels of leaders, blended methods using semi-structured interviews and a survey were utilized. The study is important because it focuses on the people aspects of the industry, a little researched area of rail that has major implications for how employees are engaged and retained. The findings identified a certain mindset, culture and approach about leadership talent in organizations that overlooked the heterogeneity of rail organization populations, precluding certain groups of people from becoming leaders. The project identified that leadership and other soft skills required in the rail industry are both under researched, and often undervalued, for the impact that they can have on performance and productivity of companies. There are key messages from this study for both organizations as well as inspiring rail industry leaders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership, Learning and History in the Rail Industry)
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