Describes a postal questionnaire survey to explore the attitudesand intentions of final‐year undergraduate engineers. Addresses theperceptions of the engineer and engineering…
Abstract
Describes a postal questionnaire survey to explore the attitudes and intentions of final‐year undergraduate engineers. Addresses the perceptions of the engineer and engineering. Concludes that the most commercially minded students intended to leave engineering; the manufacturing industry has a poorer image than oil or chemical companies; sex discrimination is still pronounced within engineering; those intending careers in engineering see Europe as a less important part of their career.
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Comedy actors Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith have teamed up with ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) to take the heat out of smoking at work. In Fags they play two smokers talking…
Abstract
Comedy actors Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith have teamed up with ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) to take the heat out of smoking at work. In Fags they play two smokers talking about how to solve this “passive smoking thing”. After their hilarious discussion they conclude that the only way is to formulate a policy on smoking. The video is accompanied by a set of discussion notes guiding the viewer through the points raised. Details of purchase and hire facilities are available from ASH, 5–11 Mortimer Street, London W1N 7RH. Tel: 071–637 9843.
THERE is far too much talk and writing about book expenditure per authority or per 1,000 of population, which frankly does not get one very far. What matters is what books you buy…
Abstract
THERE is far too much talk and writing about book expenditure per authority or per 1,000 of population, which frankly does not get one very far. What matters is what books you buy or do not buy. I have picked, quite at random, one copy of the British National Bibliography, for May 7th, 1958, and made a list of all the books which I think every library authority ought to have, whether large or small, industrial, rural or urban. These titles would meet the needs of the inhabitants of any community and enlarge their vision, give them the materials for attempting an understanding of the world and its problems, arts and sciences, and enable them to improve their abilities and skills, and fit themselves physically, mentally and morally to be useful citizens. It sounds pompous, I know, but that is what we are trying to do. Here is part of the list: Irwin: Origins of the English Library. Jung: Undiscovered Self (a world famous psychologist on social problems). Mackenzie: Free Elections (textbook on matters of interest to all citizens). Finer: Anonymous Empire (lobbying, its faults and virtues). Roberts: Trade Union Congress. Pollard: Problem of Divorce. Stengel: Attempted Suicide. Railway Magazine Miscellany. Dunn: Teach Yourself Japanese. Trustram: Classbook of Arithmetic and Trigonometry. Calder: Electricity Grows Up. Morley and Hughes: Elementary Engineering Science (a standard work). Powell: Physics, Vol. 2 (textbook for National Certificate students). Bowen: Exploration of Time. Brown: How to Make a Home Nature Museum. Leithauser: Inventors of Our World. Meares and Neale: Electrical Engineering Practice. Lamberment and Pirie: Helicopters and Autogyros of the World. Spicer and Pegler: Practical Book‐keeping. Luker: School Craftwork in Wood. Goff: Further Guide to Long Play. Clark: Royal Albert Hall. Graveney: Cricket Through the Covers. Swift: Collected Poems. Bolt: Flowering Cherry. Austen: The Watsons. Hobbs: Maps and Regions. Richie: Hampshire Coastways. Winch: Introducing Germany. Cooper: Rainbow Comes and Goes. Cope: Florence Nightingale and the Doctors. Hudson: Sir Joshua Reynolds. Pitt: Zeebrugge. Cowles: Phantom Major. Grinnell‐Milne: Silent Victory. Pollock: Jervis Bay. Then add on some half‐a‐dozen novels.
Lee Phillip McGinnis and Brian C. Glibkowski
Unlike artists using sartorial flair and flamboyant identities to shock and engage audiences, Bruce Springsteen is relatable, stable, consistent and authentic. Based on…
Abstract
Purpose
Unlike artists using sartorial flair and flamboyant identities to shock and engage audiences, Bruce Springsteen is relatable, stable, consistent and authentic. Based on qualitative interviews of Springsteen fans of various levels, it is suggested that brands can sustain success through such tactics as existential authenticity, transparency and charity. His fans co-opt his music and co-create their own stories, which are enabled through Springsteen's use of universal themes and vivid details. In terms of a branding paradigm, he adapts to the post-postmodern era, where brands allow individuals to define their own meaning.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a qualitative method in generating themes and relationships on the enduring success of Bruce Springsteen's brand. They interviewed 19 informants of various levels of fan support and various backgrounds and areas. They used grounded theory methodology, including open coding, triangulation and member checks, to develop themes and findings.
Findings
In general, it was found that narrative structure and cause-and-effect stories are at the heart of his enduring success. While his individual songs, stage performances and charitable works cover a variety of topics and interests, combined they map to the same universal story structure, thus giving his fans solid understanding of his brand. His underdog appeal and story of redemption are maintained through such tactics as vivid songwriting, activism and charitable acts despite his international success and fame.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, the authors add to the literature on celebrity branding, narratology and authenticity. Specifically, the authors build upon the notion of existential authenticity, connecting a brand to its various stakeholders beyond customers in a way that is holistically authentic. We also suggest that to sustain a brand for the long haul, it is necessary to be transparent and available to your community members. The story of your brand needs to resonate and be meaningful to the audience in a way that is believable, and more importantly true to the artist and product.
Practical implications
The authors show how narrative structure and universal story themes create ways in which fans can identify. By not straying too far away from the inherent brand meaning, brands can achieve long-term success. Tactically, all ways to manage the brand must link to the main story, but authenticity and maintaining a macromarketing perspective are the keys to making the story believable and enduring. In Springsteen's case, according to our interviews, his music and the message of his well-scripted songs have always mapped well with his real-life persona, making a distinction between his staged persona and actual self visibly difficult to distinguish.
Social implications
Part of Bruce Springsteen's enduring success and strong brand are built on his charitable works and activism. Brands that have this aspect will endure as well if motives are transparent, benign and believable. Springsteen has succeeded in this aspect because his charitable works often go unnoticed or unreported, which his fans respect when they discover these acts.
Originality/value
Theoretically, the authors also add to the question (i.e. WH-question) literature in terms of connectedness and felt meaning. Springsteen's music connects specific discourse to universal stories/themes via his vivid songwriting, live performances, charitable acts and multiple other tactics. The data suggest that Springsteen's experiences are so vivid and thoughtful that little is needed for the audience to obtain aesthetic or felt meaning of his universal story themes. He allows direct access to the stories without internal interpretation, which then allows for instant penetration of felt meaning.
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The classics will circulate wrote a public librarian several years ago. She found that new, attractive, prominently displayed editions of literary classics would indeed find a…
Abstract
The classics will circulate wrote a public librarian several years ago. She found that new, attractive, prominently displayed editions of literary classics would indeed find a substantial audience among public library patrons.
Christopher S. Koper, Daniel J. Woods and Bruce E. Kubu
The purpose of the study is to examine gun violence prevention practices among urban police in the USA, assessing their scope, effectiveness, limitations, and impacts.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to examine gun violence prevention practices among urban police in the USA, assessing their scope, effectiveness, limitations, and impacts.
Design/methodology/approach
A national survey was conducted with police agencies serving cities of 100,000 or more people.
Findings
Strategies used most frequently and rated as most effective include targeted efforts focussed on high‐risk places and groups, as well as multi‐agency problem‐solving efforts, particularly those involving federal authorities. However, most agencies make limited use of proactive strategies to reduce gun crime, and there are substantial gaps in the enforcement of many gun laws. Results also suggest that gun crime is lower in places where police engage in more intensive gun‐related enforcement and prevention efforts.
Research limitations/implications
The survey focussed only on large US cities. Implementation of the strategies could not be examined in detail, and assessments of the effectiveness of strategies reflect the views of practitioners. There is a need for more in‐depth research on gun‐related enforcement and prevention practices, their effectiveness, and the organizational and environmental factors that facilitate or hinder them.
Practical implications
The study highlights strategies that should be given priority consideration in policy decisions. The findings also suggest that police efforts to address gun crime can be enhanced considerably – and that doing so may produce demonstrable reductions in gun crime. Further examination of policy changes necessary to facilitate these efforts is warranted.
Originality/value
This study represents the first national survey of gun violence reduction efforts by police in the USA.
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The purpose of this research paper is to explore the decline of subsistence entrepreneurship in a “Scottish Fishing Community”, namely the village of Gourdon in Kincardineshire…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research paper is to explore the decline of subsistence entrepreneurship in a “Scottish Fishing Community”, namely the village of Gourdon in Kincardineshire, Scotland over a 60‐year period.
Design/methodology/approach
Presents the material in a historical perspective, as remembered by two persons who lived through the experience. Using two ethnographic accounts the paper reconstructs a vivid picture of a thriving form of subsistence type entrepreneurship, in a bygone era, when enterprise was more closely bonded to community activities, the work ethic and pride.
Findings
This paper narrates a dramatic story relating to the economic decline visited upon a living community by the forces of market change affecting multiple income streams. In this tale, there are no heroes or villains, as is normal in narrative accounts, merely victims of changing circumstances and changing patterns of social action.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this research paper have obvious limitations, because of the methodology employed, and because of the limited number of respondents interviewed. However, socio‐historical studies such as this have their place in developing an understanding of entrepreneurship as enacted in individual communities.
Originality/value
This paper tackles an under‐researched area of rural entrepreneurship using narrative methods which bring the subject to life.
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The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the application of standard environmental accounting practices for estimating long‐term discount rates is likely to lead to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the application of standard environmental accounting practices for estimating long‐term discount rates is likely to lead to the rejection of biodiversity‐sensitive projects that are in the greater societal good.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors combine estimates of marginal ecosystem damages from two forestry case studies, one local, one global, with ten different term structures of discount rates taken from both the academic literature and policy choices to calculate present values.
Findings
Standard environmental accounting approaches for estimating the long‐term discount rate result in the under‐valuation of projects that are sensitive to biodiversity conservation.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is set within a full cost accounting (FCA) framework, and therefore has the limitations that generally follow from taking this approach to biodiversity problems. Recommended extensions include looking at broader ranges of biodiversity costs and benefits.
Social implications
Unless environmental accountants engage with environmental economists over the issue of intergenerational discount rates, then it is likely that socially responsible managers will reject projects that are in the greater societal good.
Originality/value
The paper introduces both normative discount rates and declining discount rates to estimates of shadow environmental provisions within FCA and contrasts these with current environmental accounting practices. It also provides two detailed case studies that demonstrate the extent to which biodiversity‐sensitive investment choices are likely to be undervalued by managers who follow current accounting recommendations concerning the appropriate choice of discount rate.
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Lucette B. Comer and Tanya Drollinger
For the past several decades women have been moving into the United States workforce in greater numbers and they have been gaining access to the types of jobs that were…
Abstract
For the past several decades women have been moving into the United States workforce in greater numbers and they have been gaining access to the types of jobs that were, traditionally, performed exclusively by men. Despite this progress, they are still having difficulty penetrating the so‐called “glass ceiling” into upper management positions (Alimo‐Metcalfe 1993; Tavakolian 1993). Many reasons have been advanced, but the most compelling of these concerns the “glass walls” that support the “glass ceiling”. The “glass walls” refer to those invisible barriers that limit the ability of women and minorities to gain access to the type of job that would place them in a position to break through the “glass ceiling” (Townsend 1996). If women are to gain parity with men in the workforce, they need to succeed in the positions that lie inside the “glass walls” that will enable them to rise through the “glass ceiling” to upper management.