This article discusses themes emerging from two independent research projects. In order to understand how women negotiate and transgress time frames, we critically explore and…
Abstract
This article discusses themes emerging from two independent research projects. In order to understand how women negotiate and transgress time frames, we critically explore and make visible the strategies used by two very different groups, who are placed in different locales and time orderings. The first group are women in later life and in prison and the second group, women students in higher education. It is by inserting the words of women into debates on time, agency and space that we are able to make visible the strategies that women harness in order to do, make and reclaim time. Within this article we discuss the different research strategies employed by the authors. First, we look at conceptualisations of time and gender. Then we discuss how these respectively inform our research. Azrini Wahidin discusses the role and meaning of time in relation to how female elders in prison come to understand and simultaneously negotiate coercive time use in prison and the passing of time on the outside. She focuses on how the strictures of disciplinary time and the lack of choice create innovative ways of negotiating and resisting the disciplining of institution time in prison. Dot Moss discusses the everyday practice and experience of women students, who, in contrast, have relative freedom to time‐structure their day. She focuses on the ways in which space and time to study are both socially and personally constructed out of other’s time and time for other things (Davies 1990). Common themes arising in relation to the analysis of gender and time are then discussed.
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This chapter considers the environmental damage related to Ireland’s recent ‘ghost estates’, placing this disastrous waste of resources in the long historical context of ancient…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter considers the environmental damage related to Ireland’s recent ‘ghost estates’, placing this disastrous waste of resources in the long historical context of ancient ruins that also dot the land.
Methodology/approach
It considers ruins from an ecocritical perspective, as material artefacts attesting directly to people’s relationship with their environment.
Findings
From ancient megaliths and sacred sites to imposing castles, Ireland’s impressive ruins ignite romantic reflections in many. Yet, just like the modern ruins of ghost estates, they also tell of an often oppressive relationship between human cultures and the natural environment. Ironically perhaps, stone circles and tombs that seem to speak of people living in much closer relation to non-human nature than we moderns do are also associated with the environmental scourge of deforestation. Yet, they at least stand testament to an ethic of timelessness and robust building, as well as resistance to a seemingly irresistible process of capitalistic modernisation; the recent ruins are devoid of such ethical commitments. Given this, however, creative responses should also be noted to the logic of the ghost estates, including Cloughjordan’s Ecovillage and the NamaLab project.
Practical and social implications
Three sets of responses that all work more realistically with a recognition of the limits of sustainable development are considered in the conclusion: Transition Towns, an Ecovillage and architectural reutilisation of defunct buildings.
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This article explains the critical importance of actually using and implementing your company's strategic plan, and offers practical tips for avoiding the most four common traps…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explains the critical importance of actually using and implementing your company's strategic plan, and offers practical tips for avoiding the most four common traps that keep a strategic plan sitting, ignored, on a shelf.
Design/methodology/approach
The examples cited all stem from the author's extensive experience helping companies engage in more effective strategic planning and successful implementation of the shared strategic vision.
Findings
Companies can effectively implement a strategic plan by understanding why a team may not implement as asked, encouraging personal motivation and “ownership” of the strategic goals, maintaining momentum in the face of daily distractions, and understanding how the “real world” works.
Practical implications
Executives must understand how to make their strategic plan a “living document”, and then take specific steps to keep the implementation of that plan on track.
Originality/value
The value of this article to corporate executives lies in its reality‐based perspective on specific techniques and tactics to use for successful implementation of a strategic plan.
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John F. Ehrich and Lisa C. Ehrich
In the past, leadership scholars have tended to focus on leadership as a force for good and productivity (Ashworth, 1994; Higgs, 2009; Padilla, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2007). However…
Abstract
Purpose
In the past, leadership scholars have tended to focus on leadership as a force for good and productivity (Ashworth, 1994; Higgs, 2009; Padilla, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2007). However, recently attention has been given to the ‘dark side’ of leadership (see Higgs, 2009; Judge, Piccolo, & Kosalka, 2009). The aim of this chapter is to explore dark leadership from the perspective of the narcissistic leader using a fictional character from a popular film.
Methodology/approach
Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 1994 (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) as an operational definition of narcissistic personality disorder we explore the psychology of the narcissistic leader through a fictional character study in a popular film.
Findings
We have created a psychological profile of a narcissistic leader which identifies specific behavioural characteristics within a toxic organizational culture.
Social implications
This study has implications for employees within any organizational culture. It is significant because it can illustrate how dark leadership can impact negatively within organizations.
Originality/value
The use of actual living persons on which to base case study material in the study of dark leadership is problematic and constrained by ethical issues. However, the use of characters in fiction, such as contemporary film and drama, represents an excellent source of case study material. Given that little empirical works exists on narcissistic leaders and leadership, the chapter adds originality and value to the field.
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During the past decade, a fairly extensive literature on the digital divide has emerged. Many reports and studies have provided statistical data (Digital Divide Network, 2002;…
Abstract
During the past decade, a fairly extensive literature on the digital divide has emerged. Many reports and studies have provided statistical data (Digital Divide Network, 2002; NTIA, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000) pertaining to sociological aspects of ‘the divide,’ while some studies have examined policy issues involving universal service (Camp and Tsong, 2001) and universal access (Brewer and Chuter, 2002). Other studies have suggested ways in which the digital divide could be better understood if it were ‘reconceptualized’ in terms of an alternative metaphor, e.g. a ‘divide’ having to do with literacy (Warschauer, 2002), power (Moss, 2002), content (Carvin, 2000), or the (information) environment (Floridi, 2001). However, with the exception of Johnson (2001) and Koehler (2002), authors have tended not to question ‐ at least not directly ‐ whether the digital divide is, at bottom, an ethical issue. Many authors seem to assume that because disparities involving access to computing technology exist, issues underlying the digital divide are necessarily moral in nature. Many further assume that because this particular ‘divide’ has to do with something that is digital or technological in nature, it is best understood as a computer ethical issue. The present study, which examines both assumptions, considers four questions: (1) What exactly is the digital divide? (2) Is this ‘divide’ ultimately an ethical issue? (3) Assuming that the answer to (2) is ‘yes,’ is the digital divide necessarily an issue for computer ethics? (4) If the answer to (3) is ‘yes,’ what can/should computer professionals do bridge the digital divide?
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To explore the relationship between LGBTQIA+1
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the relationship between LGBTQIA+1
LGBTQIA+ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Ally, and others not defined within these terms.
LGBTQIA+ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Ally, and others not defined within these terms.
Methodology/approach
Framed around the Williams Institute report Public Attitudes toward Homosexuality and Gay Rights across Time and Countries (2014), and incorporating aspects of queer theory, this chapter will explore some of the literature discussing libraries and the LGBTQIA+ community. It will then detail some specific examples of activities libraries are engaging in to support LGBTQIA+ rights.
Findings
Many libraries around the globe appear to be offering special programs and services for LGBTQIA+ persons.
Research limitations/implications
This is not a systematic review of library services to the LGBTQIA+ community. The author relied on freely available information sources.
Originality/value
Highlights some of the excellent work libraries are doing in support of LGBTQIA+ human rights. The role of libraries are constantly changing, this chapter points to the potential for libraries to take a stronger role to enact social justice and support human rights.
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Three of our Stack books unfortunately got caught in the time lag between being written and being published—in short, events overtook them. But not to worry. The worst that…
Abstract
Three of our Stack books unfortunately got caught in the time lag between being written and being published—in short, events overtook them. But not to worry. The worst that happens to them is they come across too idealistic about the Internet and the urgency of creative destruction, discontinuity, and change. The fourth book takes a page from Winston Churchill who said “The farther backward you look, the farther forward you can see,” and, although it went back all right, its authors seem to have got‐ten a little lost as they moved forward again.
Social movements are made up of organized groups and individuals working together to accomplish shared objectives. Under what circumstances do active groups build and break their…
Abstract
Social movements are made up of organized groups and individuals working together to accomplish shared objectives. Under what circumstances do active groups build and break their coalitions? Five conditions have been identified in the literature as influencing coalition formation: common identity, resources, organizational structure, historical connection, and institutional setting. Whereas coalition dynamics within a movement wave are best understood in terms of institutional opportunities and threats, further research is needed to determine how and to what extent these contextual elements influence coalitions. This chapter examines how threats posed by indiscriminate and selective repression affect the shape and structure of interorganizational coalitions during the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) protests in Hong Kong. The analysis relies on an original political event dataset and an organization-event network dataset. These datasets were produced utilizing syntactic event coding techniques based on Telegram posts, which Hong Kong protesters used to distribute information, plan future actions, and crowdsource news. Furthermore, Telegram provides detailed information about state activities, event-level coalitions, and violent groups, which is difficult to access from other sources. This study investigates the coalition networks across the movement's four stages, each of which was marked by a particular type and degree of repression. The findings indicate that indiscriminate and selective repression have varied effects on coalition networks. A wide coalition disintegrates as a result of indiscriminate repression. Selective repression, however, leads to the formation of coalitions around activist groups targeted by repression.
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The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…
Abstract
The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.
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Maulidi A. Banyani and Danny S. S. Then
This paper aims to present and discuss the results of the assessment of maturity of facilities management (FM) industries (FMi) in five countries, namely, Denmark, Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present and discuss the results of the assessment of maturity of facilities management (FM) industries (FMi) in five countries, namely, Denmark, Hong Kong, Norway, Tanzania and the UK. The analysis is based on the “Integrated Feeder Factors Framework (I3F)”. I3F analyses maturity by assessing the progression and integration of the key factors essential for the maturity of the FMi, which are organisations practice, supply market, education, professional bodies, research and business environment.
Design/methodology/approach
FM experts in respective countries were interviewed. Data were also gathered from official documents and websites. The collected evidences were analysed using pattern matching.
Findings
The FM industry in the five case study countries are found at various levels of maturity. The UK exhibited high levels of maturity compared to other countries. Norway, Hong Kong and Denmark were at the same level with some notable differences, while Tanzania was at the lowest level.
Practical implications
The research successfully tested the I3F. This sets foundation for assessing maturity of the FM industry at a country level. The assessment of maturity at a country level is important to FM stakeholders in charting out plans for its development and longevity.
Originality/value
This is the first research which has assessed the maturity of FMi in five countries using an I3F. The results show the strength and weaknesses of the FMi in the five countries and point out areas which require stakeholders’ efforts to be improved or maintained.