To determine where, when, how, and wherefore European social theory hit upon the formula of “the True, the Good, and the Beautiful,” and how its structural position as a skeleton…
Abstract
Purpose
To determine where, when, how, and wherefore European social theory hit upon the formula of “the True, the Good, and the Beautiful,” and how its structural position as a skeleton for the theory of action has changed.
Methodology/approach
Genealogy, library research, and unusually good fortune were used to trace back the origin of what was to become a ubiquitous phrase, and to reconstruct the debates that made deploying the term seem important to writers.
Findings
The triad, although sometimes used accidentally in the renaissance, assumed a key structural place with a rise of Neo-Platonism in the eighteenth century associated with a new interest in providing a serious analysis of taste. It was a focus on taste that allowed the Beautiful to assume a position that was structurally homologous to those of the True and the Good, long understood as potential parallels. Although the first efforts were ones that attempted to emphasize the unification of the human spirit, the triad, once formulated, was attractive to faculties theorists more interested in decomposing the soul. They seized upon the triad as corresponding to an emerging sense of a tripartition of the soul. Finally, the members of the triad became re-understood as values, now as orthogonal dimensions.
Originality/value
This seems to be the first time the story of the development of the triad – one of the most ubiquitous architectonics in social thought – has been told.
Details
Keywords
Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the…
Abstract
Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the first rise in international awareness and appreciation of the blues. This first period of wide‐spread white interest in the blues continued until the early seventies, while the current revival began in the middle 1980s. During both periods a sizeable literature on the blues has appeared. This article provides a thumbnail sketch of the popularity of the blues, followed by a description of scholarly and critical literature devoted to the music. Documentary and instructional materials in audio and video formats are also discussed. Recommendations are made for library collections and a list of selected sources is included at the end of the article.
The title covers a body of theory and practice which has come into being in recent years as a result of two main developments. The first development has been the increased…
Abstract
The title covers a body of theory and practice which has come into being in recent years as a result of two main developments. The first development has been the increased importance attached in commerce, industry and government to the office, and to the facilities and information it can provide. The second has been the growth, in parallel with that of the office, of such techniques as systems analysis, organisation and methods, and the application of computers and microprocessors to business matters — all techniques which may be said, in broad terms, to be office‐based.
While the architect members of the Adam family have been subjected to considerable scrutiny over the years, architectural historians seem to have overlooked the information to be…
Abstract
While the architect members of the Adam family have been subjected to considerable scrutiny over the years, architectural historians seem to have overlooked the information to be gleaned from the 1883 catalogue of the Blair Adam library, a copy of which is held in the National Library of Scotland. Of course a catalogue printed almost a hundred years after the death of the last of the architects in the family is hardly a totally reliable guide. Nevertheless, if used with care and in association with other surviving evidence, it can shed additional light on a number of aspects of Adam biography.
Maria Jose Parada and Alexandra Dawson
The purpose of this paper is to understand how family businesses (FBs) build their collective identity through transgenerational narratives. The authors examine the processes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how family businesses (FBs) build their collective identity through transgenerational narratives. The authors examine the processes through which organizational meanings are socially constructed through narratives about individuals who are closely linked to the organizations (and their family).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on qualitative research, the authors study a 180-year old Spanish Pharmaceutical FB. Using longitudinal data, the authors analyze the narratives of six family members and two non-family executives. The authors use open-ended questions to allow interviewees to elaborate their own stories, following previous studies using extended narratives that leave the stage to the narrator.
Findings
Findings based on the stories of the eight interviewees (voice) suggest that the FB identity was initiated by the founder’s way to grow the business (fictionality). In turn the family shaped the identity of the FB, being reshaped by the stories arising from next generations’ entry into the business (reflexivity). While the FB identity reflects that of the owners, this identity is enduring but dynamic (temporality), not only shaped by the business family behind, but also conditioned by the environment.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the growing literature adopting a narrative method to study phenomena in FBs. Thanks to the richness of the empirical material, a narrative method is particularly suited – and novel – for understanding collective identity, a crucial organizational resource that is closely linked to leadership in the FB.
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John Y. Cousins and Marilyn F. McDougall
The development of communication skills is increasingly a keyelement in the training of staff who have a regular contact with thepublic. The Glasgow Garden Festival took place…
Abstract
The development of communication skills is increasingly a key element in the training of staff who have a regular contact with the public. The Glasgow Garden Festival took place over the summer of 1988. For the purposes of staffing the information centre, the Inverclyde Initiative chose to recruit 12 people who were registered unemployed. Training was provided for these individuals in order to prepare them for the job by improving their skills and thus their ability to perform a successful role in the Festival. Details of the design of the communication skills programme using simulations and role plays as general features are considered in the article.
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Historically, Panama has always been “a place of transit.” While technically the isthmus formed part of Colombia in the nineteenth century, it was linked geopolitically to the…
Abstract
Historically, Panama has always been “a place of transit.” While technically the isthmus formed part of Colombia in the nineteenth century, it was linked geopolitically to the United States soon after the California gold rush, beginning in the late 1840s. The first attempt at building a canal ended in failure in 1893 when disease and poor management forced Ferdinand de Lesseps to abandon the project. The U.S. undertaking to build the canal could only begin after Panama declared itself free and broke away from Colombia in 1903, with the support of the United States.
IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a…
Abstract
IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a practitioner whose income for many years was provided by those he denigrates.
John Cousins, Kevin O'Gorman and Marc Stierand
This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of molecular gastronomy by conducting empirical research focusing on renowned chefs.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of molecular gastronomy by conducting empirical research focusing on renowned chefs.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach taken is a literature review summarising past culinary innovations then the paper focuses on the origins and evolution of molecular gastronomy, followed by 18 phenomenological interviews with a snowball sample of world class chefs from across Europe.
Findings
There is far greater confusion about what molecular gastronomy might be than is implied in previous studies. The term has become wrongly used to describe a possible culinary movement mainly as a result of media influence. Leading chefs, whose new restaurant concepts have become associated with it, reject the term.
Research limitations/implications
With only 20 years of history molecular gastronomy is still a comparatively new phenomenon. This initial research presents a clear picture of its evolution so far and the increasing confusion the use of the term has created. It is still far too early to decide if these are heralding a new gastronomic movement.
Practical implications
Although molecular gastronomy itself may not provide a foundation for a genuine and lasting development of cuisine it is generating fascination with the fundamental science and techniques of cuisine and showy culinary alchemy. As with nouvelle cuisine poor quality copycat chefs could bring into disrepute the reputation and practices of those who are at the vanguard of culinary and restaurant innovation.
Originality/value
This paper is the first widespread primary study, across five countries, into recognised exceptional chefs' understanding of molecular gastronomy. It clarifies that molecular gastronomy was never intended to be the foundation of a culinary movement and identifies four key elements for the development of lasting cuisine movements and trends.