Godwin J. Udo and Russell C. Kick
The information system downsizing trend has been on the increase duringthe last five years because of extreme pressures brought about by theslow economy and intense global…
Abstract
The information system downsizing trend has been on the increase during the last five years because of extreme pressures brought about by the slow economy and intense global competition. The major benefit of downsizing is cost saving or cost avoidance, though reports of downsizing show that not all companies have achieved projected cost savings; while some have gained the savings predicted, others have cut short their efforts to downsize, the project ending in total disenchantment. Reports on a survey which uses companies, ranked as the top 100 information users. These “best users” were selected as the basis for determining: the motivation for downsizing; how cost effective downsizing is; and the degree of satisfaction after downsizing was attempted. Results indicate that cost saving and effective information technology utilization are the principal motives for downsizing. Less than 50 per cent of respondents indicated cost‐reduction due to downsizing, while the rest indicated otherwise or were not sure. Discusses downsizing strategies and identifies research challenges.
Details
Keywords
Presents the scientific methodology from the enlarged cybernetical perspective that recognizes the anisotropy of time, the probabilistic character of natural laws, and the entry…
Abstract
Presents the scientific methodology from the enlarged cybernetical perspective that recognizes the anisotropy of time, the probabilistic character of natural laws, and the entry that the incomplete determinism in Nature opens to the occurrence of innovation, growth, organization, teleology communication, control, contest and freedom. The new tier to the methodological edifice that cybernetics provides stands on the earlier tiers, which go back to the Ionians (c. 500 BC). However, the new insights reveal flaws in the earlier tiers, and their removal strengthens the entire edifice. The new concepts of teleological activity and contest allow the clear demarcation of the military sciences as those whose subject matter is teleological activity involving contest. The paramount question “what ought to be done”, outside the empirical realm, is embraced by the scientific methodology. It also embraces the cognitive sciences that ask how the human mind is able to discover, and how the sequence of discoveries might converge to a true description of reality.
Details
Keywords
Joanne Belknap and Deanne Grant
Gender-based abuses (GBAs; more frequently referred to as ‘violence against women’) have been a concern of current day feminists and their predecessors, dating back centuries, but…
Abstract
Gender-based abuses (GBAs; more frequently referred to as ‘violence against women’) have been a concern of current day feminists and their predecessors, dating back centuries, but only came under broader scrutiny in the latter half of the twentieth century. The goal of this chapter is to provide a historical overview of the emergence of feminist concerns and activism that led to a largely global identification and recognition of the prevalence and ramifications of GBA. The chapter includes a range of GBAs, such as sexual harassment, stalking, sex trafficking, and forced marriage, but focusses primarily on intimate partner abuse and rape. It is beyond the scope of one chapter, or even one book, to adequately address the efforts to respond to GBA across the world. Instead, the authors hope to describe the work by feminist activists and scholars to identify GBA as a serious and prevalent social problem, the various and often overlapping types of GBA, and the work to design and implement a range of responses to deter GBA, advocate for GBA survivors, hold gender-based abusers accountable, and provide safer communities. In addition to the early attempts to assess and respond to GBA, this chapter covers some of the most original and innovative documentations and responses to GBA from across the globe.
Details
Keywords
Max Weber called the maxim “Time is Money” the surest, simplest expression of the spirit of capitalism. Coined in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin, this modern proverb now has a life of…
Abstract
Purpose
Max Weber called the maxim “Time is Money” the surest, simplest expression of the spirit of capitalism. Coined in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin, this modern proverb now has a life of its own. In this paper, I examine the worldwide diffusion and sociocultural history of this paradigmatic expression. The intent is to explore the ways in which ideas of time and money appear in sedimented form in popular sayings.
Methodology/approach
My approach is sociological in orientation and multidisciplinary in method. Drawing upon the works of Max Weber, Antonio Gramsci, Wolfgang Mieder, and Dean Wolfe Manders, I explore the global spread of Ben Franklin’s famed adage in three ways: (1) via evidence from the field of “paremiology” – that is, the study of proverbs; (2) via online searches for the phrase “Time is Money” in 30-plus languages; and (3) via evidence from sociological and historical research.
Findings
The conviction that “Time is Money” has won global assent on an ever-expanding basis for more than 250 years now. In recent years, this phrase has reverberated to the far corners of the world in literally dozens of languages – above all, in the languages of Eastern Europe and East Asia.
Originality/value
Methodologically, this study unites several different ways of exploring the globalization of the capitalist spirit. The main substantive implication is that, as capitalism goes global, so too does the capitalist spirit. Evidence from popular sayings gives us a new foothold for insight into questions of this kind.
Details
Keywords
The aim of the current study was to develop and assess a method for obtaining peer‐, selfand teacher‐nominations of the participant roles in peer victimisation appropriate for use…
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to develop and assess a method for obtaining peer‐, selfand teacher‐nominations of the participant roles in peer victimisation appropriate for use with children between the ages of five and eight years. Sixty‐eight five‐year‐olds and 69 eight‐year‐olds and their teachers took part. Peer‐nominations (including self‐nominations) were obtained from five‐ and eight‐year‐olds for participant roles of aggressor, reinforcer, assistant, defender, outsider, passive and provocative victim; and similar nominations from their teachers. At both ages, children were able to nominate for all the roles, and consistent gender differences were found. Test‐retest reliability (over an interval of one week) was moderate to high for all roles in eight‐year‐olds, but only for aggressor and provocative victim in five‐year‐olds. There was evidence for role discrimination, but five‐year‐olds gave similar nominations for aggressor and provocative victim. Within‐class pupil agreement was significant for aggressor and provocative victim at both ages, and for passive victim and defender at eight years. Peer‐ and teacher‐ratings showed better agreement with each other than with self‐nominations. The findings are discussed in relation to children's developing abilities to identify and report various roles, as well as developmental changes in the nature of peer‐aggression.
Details
Keywords
Elizabeth C. Barrow and Taylor Norman
The purpose of this manuscript is to reveal how a White social studies teacher educator attempted to go from being a non-racist educator to an anti-racist educator (King and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this manuscript is to reveal how a White social studies teacher educator attempted to go from being a non-racist educator to an anti-racist educator (King and Chandler, 2016) and build her racial pedagogical content knowledge (RPCK).
Design/methodology/approach
This manuscript is on part of a collaborative self-study. The authors used critical friendship (Schuck and Russell, 2005) and RPCK as the conceptual framework. The authors used self-study research methodology to analyze and interrogate analytical reflections, course syllabi, and course assignments. All data were analyzed through intentional and analytical dialogue over the course of weekly debriefs and three formal debriefing sessions.
Findings
Findings from this study indicate that while stressful and challenging at times, the critical friendship with Taylor was vital in developing her RPCK. The friendship liberated and brought voice to her traditional, racialized self through intentional and analytic dialogue. This dialogue benefited the curricular review she was conducting on her content methods course to develop and integrate RPCK to her pedagogical mind.
Research limitations/implications
The authors show that critical friendships can transform definitions of self and pedagogical practice. If social studies teacher educators are going to do the work of anti-racism, then it is our suggestion that they form a critical friendship to support their self-growth and pedagogical intentions before suggesting pedagogical innovations.
Practical implications
This paper includes visual representation of RPCK that will allow other social studies teacher educators to teach the concept to their students. It also provides a framework to support others who want to work on their RPCK and racialized self.
Originality/value
This manuscript fulfills a need in the field by highlighting how a teacher educator can leverage a critical friendship to describe and reveal the enactment and analysis of balancing the self and practice regarding RPCK development. Visual representations of the conceptualization of RPCK are included.
Details
Keywords
Jennifer Pearson, Lindsey Wilkinson and Jamie Lyn Wooley-Snider
Purpose: Sexual minority youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to consider and attempt suicide, in part due to victimization experienced within schools. While…
Abstract
Purpose: Sexual minority youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to consider and attempt suicide, in part due to victimization experienced within schools. While existing research suggests that rates of school victimization and suicidality among sexual minority students vary by school and community context, less is known about variation in these experiences at the state level.
Methodology: Using data from a large, representative sample of sexual minority and heterosexual youth (2017 Youth Risk Behavior States Data, n = 64,746 high school students in 22 states), multilevel models examine whether differences between sexual minority and heterosexual students in victimization and suicide risk vary by state-level policies.
Findings: Results suggest that disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual boys in bullying, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt are consistently smaller in states with high levels of overall policy support for LGBTQ equality and nondiscrimination in education laws. Sexual minority girls are more likely than heterosexual girls to be electronically bullied, particularly in states with lower levels of LGBTQ equality. Disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual girls in suicide ideation are lowest in high equality states, but state policies are not significantly associated with disparities in suicide attempt among girls.
Value: Overall, findings suggest that state-level policies supporting LGBTQ equality are associated with a reduced risk of suicide among sexual minority youth. This study speaks to the role of structural stigma in shaping exposure to minority stress and its consequences for sexual minority youth's well-being.
Details
Keywords
I HAVE sometimes been asked whether I am conscious, as the present editor of THE LIBRARY WORLD, of the spirit and influence of its founder, James Duff Brown, and of his editorial…
Abstract
I HAVE sometimes been asked whether I am conscious, as the present editor of THE LIBRARY WORLD, of the spirit and influence of its founder, James Duff Brown, and of his editorial successors, who included J. D. Stewart and W. C. Berwick Sayers. The answer is that of course I am—how could it be otherwise?