Gossip is part of everyday life and can play an important role in society. It has been part of human communication since we started to talk and is common to communities around the…
Abstract
Gossip is part of everyday life and can play an important role in society. It has been part of human communication since we started to talk and is common to communities around the world. Evidence of gossip adorned the walls of ancient tombs in Egypt, and advice against gossiping can be found in the words of King Solomon in the Old Testament, in the theses of Greek philosophers, and in proverbs from all cultures. Yet gossip continues to be all around us, and most of our conversation time involves some form of it. Despite this, those who initiate gossip are often derided for being gossip mongers, and not without good reason. At its worst, gossip can destroy reputations and businesses, be used as a form of bullying, and cause a great deal of distress. In this chapter, however, I focus on why and how gossip is used and the purpose it serves in village life. Ambridge resident Susan Carter is a renowned gossip with high, unsubtle output compared to other villagers. I look at Susan's gossiping at both a psychosocial level and in terms of benefits she may gain. I also discuss gossip at the village level from two perspectives. I explore the importance of gossip to village life based upon peer reviewed literature, and relate these findings to the comings and goings of the residents of Ambridge. I then also look at how gossip is needed to relay storylines to the listeners. Finally, social media has helped to bring together Archers fans who like nothing more than to spend hours gossiping about their favourite villagers and berating Susan for her tittle-tattle. Yet The Archers wouldn't exist without gossip, so maybe we should be grateful to Susan and carry on gossiping.
Won S. Suh, Susan K. Key and George Munchus
Studies which assess the relationship between scanning behavior (SB) and strategic uncertainty (SU) have shown mixed results. The lack of consistency in measurement constructs and…
Abstract
Studies which assess the relationship between scanning behavior (SB) and strategic uncertainty (SU) have shown mixed results. The lack of consistency in measurement constructs and differences in underlying assumptions for SU may explain these empirical inconsistencies. Earlier studies have adopted measurement constructs which ignore the interaction effect between the two dimensions of SU – variability and complexity. Our study suggests adopting new measurement constructs for SU that sort uncertainty into four distinct categories based on the interaction of the two environmental constructs, variability and complexity, as drawn from categorizations originally proposed by Duncan. This new measurement approach will provide a means to generate consistent results in research on the relationship between SB and SU. We provide a practical example using the strategic environment in the health care industry to illustrate for managers a more precise way to assess their external environment.
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Susan Frelich Appleton and Susan Ekberg Stiritz
This paper explores four works of contemporary fiction to illuminate formal and informal regulation of sex. The paper’s co-authors frame analysis with the story of their creation…
Abstract
This paper explores four works of contemporary fiction to illuminate formal and informal regulation of sex. The paper’s co-authors frame analysis with the story of their creation of a transdisciplinary course, entitled “Regulating Sex: Historical and Cultural Encounters,” in which students mined literature for social critique, became immersed in the study of law and its limits, and developed increased sensitivity to power, its uses, and abuses. The paper demonstrates the value theoretically and pedagogically of third-wave feminisms, wild zones, and contact zones as analytic constructs and contends that including sex and sexualities in conversations transforms personal experience, education, society, and culture, including law.
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Stephanie Donovan, Jordan Duncan and Sue Patterson
The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of non-clinical staff working in psychiatric settings, particularly in relation to exposure to context-specific hazards…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of non-clinical staff working in psychiatric settings, particularly in relation to exposure to context-specific hazards, and perceived safety.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews with 23 administrative and operational staff were analysed using a framework approach.
Findings
Analysis demonstrated extensive exposure to occupational violence, including assault and verbal abuse within and/or beyond the workplace and concern about infectious disease. Impact of exposure was wide ranging, dependent on type and circumstances of violence and personal resources, with several participants experiencing ongoing psychological distress. Participants employed a range of problem- and emotion-focused strategies, typically seeking support from peers, to manage work-related stress but felt neglected by the organisation. They sought inclusion in or access to processes, such as supervision and debrief, routinely available to clinicians and to information about risk associated with patients.
Research limitations/implications
Generalisability is constrained by conduct of this study in a particular setting with non-random sample.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper indicate a pressing need for administrators to ensure efforts to address safety encompass all staff, and the need for further research. Particular attention should be given to enabling non-clinical staff to examine ethical questions, ensuring access to support mechanisms and development of an inclusive culture.
Originality/value
While exposure to, and impact of workplace violence on clinical staff have been extensively studied, this paper is the first to qualitatively examine the safety of a commonly forgotten workforce.
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Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…
Abstract
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.
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Susan C. Cooper and Susan E. Hillyard
The winter 1987 issue of Reference Services Review featured a bibliography of AIDS‐related materials prepared by Edmund SantaVicca, former head of Collection Management Services…
Abstract
The winter 1987 issue of Reference Services Review featured a bibliography of AIDS‐related materials prepared by Edmund SantaVicca, former head of Collection Management Services at Cleveland State University.