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Beyond the Binary: Exploring the Use of Culture in Lutheran Volunteer Corps Members’ Understandings of Service and Justice
Get PDFThis paper examines the way Lutheran Volunteer Corps participants actively use culture to form understandings of service and justice. Using data from in-depth, qualitative interviews with ten volunteers, this paper argues that though almost all of the types of positions the volunteers hold are fields that are historically “women’s work,” the way volunteers make sense of their work extends beyond reification of gender norms. Using the theory of cultural repertoires of Ann Swidler, this paper shows how volunteers actively draw on available elements of the cultures that surround them to create understandings of “service” and “justice” that are simultaneously bounded by constructions of gender, race, and class as well fluid and flexible
Transforming Teenagers: Integrating Social Justice into Catholic Youth Ministry or Catholic Education
Get PDFThis article investigates transforming teenagers through the process on integrating and implementing social justice concepts and principles into Catholic youth ministry and Catholic secondary and higher education. The essay addresses four aspects concerning social justice and Catholic young people: (1) it briefly studies the ecclesial documents concerning social justice and young people, (2) it looks at integrating Christian social justice concepts and principles into Catholic ministry and academia, (3) it examines the benefits of social justicelearning initiatives, and (4) it discusses two types of social justice-learning initiatives that work well in Catholic youth ministry and Catholic education-- praxis-based education and immersion trips. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”i Martin Luther King, Jr. Nobel Prize for Peace Acceptance Speech December 10, 196
Relationship Between the Perceived Leadership Practices of Managers and Customer Satisfaction in Sports Centers in Taipei, Taiwan
No full textThis research aimed to provide help to the managers of Taiwan\u27s sports industries so that they may look for ways to improve managerial efficiency and increase customer satisfaction.
In Taiwan, technology is constantly advancing, and the percentage of people with higher education levels is increasing. Both physical and mental strength are needed to thrive in one of the fastest-paced economies in the world. People must consider how to lead a healthy life in order to be more productive in the workforce. In recent years, the number of sports centers in Taiwan has grown rapidly due to social needs and the awareness of the importance of having a healthy mind and body. In short, the general social and economic environment in Taiwan has been transformed and has become conducive to the growth of a multiple sports industry. However, some sports centers are very successful, and some are not. A question has arisen in Taiwan\u27s sports environment regarding the connection between the leadership practices of managers and the satisfaction of customers. Very little research has been conducted to examine executive and employee behaviors, customer expectations and satisfaction, and the increasing popularity of sports centers. This research aimed to provide help to the managers of Taiwan\u27s sports industries so that they may look for ways to improve managerial efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. The sample questionnaires were answered by the managers of six sports centers, following the government\u27s Operation-Transfer model. Surveys were administered to approximately 1,500 customers and 240 workers from the six sports centers. This study addressed two main concerns about the future needs of Taiwan\u27s sports industry. These two concerns dealt with the leadership practices of managers and the customers\u27 satisfaction at the sports centers which operate with the OT model. The results of this study were delivered to the managers of Taiwan\u27s sports centers, providing them with knowledge to enhance their professional practice. The results of this study, Spearman rho correlations and MANOVAs clarify the relationships between Inspiring Shared Visions and satisfaction with Tangibles and Empathy and relationship between Enabling Others to Act and satisfaction with Responsiveness and Empathy in sports centers. Employee performance directly affects the satisfaction of the customers of the sports centers. Customer satisfaction with Empathy correlated with all factors of leadership practice and Inspiring Shared Visions had strongest correlation with customer satisfaction
Mentoring as Ministry
Get PDFThis project will take place during the 2006 and 2007 school years. I will be mentoring seven new teachers at the Medina Valley High School for two years. This program is in part a result of the No Child Left Behind Act. It is designed to reduce premature leakage from the profession of disillusioned new teachers by providing teachers with a trusted, supportive leadership and to ensure that the new teachers will grow in their profession to benefit their students, school and community. I will also provide spiritual support when needed and asked. I will maintain communications and meet with my assigned teachers and high school coordinators on a regular basis
The Demand for Justice Implicit in the Eucharistic Celebration
Get PDFThis article was inspired by Enrique Dussel’s essay, “The Bread of the Eucharistic Celebration as a Sign of Justice in the Community” (1982). The governing question which gives shape to the article is whether it is possible to celebrate Eucharist without at the same time being active in the pursuit of justice for the poor and the marginalized. The article looks at bread as both physical reality and sacramental element; the meaning of Christian community; and justice as the indispensable link between these two. An earlier version of this article appeared in Questions Liturgiques
Naming the Terrorist in Our Midst: Park51 and the Politics of Injustice
Get PDFGiven the role that “far-right Christianism” plays in fomenting suspicion and prejudice against non-Christians, this article argues that feminist and liberation theologies are critical for effective theory. Theoretical analysis is more robust when combined with critical feminist and liberation theological analyses for three reasons. First, religion is often appealed to as the moral underpinning of many positions in public debates when in fact it is being used to reinforce dominant systems of power. Second, without critical feminist and liberation theologians and ethicists taking a part in public debates, often the loudest or only religious voice heard in public debates has been that of a few conservative Christian groups with enormous power to define what counts as “Christian” for everyone else. Finally, perhaps the most critical potential contribution of critical feminist and liberation theologies and ethics is in the motivation they bring as many freedom struggles have been inspired by religious faith. This article utilizes these theories to critique the ad called “Kill the Ground Zero Mosque” developed by the National Republican Trust PAC and to expose its xenophobic and racist message
Dispositional Resistance to Change and Impression Management Behavior
No full textThis research connects the construct of dispositional resistance to change with impression management. The study was conducted at a retailer in the southwest United States, specifically the information technology and risk management departments. Oreg\u27s (2003) Resistance to Change Scale was used to measure dispositional resistance to change, and Bolino & Turnley\u27s (1999) Impression Management Scale was used to measure impression management behavior. The significance of the present study, from a research perspective, is that it contributes to the body of knowledge by answering the call to study additional dispositional antecedents to impression management behavior. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized models for the relationship between dispositional resistance to change and impression management behavior at the second order factor level. Results specifically show dispositional resistance to change as an antecedent to impression management behavior. The significant relationship between dispositional resistance and impression management places impression management behaviors as change resistant behaviors. Results of the study also offer direction for future research
Investigating Truancy in Secondary Schools
No full textThis qualitative case study investigates the perceptions of parents and students in one particular high school in an urban area located in the southwestern region of the United States in order to gain insight as to why truancy occurs, what causes it, and what can be done to prevent it. This study utilized an ethnographic case study design methodology using in-depth interviews and use of a survey questionnaire as the primary research strategy. The focus was on the participants\u27 perceptions of their experiences in the educational system, the reasons they gave and how they evaluated their experiences as they moved through the system. The study was conducted at only one high school campus which was a member of an independent school district consisting of seven high school campuses. The participants were truant students who attended Saturday School in order to makeup time loss due to excessive absences. These students were in jeopardy of losing credit in classes where they had exceeded the number of absences required by the state attendance laws in order to gain credit. As the need for high school education increases, issues of truancy continue to be of importance, especially among minority populations in the United States. The focus on at-risk students has stipulated discussion on how to keep these students from dropping out, concentrating on students who succeed despite the odds against their success. These students are order to makeup time loss due to excessive absences. These students were in jeopardy of losing credit in classes where they had exceeded the number of absences required by the state attendance laws in order to gain credit. As the need for high school education increases, issues of truancy continue to be of importance, especially among minority populations in the United States. The focus on at-risk students has stipulated discussion on how to keep these students from dropping out, concentrating on students who succeed despite the odds against their success. These students are often low income first-generation students who have minimum preparation for college coursework and no role models for college success in their families. While academic efficacy is often associated with school success, truancy has also been identified as a major contributing factor to student failure. Four dominant themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews conducted: student conditions, family conditions, school conditions, and community conditions. A majority of all the students identified peer pressure and lack of interest in certain classes as factors which influenced their decision to skip class. The fact that it was so easy to leave campus and lack of consequences were also mentioned by several participants as factors which contributed significantly to their truancy. The researcher will analyze the results of the study to suggest strategies that could be effective in future efforts to eliminate truancy
Crisis Speeches Delivered During World War II: A Historical and Rhetorical Perspective
No full textThis study examines speeches by English Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman during World War II.
Rhetorical analyses of speeches made by United States presidents and world leaders abound, particularly studies about addresses to nations in times of crisis. These are important because what presidents say amidst uncertainty and chaos defines their leadership in the eyes of the public. But with new forms of crisis rhetoric, our understanding of presidential responses has evolved, and their speeches can be reinterpreted in categories that offer new insights. This study examines speeches by English Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman during World War II. The study evolved from a 2004 analysis by Flora Anne Jackson, who examined a selection of pre-and post-Cold War presidential speeches. In her study, Jackson found that the rhetoric used could be categorized according to those discourses containing elements of epideictic, deliberative, and forensic ingredients. Jackson used these criteria to determine whether these speeches meet the expectations for what constitutes the genre of international crisis rhetoric. In this study, I use Jackson\u27s method of content analysis to test three addresses delivered by two United States Presidents and one English leader during times of international crisis to find if they qualify as a genre under the proposed method. The speeches include Winston Churchill\u27s This Was Their Finest Hour delivered on May 10, 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt\u27s Pearl Harbor speech A Day of Infamy delivered on December 7, 1941, and two of Harry S. Truman\u27s speeches, his first address to Congress upon taking office after Roosevelt\u27s death delivered on April 16,1945, and his statement on dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima delivered on August 6, 1945. A thorough literature review, an analysis, and qualified conclusions are provided