24 research outputs found
John Ed Cook Interview - Part 1 (Wayne County)
No full textAn interview with John Ed Cook of Monticello, Kentucky by Robert M. Rennick on the origin and history of place names and communities of Wayne County, Kentucky
Workers' Rights: Rethinking Protective Labor Legislation
No full textThis paper focuses on a few directions in which protective labor legislation might be expanded in the United States over the next decade and the implications of expansion in each area for labor markets. Specifically, it addresses the areas of hours of work, unjust dismissal, comparable worth, and plant closings. In each case, the discussion stresses the need to be explicit about how private markets have failed,the need for empirical evidence to test such market failure claims, the need for economic analysis of potential unintended side effects ofpolicy changes, and the existing empirical estimates of the likely magnitudes of these effects.
Experts' judgments of management journal quality: An identity concerns model
No full textMany lists that purport to gauge the quality of journals in management and organization studies (MOS) are based on the judgments of experts in the field. This article develops an identity concerns model (ICM) that suggests that such judgments are likely to be shaped by the personal and social identities of evaluators. The model was tested in a study in which 168 editorial board members rated 44 MOS journals. In line with the ICM, respondents rated journal quality more highly to the extent that a given journal reflected their personal concerns (associated with having published more articles in that journal) and the concerns of a relevant ingroup (associated with membership of the journal’s editorial board or a particular disciplinary or geographical background). However, judges’ ratings of journals in which they had published were more favorable when those journals had a low-quality reputation, and their ratings of journals that reflected their geographical and disciplinary affiliations were more favorable when those journals had a high-quality reputation. The findings are thus consistent with the view that identity concerns come to the fore in journal ratings when there is either a need to protect against personal identity threat or a meaningful opportunity to promote social identity
Firm Culture and Leadership as Firm Performance Predictors: a Resource-Based Perspective
No full textIn this study, we tested part of the resource-based view of the firm by examining two 'soft' resources, firm culture and top leadership, as predictors of 'hard' or bottom-line firm performance.Transformational top leadership was found to predict firm performance directly while the link between firm culture and firm performance was indirect: via transformational top leadership.Firm culture was operationalized as the employees' views about the degree of optimization of four organizational practices (job autonomy, external orientational, interdepartmental orientation, and human resource orientation).We conclude that, rather than strong cultures, firms need best organizational practices and transformational leadership.Organizational culture;Leadership firm performance;Resource-based theory of the firm
Theory and implementation evaluation to the STAP/ADAPT diversity programme
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.The modern day workplace is faced with the challenge of managing an increasingly diverse workforce. Although diversity among employees yields many benefits, companies must consider the implications of having people from different cultural, linguistic, socio-economic and religious backgrounds working closely together (Chuang & Liao, 2010; Mayo, 2006; Stewart & Ruckdeschel, 1998; Wentling, 2000). It is for this reason that organisations increasingly invest in programmes aimed at managing diversity. Having interventions which allow employees to understand those different from themselves will not only develop their intercultural communication skills, but also impact positively on interpersonal interaction within the company (Avery & Thomas, 2004; Bagshaw, 2004; Cross, 2004). Given the history of South Africa, diversity and diversity management are particularly sensitive topics. Legislative measures, such as the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, were implemented by the post-apartheid government to redress the past imbalances and inequality. While these laws may mandate certain processes and procedures within organisations, they do very little to change people's mind sets in attempt to get employees to engage and cooperate with each other (Alexander, 2007; April, Ephraim, & Peters, 2012; Cavaleros, Van Vuuren, & Visser, 2002). In order to deal with this human aspect of diversity, initiatives aimed at increasing tolerance for and acceptance of 'different others', reducing stereotypes and increasing individuals' intercultural communication skills, have emerged. These programmes often bring people from various backgrounds together, allowing them to learn about each other and communicate, encouraging them to adopt different perspectives and to tolerate and respect views and opinions that may not coincide with their own (Paluck, 2006; Roberson, Kulik, & Pepper, 2003). Although multinational companies are the forerunners of such programmes, tertiary education providers have been found to invest in or develop similar programmes (McCauley, Wright, & Harris, 2000). The University of Cape Town's Transformation Services Office implemented one such programme: the STAP/ADAPT programme, which is the focus of this evaluation. The evaluation consisted of two parts, namely: a theory and an implementation evaluation
Exploring Alternative Models of Localisation in Food Supply Chains: A Theory of Constraints Approach
No full textLocal food and the localisation of food are beset by many problems in the UK. We have still yet to agree on a consensus view of the term ‘local food’ despite the call for an enforceable definition. The continued absence of rules around products and their relative spatial determinacy has lead to the development of both fluid, and subjective interpretations around the term ‘local’, as well as a willingness by key actors to readily conflate ‘local’ with ‘regional’ as a pluralistic device in a market worth £4.6 billion in sales from farm shops and farmers’ markets alone. This research sets out to identify and diffuse the problems we have in defining what local food is, and presciently, what it may become. The research itself utilises a qualitative multiple case study approach, engaging with a final cohort of 23 producers of similar products, but at different scales of supply, and across a broad geographic spread of England. In encompassing areas which do not have a reputation for local food, the research mitigates against previous micro-analytical research and adds both construct and internal validity to its data, gathered by semi structured interviews, process mapping and questionnaires. Template analysis is used as a data extraction tool in this research, which seeks to provide disambiguation around the sector and suggest a way forward which has the potential to offer greater derived benefit to current and future stakeholders
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Assessing the business case for supplier diversity in the construction housing sector
No full textAs the construction industry faces increased pressures to act in a more socially responsible way, the concept of "supplier diversity" is one of several topics that have found its way to the corporate social responsibility agenda. Often seen as a strand of the notion of ethical sourcing, the supplier diversity debate relates to the issue of promoting greater diversity in the supply chain by providing opportunities for traditionally under-represented suppliers to engage with large purchasing organisations. This thesis is an account of the final stage of a wider exploratory study assessing whether there is a business case for supplier diversity in the construction housing sector. Utilising an in-depth interview approach, it focuses on the merits of the "business case" for supplier diversity from the perspective of the minority business owner operating as a contractor (typically a small firm), in the construction housing sector. The research evidence presented stimulates a discussion about some very sensitive yet serious issues with the aim being to crystallise and create greater awareness of the business case for supplier diversity in the construction housing sector
Plasma levels of Human Granulocytic Elastase-alpha-Proteinase Inhibitor Complex (E-alpha1PI) in Leukemia
No full textThe Effects of Thinking in Silence on Creativity and Innovation.
No full textThis dissertation consists of three empirical studies on the effects of thinking in silence on creativity and innovation. In these studies I use a social psychology and cognitive psychology lens to study creativity and innovation at the individual and at the team level of analysis, using randomized experiments to test hypothesized causal relationships. In the first study I find that when the ability to modify self-presentation is low and the sensitivity to expressive behavior of others is high, thinking in silence has a positive impact on individual creativity. In the second study, I theorize and find supportive evidence that the creativity of groups can be enhanced by punctuating group debate with a short intermezzo for thinking in silence, especially if there is at least one team member with relatively low extraversion. In the last study, I shift focus from creativity (idea generation) to idea selection and find that thinking in silence (as opposed to group debate) leads to more decisions in favor of radical innovations, when the team’s average ability to modify self-presentation is low. If the latter is high, thinking in silence leads to more decisions in favor of incremental innovations. Across the three studies, I find that in a number of defined situations thinking in silence has a positive effect on creativity and (radical) innovation. In specific other situations, the effect is neutral or even negative, suggesting that thinking aloud (individual level) or group debate (group level) may be called for.
Public health: community learning disability nurses' perception and experience of their roles - an exploratory sequential multiple methods study
No full textPURPOSE
Research into how public health policy is translated into role specifications within job descriptions of community learning disability nurses is important. In addition, the need for research that focuses on describing how community learning disability nurses perceive, and enact their public health roles has been identified. Furthermore, there is need to explain the 'moderators' of how community learning disability nurses enact their public health roles.
METHODS
This was a 3-stage exploratory sequential multiple methods study. Stage 1 was documentary, and involved collecting and analysing community learning disability nurses' job descriptions, and or person specifications. Stage 2 was descriptive, and used a grounded theory approach. Stage 3 was explanatory, and involved an on-line questionnaire survey.
MAIN FINDINGS
There were inconsistencies in public role health expectations in community learning disability nurses' job descriptions and person specifications. The public health roles were academic, health education, health prevention, health promotion, health protection, health surveillance, healthcare access facilitation, healthcare delivery, leadership, and policy development and implementation. The moderators of public health role enactment by community nurses identified in this study were complex and extended beyond current explanations of role theory. Some of the correlates of the moderators of public role health enactment by community learning disability nurses included role clarity in job descriptions, periodic review of role expectations, role perception, perceived role value, community learning disability nurses' perceptions of employing organisations' priorities, and community learning disability nurses' perceptions of employing organisations' knowledge of the public health needs of people with learning disabilities, band, and finally the type of employer.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
There is a need for clarity of community learning disability nurses' public health roles locally, and nationally. It is important that relevant organisations have structures that can respond appropriately to public health policy changes in order to meet the often complex and co-morbid health needs of people with learning disabilities
