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1 – 10 of 619Austin Lee Nichols, Kristine Klussman and Julia Langer
The benefits of meaning in the workplace are abundant. However, few opportunities exist to increase meaning among employees in ways that result in desired organizational impacts…
Abstract
Purpose
The benefits of meaning in the workplace are abundant. However, few opportunities exist to increase meaning among employees in ways that result in desired organizational impacts. The current study developed two new mindfulness-based interventions designed to ultimately increase both job and life satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Over five days, 67 participants either: (1) Reported their daily activities, (2) Additionally rated the meaningfulness of each hour, or (3) Additionally planned to increase the meaning of the least meaningful activities. At the beginning and end of the week, they also reported their job satisfaction and life satisfaction.
Findings
Results suggested that listing daily activities and rating the meaningfulness of each hour was most beneficial. Compared to only listing daily activities, this group experienced greater job and life satisfaction. In contrast, the group that additionally attempted to increase the meaningfulness of their daily activities did not perform better on either of these measures.
Practical implications
Spending only a few minutes focusing on recognizing the meaning in one's daily activities can improve one's job and life satisfaction. As such, organizations may consider encouraging engagement in such a task either at the end of the workday or at home. Doing so may result in an increase in both how satisfied they are at home and at work.
Originality/value
This provides initial evidence for a short intervention that may greatly increase the well-being of employees at work and home.
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Daniel Nicholls, Mervyn Love and Jeffrey Daniel
This paper explores the workforce development issues that arose in the course of an Australian repeat pilot study. The aim of the pilot study was to introduce, within a different…
Abstract
This paper explores the workforce development issues that arose in the course of an Australian repeat pilot study. The aim of the pilot study was to introduce, within a different setting, a planned approach to the assessment of, and interventions in, emotional states of service users that may lead to episodes of behavioural disturbance within psychiatric units. The pilot study necessitated training of staff in the use of an assessment tool. During the course of the study, a novel element was encountered with regard to staff understanding of service user involvement in treatment. This element, presented here as 'integral self‐intervention', emerged in conjunction with the development of two wall charts: an acute arousal management process chart for staff, and a patient safety chart for service users. The paper will outline the collaborative process towards the partial realisation of this element of integral self‐intervention, and associated workforce development issues.
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One of the common law duties owed by the employer is his duty to take reasonable care for the safety of his employee. This common law duty is an implied term in the contract of…
Abstract
One of the common law duties owed by the employer is his duty to take reasonable care for the safety of his employee. This common law duty is an implied term in the contract of employment and is therefore contractual in nature. Because of the difficulties which may arise in bringing an action in contract for breach of the employer's duty of care, the employee who has sustained injuries during the course of his employment (although he may sue either in contract of tort will normally bring a tort action.
Aaron H. Anglin, Thomas H. Allison, Aaron F. McKenny and Lowell W. Busenitz
Social entrepreneurs often make public appeals for funding to investors who are motivated by nonfinancial considerations. This emerging research context is an opportunity for…
Abstract
Purpose
Social entrepreneurs often make public appeals for funding to investors who are motivated by nonfinancial considerations. This emerging research context is an opportunity for researchers to expand the bounds of entrepreneurship theory. To do so, we require appropriate research tools. In this chapter, we show how computer-aided text analysis (CATA) can be applied to advance social entrepreneurship research. We demonstrate how CATA is well suited to analyze the public appeals for resources made by entrepreneurs, provide insight into the rationale of social lenders, and overcome challenges associated with traditional survey methods.
Method
We illustrate the advantages of CATA by examining how charismatic language in 13,000 entrepreneurial narratives provided by entrepreneurs in developing countries influences funding speed from social lenders. CATA is used to assess the eight dimensions of charismatic rhetoric.
Findings
We find that four of the dimensions of charismatic rhetoric examined were important in predicting funding outcomes for entrepreneurs.
Implications
Data collection and sample size are important challenges facing social entrepreneurship research. This chapter demonstrates how CATA techniques can be used to collect valuable data and increase sample size. This chapter also examines how the rhetoric used by entrepreneurs impacts their fundraising efforts.
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John Hamel, Sarah Desmarais, Tonia Nicholls, Kathleen Malley‐Morrison and Jon Aaronson
If child custody decisions are based on erroneous beliefs, family courts may not be acting in the best interests of children. This study examined family court professionals'…
Abstract
If child custody decisions are based on erroneous beliefs, family courts may not be acting in the best interests of children. This study examined family court professionals' beliefs about family violence. Respondents (N = 410) of diverse professions, including child custody mediators, evaluators, and therapists, family law attorneys and judges, victim advocates and university students, completed a 10‐item multiple‐choice quiz. Results revealed low rates of correct responding, with respondents correctly answering approximately three out of 10 items on average, based on current research in the field. Overall, response rates were highly consistent with the discredited patriarchal paradigm. Shelter workers and victim advocates had the lowest average score, and men were found to have slightly higher scores than women. More troubling, students' scores were not significantly lower than those of family court professionals. Implications are discussed with respect to decision‐making in the context of child custody disputes.
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Fenton Atkinson, L.J. Karminski and Gordon Willmer
October 24, 1969 Factory — Statutory duty — Dangerous machinery — Dangerous combination of machinery and material — Danger arising from “nip” between moving work‐piece and…
Abstract
October 24, 1969 Factory — Statutory duty — Dangerous machinery — Dangerous combination of machinery and material — Danger arising from “nip” between moving work‐piece and stationary bar — Automatic cooling device — Danger arising from coolant applied by hand — Practice known to employers — Whether foreseeable — Whether duty to fence — Factories Act, 1961 (9 & 10 Eliz. II, c. 34), s. 14(1).
Amid widespread social and cultural shifts and advocacy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights remain a hidden population of homeless adolescents who are…
Abstract
Purpose
Amid widespread social and cultural shifts and advocacy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights remain a hidden population of homeless adolescents who are cast out from families and communities because of their sexual and gender orientation. The result is an over-representation of LGBT adolescents among the homeless in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of literature and research which explores the status and needs of LGBT homeless adolescents in the United States.
Methodology/approach
To understand the experiences of LGBT adolescents leading up to and during homelessness, I provide a thematic and critical review of four decades of research to connect our understanding of the LGBT homeless experience with institutional and collective efforts that work to promote their well-being.
Findings
Bringing together this body of literature, I explore four interrelated questions. First, has the rate of homelessness increased for LGBT adolescents in recent decades? Second, what is the experience of LGBT adolescents who become homeless? Third, what role does advocacy and support play in ameliorating the difficulties these young people face? Finally, what role can future research and policy play in shaping the well-being of LGBT adolescents who become homeless?
Research limitations/implications
Understanding the experience of homeless LGBT adolescents and the collective advocacy efforts designed to promote their well-being offers insight into the intersection of symbolic, inter-personal, and institutional forces which shape their trajectories.
The purpose of this paper is to determine how leadership experience affects the value leaders place on leadership traits. In particular, the author sought to determine if…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine how leadership experience affects the value leaders place on leadership traits. In particular, the author sought to determine if individuals with different amounts of leadership experience deferentially desire traits related to dominance and cooperation.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants reported the importance of dominant and cooperative traits for an ideal leader, and reported the number of leadership roles that they had experienced.
Findings
The desirability of dominance-related traits decreased as leadership experience increased, but only for women. In contrast, the desirability of cooperation-related traits remained the same, regardless of leadership experience or gender.
Practical implications
Overall, these findings suggest leaders learn to desire different traits as they gain leadership experience. Implications of this research may exist in both business and political domains. In business, several leadership outcomes depend on trait desirability. In addition, interview and selection decisions may depend on the leadership experience and gender of the decision-maker. Organizations should carefully select members of the organization to make these critical hiring decisions. In politics, candidates would be wise to consider the leadership experience and gender of constituents in their self-presentation attempts.
Originality/value
This research presents the first examination of the effect of leadership experience on the desirability of leader personality traits. In addition, this is one of the first studies to refocus on the dominance/cooperation dichotomy and “ideal” leadership – a promising focus for future trait research.
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– The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether the use of current performance tools is consistent with the specific features of social enterprises.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether the use of current performance tools is consistent with the specific features of social enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
In a first phase, the main performance tools are divided into strategic planning tools, reporting tools and economic optimization techniques. In a second phase, 15 criteria emerge from a literature review to characterize the specific features of social enterprises. These criteria are brought together into an analytical framework, which makes it possible to analyze the relevance of each performance tool in relation to the specific features of social enterprises.
Findings
What comes out of the analysis is that the tools globally fail to account for the specific features of social enterprises. That none of them met more than half of the criteria suggests the need for new performance tools based on strong theoretical bases.
Research limitations/implications
Only the main performance tools are taken into account in this study. Some tools developed specifically for social enterprises might score better if they were tested in the framework.
Practical implications
Managers in social enterprises often feel helpless when having to choose or develop a performance evaluation tool. This paper allows them to test whether the tools they use are well suited to social enterprises, and provides them with useful guidelines for developing new ones.
Originality/value
Literature on performance evaluation for nonprofits or social enterprises mostly remains conceptual or focusses on one single tool. The author fills the gap by studying a broad range of performance evaluation tools and comparing them.
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Building on the resource-based view of the firm the purpose of this paper is to study the intangible resources available for social ventures, and presents a typology of growth…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the resource-based view of the firm the purpose of this paper is to study the intangible resources available for social ventures, and presents a typology of growth strategies based on the intangible resources possessed by those enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
This research applies a multiple case study technique for ten social enterprises in Egypt listed on Ashoka and Schwab Foundation websites. The research employs a purposive sampling technique. Data triangulation is used based on reports, websites, and interviews with social entrepreneurs and employees.
Findings
The study has three main findings: describing the intangible resources needed by social ventures to grow; detailing the growth strategies adopted by social ventures and corresponding funding mechanisms; explaining how intangible resources affect the selection of growth strategies, and how these interact with the context to produce expected outcomes. Overall, a typology for growth strategies of social ventures is presented.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is an original attempt to advance research on social enterprises in relation to the RBV and the domain of venture growth and impact scale-up.
Practical implications
This research is beneficial for social ventures and venture philanthropists who wish to learn about the specific resources important for venture growth, and understand the suitable strategies and context for organizational growth and impact scale-up.
Originality/value
This research is one of the few attempts to study and explain the types of intangible resources in social ventures and the role of different resource bundles in deciding social venture growth strategy.
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