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Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Edward J. Oughton, Zoraida Frias, Mischa Dohler, Jason Whalley, Douglas Sicker, Jim W. Hall, Jon Crowcroft and David D. Cleevely

Public policy requires effective identification of the current and emerging issues being faced in industry and beyond. This paper aims to identify a set of key issues currently…

Abstract

Purpose

Public policy requires effective identification of the current and emerging issues being faced in industry and beyond. This paper aims to identify a set of key issues currently facing digital communications and reviews their relevance for the strategic provision of infrastructure, particularly within the UK context.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology focusses on taking a horizon-scanning approach to obtaining current information from a range of authoritative decision makers across industry, government and academia. After structuring the issues identified, these areas are explored by a multi-disciplinary research team covering engineering, economics and computer science.

Findings

Five key categories were identified including future demand; coverage and capacity; policy and regulation; economics and business models; and technology. The results are reported for both fixed and wireless networks. Shared issues affecting the wider digital ecosystem are also identified including Brexit, connecting remote areas and the degree to which the economics of infrastructure allows for building multiple overlapping infrastructures. The authors find that future demand uncertainty is one of the major issues affecting the digital communications sector driven by rigid willingness-to-pay, weak revenue and an increasing shift from fixed to wireless technologies. Policy must create the market conditions that encourage the entry of new competitors with innovative thinking and disruptive business models.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the analysis is that it is quite UK-focussed; hence, further research could broaden this analysis to assessing issues at a continental or global scale.

Originality/value

The value of this paper originates from the breadth of the expert elicitation exercise carried out to gather the initial set of issues, followed by the analysis of this data by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers. The results direct a future research agenda, as many issues are indicative of a lack of existing evidence to support effective decision-making.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1994

Adrian Carr

Organizations, in their structuring and administrative practices,stimulate and promote certain personality traits and attitudes in theindividuals who work in them. Focuses on the…

627

Abstract

Organizations, in their structuring and administrative practices, stimulate and promote certain personality traits and attitudes in the individuals who work in them. Focuses on the contention that a “psychostructure” is developed which can be identified but may also be the source of anxiety, depression and other psychopathologies. Discusses the results of a recent study of anxiety and depression among principals in public schools within the context of the development of a psychostructure which is reflectant of a particular doctrine of public administration.

Details

Employee Councelling Today, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-8217

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1993

Adrian Carr

Organizations, in their structuring and administrative practices,stimulate and promote certain personality traits and attitudes in theindividuals who work in them. Focuses on the…

Abstract

Organizations, in their structuring and administrative practices, stimulate and promote certain personality traits and attitudes in the individuals who work in them. Focuses on the contention that a “psychostructure” is developed which can be identified but may also be the source of anxiety, depression and other psychopathologies. Discusses the results of a recent study of anxiety and depression among principals in public schools within the context of the development of a psychostructure which is reflectant of a particular doctrine of public administration.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 8 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 May 2022

Douglas Aghimien, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Wellington Didibhuku Thwala, Nicholas Chileshe and Bhekinkosi Jabulani Dlamini

This paper presents the findings of assessing the strategies required for improved work-life balance (WLB) of construction workers in Eswatini. This was done to improve the…

2204

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents the findings of assessing the strategies required for improved work-life balance (WLB) of construction workers in Eswatini. This was done to improve the work-life relationship of construction workers and, in turn, improve the service delivery of the construction industry in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a quantitative research approach using a questionnaire administered to construction professionals in the country. The data gathered were analysed using frequency, percentage, Mann–Whitney U test, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Findings

The findings revealed that the level of implementation of WLB initiatives in the Eswatini construction industry is still low. Following the attaining of several model fitness, the study found that the key strategies needed for effective WLB can be classified into four significant components, namely: (1) leave, (2) health and wellness, (3) work flexibility, and; (4) days off/shared work.

Practical implications

The findings offer valuable benefits to construction participants as the adoption of the identified critical strategies can lead to the fulfilment of WLB of the construction workforce and by extension, the construction industry can benefit from better job performance.

Originality/value

This study is the first to assess the strategies needed for improved WLB of construction workers in Eswatini. Furthermore, the study offers a theoretical platform for future discourse on WLB in Eswatini, a country that has not gained significant attention in past WLB literature.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2016

Anne Tsui

Value-free science is an ideal that is neither possible nor desirable, especially for social sciences. The subject of social sciences is individuals and groups; hence social…

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Abstract

Purpose

Value-free science is an ideal that is neither possible nor desirable, especially for social sciences. The subject of social sciences is individuals and groups; hence social, moral, ethical, or political values are inherent and unavoidable in all steps of the scientific process. Further, the authority of science requires the scientist to be responsible experts in ensuring the reliability of knowledge and in assessing the risks in applying the research findings in social policies and practices. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role of values in business school research.

Design/methodology/approach

The author explains the two primary types of values relevant for science: epistemic – norms and standards to ensure good science – and social – criteria not relevant for discovering the truth of knowledge but may influence decisions related to science especially in evaluating the cost of wrongful conclusions from the research evidence. Based on an analysis of published criticisms of business school research and the author’s own analysis, the author describes how business school research is infused with social and political values, undermining the objectivity and quality of science by business scientists.

Findings

The author endorses the idea of responsible science – science that recognizes the mutual dependence between science and society, and that aims to satisfy both epistemic and social values. The author offers a modest proposal to encourage transformation of business school research to meet both rigor (valid and reliable knowledge) and relevance (useful for practice) – the hallmark of responsible science.

Research limitations/implications

The ideas in this essay have implications for further work on identifying the relevant epistemic and social values to guide business school research.

Originality/value

The idea of responsible science can potentially transform business school’s research to become both scientifically rigorous and societally relevant.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

Li‐teh Sun

Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…

Abstract

Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 25 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2011

John Percival

This paper seeks to provide a distillation of key research on the health and social care needs arising in the lives of people with sight loss and aims to inform the development of…

384

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to provide a distillation of key research on the health and social care needs arising in the lives of people with sight loss and aims to inform the development of appropriate and integrated services and strategies that effectively meet those needs.

Design/methodology/approach

The body of research examined in this paper constitutes a purposeful review of the most recently published and relevant non‐clinical studies in respect of the needs and aspirations of people with sight loss.

Findings

Research highlights the emotional and psychological consequences of sight loss and reveals a range of factors that affect their independence and self esteem, household and family responsibilities, employment and financial status, housing options and neighbourhood access, and how these factors impact on social inclusion.

Social implications

Implications of the studies are discussed, particularly in relation to ways in which relevant service providers may cooperate and engage in creative partnerships that promote greater equality and social inclusion of people with visual impairment.

Originality/value

The paper provides a strong and timely argument for greater public policy attention to the demographic context and cost implications of an increasing population of people with sight loss, and in so doing is of value to professionals working across independent, state and third sector agencies, and their efforts to engage in collaborative and strategic working relationships as well as fruitful partnerships with service users themselves.

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

Christin Thea Wathne

The purpose of this paper is to examine what decisions to prosecute, sent to the local police districts from the Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs (the body…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine what decisions to prosecute, sent to the local police districts from the Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs (the body responsible for investigated charges against the police), can tell us about the challenges the police face in becoming a learning organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this paper were collected in connection with the subproject that studied how the police districts handled the cases they received from the Bureau for Administrative Evaluation. This project was carried out in 2008‐2009 and is based methodically on a study of 33 (of a total of 35) different cases from 2007, which ensures a broad thematic scope.

Findings

The willingness of the leadership to take responsibility for the organization's systematic ability – and liberty – to ask fundamental questions about dominant values and norms, and thus to promote experiential learning, varied greatly. Whether the administrative cases were perceived to belong on the individual or the organizational level had great impact on how the cases were defined when they came back to the local police district, which again decided how the cases were handled. This had consequences for the degree to which the cases were the subject of individual or collective learning processes in the police district.

Research limitations/implications

The role of the police as custodians of law and order may paradoxically limit the organization's ability to learn from potentially criminal events and cases that come from the Bureau for Administrative Evaluation. This contributes to a weak system focus and a strong individual focus, where individual shame bearers are created and double‐loop learning is avoided.

Practical implications

To ensure that the learning systems are actually used and function as intended, it might be apposite to have regular litmus tests of the development by analyzing the handling of concrete events and patterns which emerge over time. An important element in this connection is to observe how leaders deal with potentially shameful incidents, both internally and in the public light, and thus constitute the police organization's boundaries to the outside world.

Originality/value

The paper argues that the police's role as custodians of law and order paradoxically may contribute towards limiting the organization's ability to learn from potentially criminal events and cases that come from the Bureau for Administrative Evaluation.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 13 November 2019

John-Gabriel Licht, Jamie O’Brien and Marc Schaffer

This case has three primary objectives. First, it allows students to think through a conceptual cost and benefit analysis associated with the decision-making process in line with…

Abstract

Theoretical basis

This case has three primary objectives. First, it allows students to think through a conceptual cost and benefit analysis associated with the decision-making process in line with basic economic thinking. Students will revisit core concepts of marginal benefit vs marginal cost, the notion of opportunity costs and the role of sunk costs in this type of analysis, while also highlighting the nature of market structure, oligopolies and competition across firms in an industry. The second goal of this case is to consider the role of business ethics in the DC-10 case: specifically, to consider the potential influence of moral awareness and moral disengagement in unethical decisions made by McDonnell Douglas. Students will develop an understanding of these concepts and solidify their learning by applying them to the case and engaging in active discussion. Finally, the third goal of the case allows students to explore organizational culture and specifically offer recommendations for organizations thinking about the link between decision-making, the role of ethics and culture.

Research methodology

The technical reports released by the National Transportation Safety Board along with secondary data such as available public data such as news reports were used to round out the synopsis of the case study.

Case overview /synopsis

This case explores the accidents of two McDonnell Douglas DC-10s in the early 1970s at the onset of the jumbo jet race between Boeing, Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas. It explores the series of events during the “Windsor Incident” in 1972 and the subsequent accident over Paris in 1974. It explores the reasons why the cargo door on the DC-10 was faulty and subsequently why the door was not fixed. It examines the interplay of industry suppliers such as McDonnell Douglas and how they interact with oversight authorities such as the Federal Aviation Authority. The Teaching Note focuses on the economic thinking at McDonnell Douglas, behavioral ethics and organizational culture.

Complexity academic level

This case is best explored over a 90 min session but could be expanded to take up one 3 h session. The authors have used this case format in an undergraduate organizational behavior class, an MBA Leadership and Organizational Change class, and an MBA Economics of Managers class. It works particularly well in the MBA setting, as students with work experience can see the links between the mistakes made by McDonnell Douglas and their workplaces.

Book part
Publication date: 3 January 2015

Adam B. Shniderman and Charles A. Smith

The International Criminal Court has institutionalized the concept of individual responsibility for human rights violations. The jurisprudence of international criminal law has…

Abstract

The International Criminal Court has institutionalized the concept of individual responsibility for human rights violations. The jurisprudence of international criminal law has developed along with the institution. Affirmative defenses in the mitigation of punishment or avoidance of responsibility are becoming increasingly important in international criminal procedure. We contend that diminished culpability based on advances in neuroscience provides the most challenging set of choices for the international legal community. Of the variety of affirmative defenses, emerging neuroscience-based defense provide the most challenging set of choices for the international legal community. The Esad Landzo case at the ICTY brings these challenges into focus. We discuss the difficult choices the International Criminal Court will have to make to balance the rights and needs of the victims and the due process rights of the accused.

Details

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-568-6

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