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1 – 10 of 282Since the tragic events of 9/11, faith has become an important discourse in society as a whole. This article explores aspects of that discourse in our multicultural society with…
Abstract
Since the tragic events of 9/11, faith has become an important discourse in society as a whole. This article explores aspects of that discourse in our multicultural society with special reference to mental health and well‐being, and describes a conference set up by NIMHE/Staffordshire University and the National Forum on Spirituality and Mental Health to explore how belief systems can affect people's well‐being and their recovery from mental illness.
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Considers the relevance of relationship‐counselling to the workplace.Geneograms are used to provide a method of achieving an historicalperspective within short‐term counselling…
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Considers the relevance of relationship‐counselling to the workplace. Geneograms are used to provide a method of achieving an historical perspective within short‐term counselling. The thesis is that an understanding of the ways in which we have related to significant persons in the past can provide an insight into our part in the relationships we have with colleagues. This knowledge can enable clients to take control even in situations in which they may have felt powerless. Uses the technique, while working with a business counselling scheme, which allowed employees six‐to‐eight one‐hour sessions of counselling.
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Lisa Oakley, Kathryn Kinmond and Justin Humphreys
A previous publication in this journal reported the findings of a 2013 survey into people’s experiences of membership of a Christian church in the UK (author citation removed for…
Abstract
Purpose
A previous publication in this journal reported the findings of a 2013 survey into people’s experiences of membership of a Christian church in the UK (author citation removed for the purposes of review). A major finding of this survey was that many people said they had been “harmed” by their experience with some labelling it as “Spiritual Abuse” (SA). Respondents in the 2013 study also stressed the importance of developing safeguarding policy and practice in this area. The purpose of this paper is to explore the findings of a more extensive survey conducted in 2017 which aims to identify people’s understanding of SA some four years after the initial work and within a context of some discussion and uncertainty around the term itself. The study also aims to assess the current status of safeguarding policy and practice in SA perpetrated against individuals in the Christian church in the UK. A secondary aim of the study is to ascertain how far understandings, policy and practice have developed since the initial survey was conducted. It is emphasised that the authors do not assert that SA is perpetrated solely in the Christian church. However, as this is their personal religious background it is the focus of this work.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods online survey of Christians, Church attendees and members of Christian organisations was conducted in 2017. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, inductive thematic and content analysis.
Findings
A clear definition of SA is required. There is an ongoing need to develop policy and practice in the area of SA in order to respond effectively to those who have these harmful experiences.
Research limitations/implications
This work has been conducted within the Christian faith community and thus, represents only this faith context. Accordingly, it is research with a specific group. The work would usefully be expanded to other faith contexts.
Practical implications
People are still being harmed by experiences in the Christian church. Safeguarding policy and practice in the area of spiritual abuse needs to be developed in the immediate future.
Social implications
Those working in statutory agencies, faith and community contexts need to develop an understanding of SA.
Originality/value
This is the largest survey conducted on the topic of SA in the Christian faith to date in the UK.
Presents a personalized biographical note of reminiscences and reflections about Stafford Beer. Contains detailed references to his early days in cybernetics, his work at Sigma, a…
Abstract
Presents a personalized biographical note of reminiscences and reflections about Stafford Beer. Contains detailed references to his early days in cybernetics, his work at Sigma, a consultancy firm in science and general management, and the important phase in Beer's life in Chile. Looks at its aftermath and comments on his activities in recent years. Discusses Beer's contributions to science together with ethics and his sense of mission. Includes notes on the subject's approach to mysticism, poetry, and his artistic creativity. Lists some criticisms and a brief concluding summary.
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Rod Thomas and Nigel van Zwanenberg
This paper is written in memory of the late Stafford Beer. The paper engages with only one dimension of the whole man: Stafford Beer as the diagnostician and prognostician of the…
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Purpose
This paper is written in memory of the late Stafford Beer. The paper engages with only one dimension of the whole man: Stafford Beer as the diagnostician and prognostician of the social conditions that he so keenly observed.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper revisits a talk that Stafford Beer gave, over three decades ago, to administrators of the UK National Health Service (NHS). It uses the content of the talk, entitled “Health and Quiet Breathing”, to diagnose the problems that have been encountered in the development of NHS information management strategies. The paper concludes with some brief personal recollections of Stafford Beer as a friend and as a teacher.
Findings
The paper finds Stafford Beer's managerial cybernetics to be a useful tool in understanding many of the problems that have beset NHS information management strategies: lack of operational research, problems in the commodification of information, financial scandal, and bureaucracy. In its examination of these issues, the paper recognises Stafford Beer's status as a legatee of not only Norbert Wiener but also of the great philosophers.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates how the problem‐orientation of Stafford Beer's managerial cybernetics continues to be fresh and relevant to today's society and provides a brief portrait of him both as a friend and as a teacher.
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Presents the scientific methodology from the enlarged cybernetical perspective that recognizes the anisotropy of time, the probabilistic character of natural laws, and the entry…
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Presents the scientific methodology from the enlarged cybernetical perspective that recognizes the anisotropy of time, the probabilistic character of natural laws, and the entry that the incomplete determinism in Nature opens to the occurrence of innovation, growth, organization, teleology communication, control, contest and freedom. The new tier to the methodological edifice that cybernetics provides stands on the earlier tiers, which go back to the Ionians (c. 500 BC). However, the new insights reveal flaws in the earlier tiers, and their removal strengthens the entire edifice. The new concepts of teleological activity and contest allow the clear demarcation of the military sciences as those whose subject matter is teleological activity involving contest. The paramount question “what ought to be done”, outside the empirical realm, is embraced by the scientific methodology. It also embraces the cognitive sciences that ask how the human mind is able to discover, and how the sequence of discoveries might converge to a true description of reality.
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Recalls times spent in Gordon Pask’s company and the discussions with the author on a wide range of topics, but focusing especially on foundational issues in science and…
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Recalls times spent in Gordon Pask’s company and the discussions with the author on a wide range of topics, but focusing especially on foundational issues in science and cybernetics and developments in Pask’s own conversation theory and interaction of actors theory.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify and interpret the spiritual foundation that permeates all Drucker's contributions, and to show that his convictions served as his internal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and interpret the spiritual foundation that permeates all Drucker's contributions, and to show that his convictions served as his internal compass, thus helping him to develop and articulate a coherent and unequivocally ecological view of the nature of management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper makes use of primary data by focusing on Drucker's published works, as well as private correspondence found at the online Drucker Archives of the Drucker Institute in Claremont Graduate University. It also makes use of materials written about Drucker and his views by former students and colleagues.
Findings
The paper presents Drucker as a lifelong learner, as the excellent student who used his personal lens to observe, synthesize, and purposefully distil his experiences into what would become the practice of management. The paper examines his contributions to the field of management from a personal perspective by presenting Drucker as the spiritual philosopher, the social ecologist, the learning teacher, and the refracting bystander.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that Drucker's views achieve greater clarity, poignancy, and relevance when contextualized within his personal philosophy. This foundation humanizes his phenomenal contributions, and increases respect for a man who exemplified what he preached.
Originality/value
Presenting Drucker as a pragmatist alone devalues his overall contributions to management and society. In an era of reported spiritual decline and commodization of the individual, Drucker's spiritually‐aligned contributions remind readers that doing the “right thing” is both simple and complicated, but always a timelessly human right and responsibility.
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Hongxia Zhang, Jin Sun, Fang Liu and John G. Knight
This research aims to examine the use of emotional and rational advertising appeal regarding service options that differ in terms of their experience and credence properties and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to examine the use of emotional and rational advertising appeal regarding service options that differ in terms of their experience and credence properties and exploring the moderating role of individual difference in affect intensity on the consumers’ varying reliance on rational vs emotional appeals.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 is a 2 (service type: restaurant vs dentist) × 2 (advertising appeal: emotional vs rational) between-subjects design. In total, 137 undergraduate students took part in this study. Study 2 is a 2 (service type: airline vs hospital) × 2 (advertising appeal: emotional vs rational) between-subjects design. In total, 84 MBA students were randomly assigned to each of the experimental conditions. Study 3 is a 2 (service type: airline vs hospital) × 2 (advertising appeal: rational vs emotional appeal) × 2 (affect intensity: high vs low) between-subjects design. The sample size was 170 undergraduates.
Findings
The results of the first two studies provided support that an emotional advertising appeal led to a higher purchase intention in the experience service condition, while a rational message generated higher purchase intention in the credence service condition. Study 3 showed the moderating role of individual difference in affect intensity. High affect intensity individuals reported higher levels of brand favorability than did their low affect intensity counterparts when exposed to ads using emotional appeal. Conversely, subjects showed no significant differences in the intensity of their emotional responses when exposed to rational appeals.
Practical implications
Our results suggest a strong need to tailor ads to fit different service categories. An emotional appeal would be more effective for experience services, and a rational appeal would be more effective for credence services. Besides, individual traits may also need to be considered when matching the appeal to the service type.
Originality/value
This study makes an important contribution to the limited existing research by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between advertising appeal and the type of service across different sub-categories, themes, individual trait and effectiveness measures. Specifically, the present research seeks to illuminate the relative effectiveness of emotional vs rational appeals in services advertising. In addition, the current research reveals new knowledge about the role that affect intensity plays in determining consumer responses to advertising.
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