Search results
21 – 30 of over 11000
This paper is concerned with the obstacles of educational reform in a racial climate and the acceptance of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is concerned with the obstacles of educational reform in a racial climate and the acceptance of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
Design/methodology/approach
As a result, while the president’s positions on educational reform are important, the question still remains; can the majority of Whites support an agenda coming from a Black president? Moreover, as a Black man, can the president really be “allowed” to be a “representative” of all of the people? Do many people think that the election of Mr. Obama ushered in a “postracial” society; in that he is the living testament that we no longer need to focus on social justice, civil rights, and educational reform, especially for underperforming minority schools? Is race a factor among Whites and Blacks regarding President Obama’s approval ratings? How much success can any president expect to have when a significant majority of the population is resistant to his vision of “change?”
Findings
Based upon these lingering questions, the issue of race has been and will remain a factor in the Obama presidency that no other president has had to contend. Obfuscation, control, and fear appear to be the raison d’être regarding a strategy of resistance toward President Obama and his interest in “change.” These are the reasons why President Obama’s time is significantly spent on negotiating racial obstacles to change.
Originality/value
The goal of this paper is to provide a sociological and psychological context within a historical framing to understand obstacles to change faced by President Barack Hussein Obama.
Details
Keywords
Lerato Aghimien, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa and Douglas Aghimien
This book aimed to conceptualise a construction workforce management model suitable for effectively managing workers in construction organisations. To this end, this chapter…
Abstract
This book aimed to conceptualise a construction workforce management model suitable for effectively managing workers in construction organisations. To this end, this chapter presents the conceptualised model, which consists of seven workforce management practices with their respective measurement variables. Drawing from existing theories, models, and practices, the chapter concludes that a construction organisation that will attain its strategic objectives in the current fourth industrial revolution era must be willing to promote effective recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, performance management and appraisal, employee involvement and empowerment, training and development, as well as improving workers emotional intelligence and handling external environment pressure. These practices can promote proactiveness, participation, and improved skills and can lead to effective commitment, better quality, and flexibility within the organisation.
Details
Keywords
Lerato Aghimien, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa and Douglas Aghimien
The importance of humans to the successful delivery of construction projects has led to the emergence of research attention on construction workforce management. As such, this…
Abstract
The importance of humans to the successful delivery of construction projects has led to the emergence of research attention on construction workforce management. As such, this chapter uncovers emotional intelligence (EI) and the external environment as critical aspects of workforce management practices that have not gained substantial attention in past workforce management studies. While some theories and models (existing outside the construction domain) have considered the external environment, none of these models is specific to the construction industry. Furthermore, EI has received less attention within existing workforce management models. Through a review of related studies and theories, this chapter noted that the EI of construction workers and their senior management is crucial to the performance of these workers and the ultimate performance of their organisations. In the same vein, since construction organisations do not operate in silos, the external environment significantly influences the operations of organisations in the construction industry. The environment exact pressures that can influence workforce management practices and technological innovations construction organisations adopt.
Details
Keywords
Fotis Kitsios, Ioannis Sitaridis and Maria Kamariotou
The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a structured literature review to examine the relationship between entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence in academic settings as…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a structured literature review to examine the relationship between entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence in academic settings as well as the current entrepreneurship pedagogy for flexible, innovative and creative graduates. One hundred and twenty-eight peer-reviewed papers were analysed based on Webster’s and Watson’s (2002) methodology. Papers classified into three topics and a content analysis was implemented to discuss about the publication year, journals, authors, frequency of keywords and research method adopted. The contribution of this chapter is twofold. It is a bibliometric study which provides a macropicture of a research field, its evolution and connections among studies, in order to be a starting point for future researchers who are already studying entrepreneurial education or entrepreneurship-related scientific areas. Also, this chapter helps academics to improve educational programmes and curriculum to increase students’ entrepreneurial intention taking into account the factors that affect it.
Details
Keywords
How can organizations use strategic frames to develop support for illegal and stigmatized markets? Drawing on interviews, direct observation, and the analysis of 2,497 press…
Abstract
How can organizations use strategic frames to develop support for illegal and stigmatized markets? Drawing on interviews, direct observation, and the analysis of 2,497 press releases, I show how pro-cannabis activists used distinct framing strategies at different stages of institutional development to negotiate the moral boundaries surrounding medical cannabis, diluting the market’s stigma in the process. Social movement organizations first established a moral (and legal) foothold for the market by framing cannabis as a palliative for the dying, respecting moral boundaries blocking widespread exchange. As market institutions emerged, activists extended this frame to include less serious conditions, making these boundaries permeable.
Details
Keywords
This study using a prison sample to explore Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), socially dominant inmate behaviour, index offence, age and length of time served in secure…
Abstract
This study using a prison sample to explore Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), socially dominant inmate behaviour, index offence, age and length of time served in secure environments. A sample of 397 adult male prisoners completed the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist‐ Scaled (prisoner behaviour towards other inmates and staff) and the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) Scale. It was predicted that prisoners would report higher SDO than non‐incarcerated populations and that among inmates those with approach orientated index offences would be higher in SDO than those whose offenses were more remote. It was also predicted that SDO would be related to younger age, higher lifetime rates of incarceration, more negative behaviour towards other inmates and staff, and more resource focused behaviour. The results broadly supported predictions, and possible implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
Details
Keywords
Michael D. Kotsovos and Milija N. Pavlović
A non‐linear finite element program for concrete structures is outlined, with emphasis on the material modelling. It is shown that the package can be used with confidence in the…
Abstract
A non‐linear finite element program for concrete structures is outlined, with emphasis on the material modelling. It is shown that the package can be used with confidence in the analysis of practical structural forms. In addition, there is considerable potential for the application of the program to research and design.
Hatice Kalfaoglu Hatipoglu and Merve Okkali Alsavada
The research intends to investigate the different typological and morphological characteristics of the neighbourhood spaces produced by different urban dynamics since the late…
Abstract
Purpose
The research intends to investigate the different typological and morphological characteristics of the neighbourhood spaces produced by different urban dynamics since the late nineteenth century in Turkey.
Design/methodology/approach
The main problem that drives the research is that a significant increase in the construction of gated communities has started to be seen in the last five years as a solution to safety issues in Turkey. However, these gated communities as safe-spaces have resulted in the danger of destroying neighbourhood life's physical and social dynamics by changing their spatial configuration. The study offers an analytical framework structured from defensible space theory and other safe-space theories in the literature. It has analysed the effect of physical characteristics of urban fabric on the production of safe-space in neighbourhoods through mappings and site observations. The case studies are conducted in three different morphological periods in Turkey, which are the Seyrancik neighbourhood in Bolu (the Ottoman Period), the Subayevleri neighbourhood in Ankara (the Republican Period) and the Karaman neighbourhood in Sakarya (the Liberalisation Period).
Findings
The analysis concludes that any type does not come to the fore in the production of defensible space in terms of its spatial features, but each has various strengths and weaknesses. As a result, this study emphasises the role of design in providing defensible neighbourhoods in the case of Turkey's cities and reveals the aspects that will guide the design of an urban and housing form in terms of the safety–environment relationship in Turkey.
Originality/value
The significance of the study is the comparative analytical approach to studying the housing development and demonstrates a method for analysing safety issues in the transformation process of neighbourhood structures in Turkey.
Details
Keywords
This paper asks the reader to consider future information retrieval services that return multimedia documents containing any combination of text, graphics, still raster images…
Abstract
This paper asks the reader to consider future information retrieval services that return multimedia documents containing any combination of text, graphics, still raster images, audio, and motion video in response to user queries. It then argues that the emergence of generally available multimedia information services depends on four things: (1) close to ubiquitous high‐bandwidth networks; (2) inexpensive user appliances capable of handling multimedia; (3) adoption of standards for representation, compression, packaging and transport of multimedia information; and (4) development of a corpus of multimedia information and associated infrastructure for organizing and searching it. After some explanation, it asserts that the first three are already happening and expresses reserved optimism about the fourth.
Richard S. DeFrank and Cary L. Cooper
A framework for understanding the different types of stress management interventions and their possible outcomes is provided. The various empirical investigations into worksite…
Abstract
A framework for understanding the different types of stress management interventions and their possible outcomes is provided. The various empirical investigations into worksite stress management interventions are then reviewed within the context of this paradigm. Questions are raised about the efficacy of these interventions in terms of individual and/or organisational outcomes, and where future programmes and research should be undertaken.
Details