Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 6 April 2012

Marc von der Ruhr and Joseph P. Daniels

Megachurches are thriving in religious markets at a time when Americans are asserting their ability as consumers of religious products to engage in religious switching. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Megachurches are thriving in religious markets at a time when Americans are asserting their ability as consumers of religious products to engage in religious switching. The apparent success of megachurches, which often provide a low cost and low commitment path by which religious refugees may join the church, seems to challenge Iannocconne's theory that high commitment churches will thrive while low commitment churches will atrophy. This paper aims to investigate this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs a signaling model to illustrate the strategy and organizational forms megachurches employ to indicate a match between what the church produces and the religious refugee wishes to consume in an effort to increase their membership. The model illustrates that megachurches expect little in regard to financial or time commitment of new attendees. However, once the attendees perceive a good fit with the church, the megachurch increases its expectation of commitment. Data from the FACT2000 survey provide evidence in support of the model's predictions.

Findings

Data from the FACT2000 survey provide evidence in support of the model's predictions.

Originality/value

The paper serves to illustrate the dynamic process by which megachurches attract new attendees and transform those that find a good fit between their needs and what the church offers into full members of the church.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2020

Zoheir Kordrostami, Kourosh Hassanli and Amir Akbarian

The purpose of this study is to find a new design that can increase the sensitivity of the sensor without sacrificing the linearity. A novel and very efficient method for…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to find a new design that can increase the sensitivity of the sensor without sacrificing the linearity. A novel and very efficient method for increasing the sensitivity of MEMS pressure sensor has been proposed for the first time. Rather than perforation, we propose patterned thinning of the diaphragm so that specific regions on it are thinner. This method allows the diaphragm to deflect more in response with regard to the pressure. The best excavation depth has been calculated and a pressure sensor with an optimal pattern for thinned regions has been designed. Compared to the perforated diaphragm with the same pattern, larger output voltage is achieved for the proposed sensor. Unlike the perforations that have to be near the edges of the diaphragm, it is possible for the thin regions to be placed around the center of the diaphragm. This significantly increases the sensitivity of the sensor. In our designation, we have reached a 60 per cent thinning (of the diaphragm area) while perforations larger than 40 per cent degrade the operation of the sensor. The proposed method is applicable to other MEMS sensors and actuators and improves their ultimate performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Instead of perforating the diaphragm, we propose a patterned thinning scheme which improves the sensor performance.

Findings

By using thinned regions on the diaphragm rather than perforations, the sensitivity of the sensor was improved. The simulation results show that the proposed design provides larger membrane deflections and higher output voltages compared to the pressure sensors with a normal or perforated diaphragm.

Originality/value

The proposed MEMS piezoelectric pressure sensor for the first time takes advantage of thinned diaphragm with optimum pattern of thinned regions, larger outputs and larger sensitivity compared with the simple or perforated diaphragm pressure sensors.

Details

Microelectronics International, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-5362

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2007

John Humphreys, Kendra Ingram, Courtney Kernek and Theresa Sadler

This paper aims to show how industrial thinking has led to a myopic focus on individual leadership styles to the potential detriment of a broader understanding of leadership…

1217

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to show how industrial thinking has led to a myopic focus on individual leadership styles to the potential detriment of a broader understanding of leadership. Also, to present the Nez Perce leadership council as an exemplar of post‐industrial leadership. Finally, to demonstrate that a historical approach can be used effectively to elucidate such constructs.

Design/methodology/approach

A historical examination of the popular portrayal versus the actual functioning of the non‐treaty Nez Perce leadership council during the conflict of 1877.

Findings

Although Chief Joseph has often been considered the supreme leader of the Nez Perce during the conflict period (industrial view), the group was actually led by a leadership council, which functioned in the manner described by Rost and Smith as post‐industrial leadership.

Research limitations/implications

Although the paper illuminates Rost and Smith's model, it does not attempt to assess the effectiveness of post‐industrial leadership, as the successes and failures of the Nez Perce during the conflict period could be attributed to other variables beyond the authors' scope. It is to be hoped, however, that future researchers will continue the debate concerning leadership and its peripheral elements.

Practical implications

It is suggested that contemporary organizational leaders should be focused on leadership beyond style and might consider the post‐industrial model for mutually satisfying influence, particularly with the team‐based and flattened structures common to the modern firm.

Originality/value

The use of a historical example and method to exemplify the contemporary model of post‐industrial leadership. Further, to demonstrate how industrial thinking has encouraged many to focus on the periphery of leadership.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2009

Daniel Wren

The paper aims to describe the career and contributions of Joseph Scanlon in gaining labor‐management cooperation through employee participation and sharing the gains from cost…

1621

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to describe the career and contributions of Joseph Scanlon in gaining labor‐management cooperation through employee participation and sharing the gains from cost savings.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper makes use of archives and unpublished sources; correspondence with Scanlon's daughter and a previous colleague; Scanlon's writings; and secondary sources as needed.

Findings

Joseph Scanlon used his experiences to develop a plan that encouraged union‐management cooperation and workers and managers sharing gains from improved productivity. Scanlon's background is examined and how his colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, especially Douglas McGregor, provided the venue for his ideas to flourish and gain widespread acceptance. An analysis of 117 studies over a period of six decades is used to identify the conditions that appear to promote or to interfere with the Scanlon Plan.

Practical implications

The Scanlon Plan illustrates a means to promote labor‐management cooperation and a means to involve employees through sharing cost savings.

Originality/value

This is the first biographical study to use archival and unpublished sources to provide new insights into Scanlon and how his plan for cooperation and Gainsharing developed.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

Georgios I. Zekos

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…

88430

Abstract

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 45 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 January 2011

David M. Rosch, Dana L. Joseph and Daniel A. Newman

A sample of 276 students enrolled in campus leadership programs completed the Emotional Competence Inventory-University Edition (ECI-U) and the Socially Responsible Leadership…

Abstract

A sample of 276 students enrolled in campus leadership programs completed the Emotional Competence Inventory-University Edition (ECI-U) and the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS) as a means to determine the relatedness in college students of emotional intelligence (EI) to the practice of post-industrial leadership skills. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported current use of subscales within the SRLS and showed that EI and post-industrial leadership skills represent distinct, yet related, constructs. Results also suggest the ECI-U may better represent one overall concept of Emotional Competence rather than four distinct areas of EI. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Details

Journal of Leadership Education, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1552-9045

Article
Publication date: 11 December 2017

Joseph Allan Sakdalan, Daniel McGarry Kittner and Devika Judd

There are a lack of recourses for substance abuse (SA) treatment for forensic clients with intellectual disabilities (ID). Many complexities arise when treating this population…

Abstract

Purpose

There are a lack of recourses for substance abuse (SA) treatment for forensic clients with intellectual disabilities (ID). Many complexities arise when treating this population, calling for the creation of comprehensive resources which not only address the SA, but also account for the risk and offending issues. The purpose of this paper is to detail a pilot programme which aims to provide treatment for forensic ID clients with substance abuse issues as well as a significant risk of reoffending.

Design/methodology/approach

Six participants completed a 27-week SA treatment programme (the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Programme-Intellectual Disability) which incorporated the use of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) and the Good Lives Model concepts. Pre- and post-measures aimed to assess readiness for change and confidence in ability to stay clean and sober.

Findings

Preliminary findings showed a marked improvement in confidence of the participants’ ability to stay clean and sober in risk-related situations as well as an increase in overall readiness for change.

Originality/value

This research paper addresses a gap in the current forensic ID research and clinical treatment options pertaining to SA, by focussing on supporting forensic ID clients in their recovery journey from SA. Being at the forefront of SA treatment for forensic ID, further research in this domain should attempt to consolidate the findings of this programme.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8824

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1985

Tomas Riha

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…

2578

Abstract

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 12 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1992

John Conway O'Brien

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…

1155

Abstract

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 19 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2022

Daniel Joseph Finkenstadt and Robert Handfield

This study examines the lack of confidence in the actions of the government and pharmaceutical companies during vaccine deployment. The authors introduce the concept of supply…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the lack of confidence in the actions of the government and pharmaceutical companies during vaccine deployment. The authors introduce the concept of supply chain immunity. The authors test whether the perception of higher vaccine supply chain immunity leads to higher willingness to be vaccinated within the supply chain community.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors utilize factor analysis and item response theory methods to develop a scale for measuring supply chain immunity. The original and psychometrically sound scale is tested via a structural equation model (SEM). Factor analysis and SEM use survey responses from two samples of 125 supply chain executives.

Findings

SEM suggests that supply chain immunity perceptions are a strong predictor of overall supply chain confidence for COVID vaccines. Further, these perceptions, through supply chain confidence, indirectly impact individuals' self-reported willingness to personally accept a vaccine themselves.

Originality/value

This paper presents the concept of supply chain immunity perceptions that have not been used in the medical supply chain literature. This paper presents a first-of-a-kind scale for supply chain immunity perceptions utilizing nascent methods and demonstrates the constructs impact on vaccine program confidence and public willingness to participate.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

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