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This paper examines the relationship between and the effects of resource allocation and levels of professionalism on local economic development policies and strategies. In short, it asks a basic question; do cities get what they pay for in terms of economic development? A value judgment is, of course, inherent in this question; "what you pay for" serves as a euphemism for "good" economic development programs and policies. That is, if a local government devotes more budget and staff resources toward economic development, is the city more likely to implement effective economic development policies? Thus, this research examines the relationship between the resources and the professionalism of the local economic development agency, and the corresponding economic development goals and techniques employed in those communities.

This symposium examines issues related to local economic development financing. The symposium introduction paper consists of two sections: (1) a review of the literature related to local economic development in general and to the financing economic development in particular; and (2) a summary of major findings from the four symposium papers addressing such issues as rural bank loans, the tax increment financing program, professionalism in economic development, and regional development through tax sharing.

This symposium examines issues related to local economic development financing. The symposium introduction paper consists of two sections: (1) a review of the literature related to local economic development in general and to the financing economic development in particular; and (2) a summary of major findings from the four symposium papers addressing such issues as rural bank loans, the tax increment financing program, professionalism in economic development, and regional development through tax sharing.

This chapter draws on longitudinal and cross-sessional research to explore the use of Bottery's variant of portrait methodology in understanding the individual experiences of a group of Chinese top-up students when they study a one-year top-up programme in a UK university. The rationale for using Bottery's variant was to understand only the perceptions of these students in their particular context, during a specific period of time in their life. Data were collected three times using semi-structured interviews, and individual portraits were produced after each set of interviews, based on the interview transcripts. The findings of the research and also the comments of the participants suggest that the use of portrait methodology helped enhance the trustworthiness of the research and also self-awareness and self-reflection of the participants. Researchers may face challenges when adopting Bottery's variant of portrait methodology in research, in particular relating to portrait writing and rapport building with the participants.

Although media and research accounts of cyber bullying suggest this misbehavior is localized primarily among middle school students, and that its frequency decreases with age, this chapter presents empirical data showing that cyber bullying occurs with considerable frequency among college students across multiple domains of life, specifically school and work. In Study 1, 28 male and 82 female undergraduate students completed a survey examining their online activities as well as their experiences with cyber bullying. Over 30% of the participants indicated that their first experience with cyber bullying was in college. No gender differences were observed with regard to victimization or perpetration, except with online gaming where males reported a higher rate of victimization than females. With regard to personality differences among victims and perpetrators, victims were lower in agreeableness than non-victims. Study 2 examined the prevalence of cyber bullying among 107 college students at work, as well as the negative outcomes linked to the experience of workplace cyber bullying. Nearly a third of the college student sample reported having been the target of cyber bullying within the past six months. Individuals in jobs in which the Internet is essential and racial minorities reported higher rates of cyber bullying at work. Additionally, cyber bullying was positively linked to several negative emotions, as well as burnout and job search effort. These findings have important implications not only for potential negative outcomes that college students may be facing at school and at work but also for organizational justice issues, as differential treatment at work can lead to lawsuits and other negative work outcomes.

This chapter explores the symbolic connections between coming of age liminality and identity-oriented consumption practices in postmodern American culture, specifically among adolescent girls.

Forty-two female participants (ages 20–23) participants were asked to answer the general question of “Who am I?” through creating identity collages and writing accompanying narrative summaries for each of three discrete life stages: early adolescence (past-self), late adolescence (present-self), and adulthood (future-self). Data were analyzed using a hermeneutical approach.

Coming of age in postmodern American consumer culture involves negotiating paradoxical identity tensions through consumption-oriented benchmarks, termed “market-mediated milestones.” Market-mediated milestones represent achievable criteria by which adolescents solidify their uncertain liminal self-concepts.

In contrast to the traditional Van Gennepian conceptualization of rites of passage, market-mediated milestones do not necessarily mark a major transition from one social status to another, nor do they follow clearly defined stages. Market-mediated milestones help adolescents navigate liminality through an organic, nonlinear, and incremental coming of age process.

Rather than traditional cultural institutions (e.g., church, family), the marketplace is becoming the central cultural institution around which adolescent coming of age identity is constructed. As such, organizations have the power to create market-mediated milestones for young people. In doing so, organizations should be mindful of adolescent well-being.

This research marks a turning point in understanding traditional rites of passage in light of postmodern degradation of cultural institutions. The institutions upon which traditional rites of passage are based have changed; therefore, our conceptions of what rites of passage are today should change as well.

The rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM), as an intentionally intersectional movement, challenges us to consider the ways in which BLM is reimagining the lines of Black activism and the Black Liberation Movement. BLM may be considered the “next wave” of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), guiding how and with whom the movement will progress. We use a content analysis of public statements and interviews of the founding members from October 2014 to October 2016 to discuss the ways in which the founders of BLM frame the group’s actions. We bring together the critical feminist concept of intersectionality with framing theory to show how the founders of BLM have strategically framed the movement as one that honors past Black Liberation struggles, but transforms traditional framing of those struggles to include all Black lives inclusive of differences based on gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, or criminal status.