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Antonio & Bonanno paint a fairly bleak picture of the trajectory of our current history in the emergent post-Cold War world. They show how three political discourses – Cold War modernization, neoliberal globalization, and neoconservative politics – all draw on particular elements of American Exceptionalism that have shifted us toward imperialist tendencies that “ignore or diminish the importance of substantive equality and social justice.” Although Langman & Burke stop short of making the same final point, their analysis of the weaker sides of the tri-part dialectic – individual/community, toughness/compassion, moralism/pragmatism – is useful in developing Antonio & Bonanno's point a bit further.

Arthur Schlessinger (1983) suggested that the contradictions and paradoxes of American foreign policy reflected contradictions and paradoxes in the underlying character of the people. We would go further to suggest that the early years of colonial life, much like the early years of a person's life, had major consequences ever since. The intersection of Puritanism, available land, and eventually the rise of a commercial culture would forge a unique trajectory of what would be called “American Exceptionalism”, reflecting an “American character”, which itself is subject to three paradoxes or polarities, individualism vs. community, toughness vs. compassion, and moralism vs. pragmatism. The effect of this legacy and the dialectical aspect of American character were first evident when Winthrop proclaimed the city on the hill as the new Jerusalem. The legacy of that vision is taking place today in Iraq.

In this chapter, we review the ways in which scholars have conceptualized and relied on the notion of identity to understand the academic career. We explore the use of identity as a theoretical construct in research about the experience of being an academic. We discuss the individual and organizational factors that scholars have focused on when seeking to understand the role of professional and personal identity in academic careers, as well as recent and emerging shifts in the use of identity within this line of scholarship. Research suggests that if we are to understand the future of the academic career, we must understand the identities of its current and prospective members and, more importantly, how those identities shape goals, behaviors, and outcomes. We close with recommendations for future research and theory development.

The impact of emotional displays on ratings of workplace performance was examined using scenarios presented to college students (N=175). Four scenarios featured either a male or female employee expressing either anger or sadness. Contrary to previous findings in research on gender differences, the only consistent significant finding was the type of emotion displayed. Displays of anger resulted in reductions in perceptions of organizational commitment (F(1,170)=19.78, p<0.001) and job performance (F(1,169)=12.19, p<0.001). The differences in emotion displayed were expected; however, the null findings of gender effects were unexpected and are discussed here.

Studies have identified low levels of social support as one of several risk factors for poor psychological outcome following bereavement. Despite this fact, little is known about how bereaved individuals interpret and define social support or which behaviors they perceive as helpful (Cacciatore, Thieleman, Fretts, & Jackson, 2021). The present study seeks to understand the experiences of the support received by Danish families who have lost a parent to death. Individuals recruited from a mutual bereavement support group (N = 87, 25–59 years old) responded to an online survey, which yielded both quantitative and qualitative data, the latter from open-ended questions and comment boxes. The results demonstrated a variety of sources of support. However, some of the bereaved individuals also reported a decided lack of help for both adults and children post-loss. As most respondents were women (93%), future research might shed more light on possible gender differences in the expectations, needs, and experiences of social support in bereavement. The study participants provided elaborate suggestions for the improvement of bereavement support, such as, practical help, access to bereavement support groups, more knowledge on bereavement and grief in the Danish society, and easier access to peer support. The chapter revealed an apparent lack of coordination of the support for parentally bereaved families. Additionally, some groups of bereaved children seemed to be particularly vulnerable and overlooked, namely the very young children, children in late adolescence/young adulthood, and children with special needs.

The chapters in this book focus on how higher education can cultivate and promote a more inclusive and equitable environment in higher education, especially with regard to gender diversity as well as those non-conforming, non-heteronormative groups. The chapters in this volume cover the broad picture/context of diversity in various countries as well as a specific focus on gender. The chapters discuss the factors relating to inclusion and equity, what is driving campuses to be more inclusive, and practical steps and case studies that higher education institutions can implement to create more inclusive and equitable learning environments. Finally, this volume discusses the need for inclusive leadership which involves building institutional capacity for inclusion and creating the right conditions under which inclusion and equity can grow and thrive and crafting policies and practices whose end result is to create a culture of inclusion.

In early April 2004, a group of social scientists gathered at Florida State University, for an interdisciplinary conference on “Globalization and the Sedimentation of the Cold War.”¹ The papers and discussions centered around the following question: Has the configuration of business–labor–government relations that took hold in the West after World War II – during the so-called “Cold War” – become “sedimented” in ways that delimit the possible scope of choices and actions decision-makers in key institutions and organizations can make and engage in. Has it done so in a manner that resembles an underlying program which remains concealed from sight – perhaps more so, as time goes by? If we should need to answer this question in the affirmative, this program would predetermine both the confines of strategies institutions and organizations can pursue in their efforts to confront emerging challenges, and the nature of the results those strategies produce. While the configuration, as it took shape in western democratic societies – especially in North America and Western Europe, but also in Japan – was historically specific, it produced a condition that appears to perpetuate patterns established during, and characteristic of, the Cold War – beyond the official end of the Cold War. By implication, decision-makers in politics, business, and the policy apparatus would presume the prevalence of patterns that were endemic to the Cold War constellation of business, labor, and government, along with corresponding definitions of the functions and responsibilities of government, as integral to the design of early twenty-first century societies. Put differently, in the absence of a definite break with the political and economic patterns that took hold during the Cold War, the latter will remain as a central feature and organizing principle, continuing to define the perimeter of choices we perceive, the nature of goals we pursue, and the types of means we both employ and deploy.