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Introduced into the literature a decade ago, grit originally defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals has stimulated considerable research on positive effects primarily in the academic and military contexts, as well as attracted widespread media attention. Despite recent criticism regarding grit’s construct and criterion-related validity, research on grit has begun to spill over into the work context as well. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the initial theoretical foundations of grit as a motivational driver, and present newer conceptualizations on the mechanisms of grit’s positive effects rooted in goal-setting theory. Furthermore, the authors also draw attention to existing shortcomings of the current definition and measurement of grit, and their implications for its scientific and practical application. After establishing a theoretical understanding, the authors discuss the potential utility of grit for human resource management, related to staffing and recruitment, development and training, and performance management systems as well as performance evaluations. The authors conclude this chapter with a discussion of necessary and potential future research, and consider the practical implications of grit in its current state.

Indigenous entrepreneurship and hybrid venture creation represents a significant opportunity for Indigenous peoples to build vibrant Indigenous-led economies that support sustainable economic development and well-being. It is a means by which they can assert their rights to design, develop and maintain Indigenous-centric political, economic and social systems and institutions. In order to develop an integrated and comprehensive understanding of the intersection between Indigenous entrepreneurship and hybrid ventures, this chapter adopts a case study approach to examining Indigenous entrepreneurship and the underlying global trends that have influenced the design, structure and mission of Indigenous hybrid ventures. The cases present how Indigenous entrepreneurial ventures are, first and foremost, hybrid ventures that are responsive to community needs, values, cultures and traditions. They demonstrate that Indigenous entrepreneurship and hybrid ventures are more successful when the rights of Indigenous peoples are addressed and when these initiatives are led by or engage Indigenous communities. The chapter concludes with a conceptual model that can be applied to generate insights into the complex interrelationships and interdependencies that influence the formation of Indigenous hybrid ventures and value creation strategies according to three dimensions: (i) the overarching dimension of indigeneity and Indigenous rights; (ii) indigenous community orientations and (iii) indigenous hybrid venture creation considerations.

Despite the undoubted role of family firms in the economy, some main factors challenge their attempts for business internationalisation. These drivers are varied from organisational and environmental to individual attributes. This study tries to recognise and explore the impacts of the personality traits of managers, founders, and owners of family firms in their business internationalisation. The study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 204 managers, founders, and owners of small- and medium-sized family firms to consider the relationship between personality traits: conscientiousness, openness, extroversion, neuroticism and agreeableness, and business internationalisation (BI). The hypotheses were analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM) using Lisrel. The results suggest different impacts of personality traits on facilitating the internationalisation process. According to the finding, extroversion and openness have a significant positive and agreeableness and conscientiousness have positive, less significant impacts on the tendency towards business internationalisation. Moreover, neuroticism impacts negatively significantly. Therefore, managers, founders, and owners of small- and medium-sized family firms who are extrovert, open, and non-neuroticism (tranquil) are more encaustic to making strategic decisions for extending their business to international markets.

Personality research often has focused on how people change in response to the work environment, given that work constitutes a significant portion of the daily life of adults. However, most research has failed to consider the effect of the work context on purpose in life. This omission is surprising given that purpose research involves several characteristics that align well with the occupational psychology and organizational behavior literatures. The current research considers how one feature of the work context, work stress, may (or may not) facilitate the purpose development process. We put forth a Purpose and Work Stress (PAWS) model which explains why understanding whether work stress is perceived as harmful or challenging to employees can provide significant insight into whether that occupation is aligned with the individual’s purpose in life. Furthermore, the model highlights that the ability to monitor and interpret work stress may help an individual identify and cultivate their purpose. Implications of the PAWS model are described, including how it may help us understanding the roles for retirement and job crafting on purpose.

Millions of people die of chronic diseases within inpatient settings annually in the United States, despite patient preferences for dying at home. This medicalization of dying has received social and economic critiques for decades. This chapter offers a further analysis to these critiques by examining the ecological impacts of inpatient end-of-life care on the natural environment and occupational and public health.

We compare the ecological health outcomes of medical care in three inpatient units (conventional cancer unit, palliative care ward, and hospice facility) using ethnographic observations, semi-structured interviews, and institutional records on medical supply use, waste generation, and pharmaceutical administration and disposal.

Care provided on all three medical units had significant socioecological impacts. Cumulative impacts were greatest on the conventional unit, followed by palliative care, and lowest on the hospice unit. Variations in impacts mirrored differences in dependence on material interventions, which arose from variations in patient needs, institutional policies, and nursing cultures between the three units.

Social and economic concerns have been major drivers in reforming end-of-life medical care, and our analysis shows that ecological concerns must also be considered. Transitioning terminal patients to less materially intensive modes of care when appropriate could mitigate ecological health impacts while honoring patient preferences.

This chapter describes how the medicalization of dying has converged with institutional policies, practices, and actors to increase the negative consequences of medical care, and recognizes that the far-reaching impacts of clinical decisions make the provision of medical care a socioecological act.

To break the chains of inequality for access to education for marginalized groups across India and move toward an egalitarian society, where all people can live with dignity and fulfill their dreams, the need of the hour is to strengthen the education system and prepare teachers with secular and reformative thinking. This chapter attempts to examine the problems of various marginalized groups in Indian society and their educational provisions. This work also aims to analyze several issues and challenges related to preparing teachers for inclusive schools and to draw attention to the need to reframe and revise teacher education programs and enforce inclusive teacher education practices in India to promote inclusion.

Sustaining a spinal cord injury (SCI) at any point in time is life-altering – physically, emotionally, and financially – for all persons affected by the injury, but it can place unique challenges on younger married couples. This study examines the transition to injury for 18 couples (ages 21–55). Data were collected using individual interviews with each partner at three time points following injury and observation in the rehabilitation setting (Creekview). This resulted in 96 individual interviews and 300 hours of observation. Using the life course perspective as a guiding theoretical framework and thematic analysis, I examined how the healthcare institution influenced the couples' relationship during their rehabilitation stay and the subsequent transition home. Creekview staff and couples accepted and reinforced the dominant cultural narrative that women are natural caregivers, but larger social structures of class, gender, and the division of paid and unpaid labor worked together to push some women into caregiving faster or prevented other women from engaging in caregiving. This study examines how younger couples move through the caregiving career during an off-time transition when the expected outcome is not long-term care placement or death. This study identified three main types of caregivers, each with their own path of caregiving – naturalized, constrained, and resistant caregivers. Overall, the transition to injury is complex and this study highlights some of the ways the marital relationship is affected by a nonnormative, unexpected transition.

The underdetermination argument establishes that scientists may use political values to guide inquiry, without providing criteria for distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate guidance. This chapter supplies such criteria. Analysis of the confused arguments against value-laden science reveals the fundamental criterion of illegitimate guidance: when value judgments operate to drive inquiry to a predetermined conclusion. A case study of feminist research on divorce reveals numerous legitimate ways that values can guide science without violating this standard.

Triangulation of research methods is crucial to thoroughly explore how tourism can be better linked to the local economy in the Pacific's ‘Small Island Developing States’ (SIDS) because it includes the use of multiple data collections, analytical methods, data sources and theories or perspectives (Rocco et al., 2003). The exploration of the interactions between the various stakeholders in tourism and the wider economy will help linkages to be understood and enhanced. The research focuses on the following stakeholders: tourists, growers, small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs), government officials and village councils. The study explores the ways in which each of these stakeholder groups interacts with each other and their perspectives on the issues surrounding the linkages between tourism and agriculture.

The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the use of a case study of Niue and multiple data-gathering techniques to collect critical information on the linkages between tourism and agriculture in Pacific SIDS. The findings and lessons learned from a single case study of Niue using a mixed-methods approach potentially benefit other island nations in the region. This chapter begins with a discussion on the usefulness of case study research and then justifies the use of a mixed-methods approach and multiple stakeholders to better understand the linkages between tourism and agriculture in SIDS. The complexities of the inter-sectoral analysis being undertaken and the lack of prior data in this area necessitated a mixed-methods approach to the research. The chapter thoroughly discusses the research process and participants, including the design of research tools and the conduct of field work. Then the chapter focuses on research findings and concludes by reviewing the lessons learned from this research approach and its use of a case study and mixed methods to gain a holistic insight into the potential for enhancing the linkages between tourism and agriculture on Niue.

In much of philosophy and social theory since classical antiquity, human belief and reason have been placed in the driving seat of individual action. In particular, social theory has often taken it for granted, or even by definition, that action is motivated by reasons based on beliefs. In contrast, a minority has criticized the adoption of this ‘folk psychology’ that explains human action wholly in such ‘mind first’ terms. Critics point out that such explanations are a mere gloss on a much more complex neurophysiological reality. These dualistic and ‘mind-first’ explanations of human behavior are unable to explain adequately such phenomena as sleep, memory, learning, mental illness, or the effects of chemicals or drugs on our perceptions or actions (Bunge, 1980; Churchland, 1984, 1989; Churchland, 1986; Rosenberg, 1995, 1998; Kilpinen, 2000).