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This paper aims to present the physics of climate and climate change in an accessible manner to the layman in the context of shifting spheres.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the physics of climate and climate change in an accessible manner to the layman in the context of shifting spheres.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the physics of climate and climate change in an accessible manner to the layman in the context of shifting spheres. This is a viewpoint and more of a literature review than new findings.
Findings
Earth's climate is changing due to man's influence.
Social implications
Climate change will be a major factor in the future of our society.
Originality/value
The text is original. The information is not. There is recent information in this article. The author even updated things during the review process. The science is always improving.
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This article notes the growing attractiveness of concepts “borrowed” from chaos theory in organizational studies. Many of these interpretations display sentiments broadly…
Abstract
This article notes the growing attractiveness of concepts “borrowed” from chaos theory in organizational studies. Many of these interpretations display sentiments broadly congruent with a “postmodern” approach to organization. Indeed chaos theory itself is presented as part of a similar postmodern shift within natural science. However, these sentiments have been subject to stinging criticism by scientists. Here, the deterministic underpinning of chaos theory is used to show that chaos theory is an entirely modernist enterprise. In this case the indeterministic messages taken by organizational theorists are something of a misunderstanding. Consequently, I discuss whether this is enough to threaten the interdisciplinary status of chaos theory, particularly when it is used in a self-consciously ‘metaphorical’ fashion.
As part of the globalizing work environment, new forms of organizations have emerged, ranging from international to multinational and transnational organizations. These forms of…
Abstract
As part of the globalizing work environment, new forms of organizations have emerged, ranging from international to multinational and transnational organizations. These forms of organizations require high levels of cross-national interdependence, and often the formation of multicultural teams (MCTs), nested within multinational organizations. Employees who operate in the global multinational context should share common meanings, values, and codes of behaviors in order to effectively communicate with each other and coordinate their activities. What helps global multicultural team members create the social glue that connects them to each other, above and beyond the national cultures to which they belong? We propose that a more macro-level meaning system of a global work culture, which is the shared understanding of the visible rules, regulations, and behaviors, and the deeper values and ethics of the global work context, that is formed outside of the level of national cultures, binds members of MCTs. At the individual level, the representation of these global work values in the self leads to the emergence of a global identity, which is an individual's sense of belonging to and identification with groups (such as MCTs), operating in the global work environment of multinational organizations. The chapter focuses on the potential influence of a global work culture, and of a global identity on the effectiveness of MCTs.
The purpose of this article is to outline the ways in which staff of a post‐1992 UK university set about enhancing the student experience, at a time when the institution had poor…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to outline the ways in which staff of a post‐1992 UK university set about enhancing the student experience, at a time when the institution had poor student evaluations as demonstrated by the UK National Student Survey and other indicators. Using a range of interventions led by the PVC (Academic), a concerted effort is made to improve classroom teaching, assessment and feedback, and the ways in which actions taken in response to student feedback were reported back to students.
Design/methodology/approach
The article reviews some of the literature available on the NSS and on bringing about changes in universities, and demonstrates how such approaches were put in place.
Findings
Over a period of 18 months, it was possible to report significant changes in practice, resulting in demonstrable improvements, both in NSS scores and staff morale.
Research limitations/implications
The article uses a reportage approach, describing the steps taken as part of an evidence‐informed approach: potential future work will be undertaken by a new team, following a wide‐ranging restructuring of the university.
Practical implications
It was necessary to recognise that teaching staff felt they were already working very hard, so changes had to be both manageable for staff and demonstrably leading to measurable improvements.
Social implications
The article argues that a top‐down approach alone is insufficient to bring about rapid changes in a difficult context, and describes how diverse agents' enacted improvements.
Originality/value
The quality enhancement approaches described here are shared by a number of universities with similar aims: the originality of the approach lies in its coherence and collaborative nature, which combined evidence‐led leadership and cross‐institutional commitment.
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This chapter investigates the nature of the transformation of macroeconomics by focusing on the impact of the Great Depression on economic doctrines. There is no doubt that the…
Abstract
This chapter investigates the nature of the transformation of macroeconomics by focusing on the impact of the Great Depression on economic doctrines. There is no doubt that the Great Depression exerted an enormous influence on economic thought, but the exact nature of its impact should be examined more carefully. In this chapter, I examine the transformation from a perspective which emphasizes the interaction between economic ideas and economic events, and the interaction between theory and policy rather than the development of economic theory. More specifically, I examine the evolution of what became known as macroeconomics after the Depression in terms of an ongoing debate among the “stabilizers” and their critics. I further suggest using four perspectives, or schools of thought, as measures to locate the evolution and transformation; the gold standard mentality, liquidationism, the Treasury view, and the real-bills doctrine. By highlighting these four economic ideas, I argue that what happened during the Great Depression was the retreat of the gold standard mentality, the complete demise of liquidationism and the Treasury view, and the strange survival of the real-bills doctrine. Each of those transformations happened not in response to internal debates in the discipline, but in response to government policies and real-world events.
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In The Great Derangement, the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh examines the present inability to understand and represent the scale and violence of the environmental crisis. The book is…
Abstract
In The Great Derangement, the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh examines the present inability to understand and represent the scale and violence of the environmental crisis. The book is a passionate awakening call for collective action to drive change, with Ghosh clearly identifying the limits of the present framework of values, which inhibits politicians, industrialists and economists from moving towards a truly sustainable civilization. In the Anthropocene, non-human and post-human factors are raising questions about the concept of a silent Nature that can be domesticated for human advantage and the perspective of continuous progress – both of which have dominated the modern age. Nevertheless, the detailed scientific analysis of the violation of the planet’s limited capacities continues to be refuted, triggering irrational, short-term utilitarian behaviours which are preventing the fundamental changes required for the transition to sustainable development. Artists, philosophers and writers can play an invaluable role in reframing our ways of thinking, filling the gap between scientific knowledge and emotional perception. Pioneering artistic experiments are appearing all over the world, from both well-established and emerging artists, and through collective processes, and this cultural movement is setting the scene for a new wave of eco-entrepreneurs driven by the altruistic mission of saving the planet. As has happened in many previous crises, it is again in the hands of artists to redefine how we perceive ourselves and so to support the emergence of new ideas, new learning, and finally to shape society and the economy around a renewed sense of the future for humankind on Earth.
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Most global organizations have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) statement and initiatives to advance equity within their organizations though minimal traction is evidenced by what…
Abstract
Purpose
Most global organizations have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) statement and initiatives to advance equity within their organizations though minimal traction is evidenced by what is espoused. This paper aims to demonstrate how to make progress in D&I generalizable to global workplaces.
Design/methodology/approach
Approaching D&I initiatives as collectivist working society bridges gaps in resourcing, powering and actualizing D&I organizationally unlike being demonstrated in companies where D&I is facilitated by majority groups.
Findings
Qualitative studies show that though people believe they are behaving morally toward others, they mostly have hidden concerns about infringing on discrimination laws.
Originality/value
This paper provides human resource practitioners with a systemic method of advancing D&I equitably while promoting organizational citizenship comparable to thriving workplaces.
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