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In this article we consider how cultural resources rooted in religion help to constitute and animate people working in industrialized societies across both religious and nonreligious domains. We argue that redemptive self-narratives figure prominently in the symbolic constructions people attach to their experiences across the many domains of human experience; such redemptive narratives not only can shape their identities and sense of life purpose, they inform their practices and choices and animate their capacity for action. To consider how redemptive self-narratives can provide a basis for agency in organizations, we analyze and compare the career narratives of a retired Episcopal Bishop and a celebrated CEO.

While sports have historically provided a space for Black males to experience a high sense of self-efficacy, the question about whether or not it transfers to educational endeavors persists. A challenge for practitioners is to ensure that Black males also thrive educationally as well as in their athletic pursuits. The author presents a brief history of Black males’ participation in sport, along with the historical implications of such participation. The utility of empowerment theory is explored within the context of promoting the college and career readiness of Black male student-athletes in high school. High school counselors’ use of empowerment theory is specifically highlighted. Specific indicators of college and career readiness are discussed, and the author posits the use of empowerment theory in counseling and advising can facilitate positive change in this process, assuring that sports remains the positive mobilizing mechanism that it can be for all student-athletes.

It has been said that standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are more congruent with a principles-based approach to standards setting than those of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Revelations concerning accounting manipulations at Enron Corp., and the ensuing scandal resulting from these revelations, have prompted the FASB to reassess its approach to accounting standards setting with the possible intent of moving FASB standards-setting processes closer to a principles-based approach. One area that IASB standards tend to emphasize more than FASB standards is the concept of substance over form. The bankruptcy of Enron Corp. provides a vivid illustration of how companies may use the legal form of transactions to obscure their economic substance. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the concept of substance over form by investigating Enron’s use of misleading accounting practices in the following areas: (1) off-balance sheet financing; (2) revenue recognition; and (3) financial statements disclosures. In these three areas of accounting concern, the chapter sets forth the relevant US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) requirements, along with the ways in which Enron manipulated GAAP while concealing the economic substance underlying the transactions. It is the argument of this chapter that had the concept of substance over form been properly applied at Enron, investors and creditors would have been provided with a more realistic view of the company’s financial position and its results of operations, perhaps avoiding what became the one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in US history. The conclusion is that the FASB should focus on the concept of substance over form as it contemplates moving toward a principles-based approach to accounting standards setting.

This chapter reports on findings from a study that explored the experiences of African American young men who graduated from Du Bois Academy, an all-boys public charter secondary school in the Midwestern region of the United States. The chapter considers issues of African American male persistence and achievement and how they are impacted by school culture. Specifically, the author discusses how school culture can help shape these students’ educational experiences and aspirations. Using student narratives as the guide, a description of how Du Bois Academy successfully engaged these African American male students is provided. The students articulated three critical components of school culture that positively shaped their high achievement and engagement: (a) sense of self, (b) promotion of excellence, and (c) community building. The student narratives provided a frame for promoting positive school culture that enhances the educational experiences and academic aspirations of African American male students.

In their original invitation, editors Kaye Schoonhoven and Frank Dobbin urged the contributors to this volume to be substantive and scholarly in their approach to their essays. I have tried to honor their request by summarizing the results of a programmatic line of scholarly inquiry on a thorny academic problem. It is also a problem of enormous and enduring real-world importance: As the world continues to confront divisive and escalating conflicts over how to share increasingly scarce global resources, we need to have a better understanding of when and why people are willing to cooperate to solve such problems.